GREENCASTLE, Ind. -  After a scoreless 85 minutes of play, Saint Mary's took the upper hand against host DePauw before the Tigers tallied two late goals to take a 2-1 final on Sunday afternoon.

 

The two sides played close throughout much of the first half of action as the host Tigers had six shots with two on goal to the Belles' three shots over the opening 45 minutes of play. Kara Stacey came up with her third save of the half with a one-skip stop in the middle of the box in the 39th minute. A couple of one-touch passess by Saint Mary's pushed the ball into the offensive third, and the Belles won the ball back after a throw in to keep pressure on the Tigers' defense. Katie Harrington threaded a pass into the box for Emily Stross, who had a shot blocked out of play for a corner kick in the 41st minute. Continuing to keep the ball in the DePauw defensive third, Lindsey Adent used a step on her defending player to regain the ball and loft a long-range shot toward goal only to have the effort sail off target. The Belles earned a free kick just inside the center line with under three minutes remaining in the half, and Abaigeal Patnode used that chance to put a dangerous ball in to Grace Barresi. Barresi redirected the free kick to the right side of the box toward Izzi Linus, but a quick bounce saw the chance get cleared away by the defense.

 

The defense held strong in the opening 15 minutes of the second period and forced the only two shots by DePauw taken in that span to go off the mark, and Saint Mary's held DePauw without a shot for nearly the next 20 minutes of play. The Belles had a strong scoring opportunity in the 71st minute. Lindsey Adent gained control at the center line and played a pass up along the right side of the field toward Kaitlyn Day. Two defenders pinched in on Day but deflected the ball to Mary Kaczynski, who was trailing the play. Kaczynski tapped the ball ahead into space for Day after the two defenders bumped into one another, but Day's breakaway chance was saved by the DePauw goalkeeper to keep the Belles off the scoreboard.

 

The next strong scoring chance for either side came in the 81st minute. The Tigers put together a string of passes before a shot from the right side of the box was saved at the near post by Kara Stacey. The defense shut down a pair of shots by DePauw over the next two minutes with Abaigael Patnode blocking a shot rolling toward net after a challenge by Stacey. 

 

The Belles broke through in the 86th minute of action. Patnode sent a free kick from the defensive end well into the offensive third for the Belles. After a DePauw defending player headed the ball up into the air, Mary Kaczynski worked around the defender and headed the ball again before a defender tried to play a header clear. Instead, Felicity Matthews found herself with the ball, tapped the ball around the final defender, and slid a shot past the goalkeeper and in for the 1-0 lead with under five minutes on the clock.

 

The Tigers countered quickly, however, to take away the momentum. A ball shot from the right side of the box was met with a diving save by Kara Stacey, but a DePauw player making the supporting run near the far post scored on a one-timer to knot the game. The Tigers used a pass to the left flank and a centering pass to find a player in the center of the box for the game-winner on their next chance.

 

DePauw controlled much of the possession over the final three-plus minutes of action to keep Saint Mary's from putting together a chance at a tying goal in the 2-1 final.

 

Felicity Matthews scored her first collegiate goal for the Belles in the match. Kaitlyn Day, Grace Barresi, Lindsey Adent, and Emily Stross each were credited with a shot. Kara Stacey made three saves in goal as she and Riley Lindsey each saw time and allowed a goal apiece.

 

The Belles (0-3-2) are back home after their three-game away stint as Saint Mary's is set to host Franklin on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.