HOLLAND, Mich. - The Saint Mary's soccer team saw their season come to a close in a 5-0 setback at Hope on Wednesday evening.

 

The Belles stood their ground early against the Flying Dutch as the defense got in the way of three chances before Riley Lindsey collected a save on the first shot on goal of the night. Saint Mary's continued to force Hope into off-the-mark shots while working to build toward a counter attack. The Belles earned a corner kick in the 13th minute but were unable to generate a scoring chance on the play. In the 23rd minute, Saint Mary's earned a free kick in the middle of the field after Mary Kaczynski was brought down at the center circle. Abaigeal Patnode sent the ball into the box, and a fourtunate bounce saw Jillian Bowen take a lunging shot at the top left of the box only to see the attempt go high and wide right of the goal. 

 

The Flying Dutch got on the scoreboard in the 37th minute, but the Belles came right back with some pressure into the attacking third. Felicity Matthews worked past a pair of Hope players to keep possession before sending a drop pass to Ava Slater in the 38th minute. Slater then launched a pass ahead to the left side of the 18-yard box of Izzi Linus, but the redirection by Linus was scooped up by the Hope goalkeeper two steps off of the line. In the waning moments of the opening half, Holly Skrip used a strong step defensively to swipe the ball away from a Hope midfielder. Skrip then sent a perfectly-weighted pass between the two defensive backs for the Flying Dutch and into space for Kaitlyn Day. Day raced to the ball and fired a curling shot from the edge of the 18-yard box to the right upper 90, but the all-but-sure goal was punched just over the crossbar in the 43rd minute. Hope, meanwhile, added a second goal late in the period for a 2-0 advantage at the half.

 

Saint Mary's started the second stanza with some pressure as Jillian Bowen and Mary Kaczynski worked to build toward a give-and-go only to have the chance broken up. Less than a minute later, Kaczynski connected a pass from the midfield wide right to Kaitlyn Day. Day fired a chance from outside the box that skipped left of the goal in the 48th minute. A flurry of action in front of the goal after a Hope corner kick saw Riley Lindsey smother a loose ball in the 50th minute. The Flying Dutch added to their total in the 53rd minute, but the Belles came right back again. A free kick by Kaitlyn Day moments later was well-placed in the box, but Sophia Fleming was marked inside the 18 as the senior was unable to get on the receiving end of the ball cleanly. Hope countered with a fourth goal in the 55th minute and added their fifth in the 64th minute for a sizable advantage on their home pitch.

 

Undeterred, the Belles continued to battle across the field. Patnode served up another Texas-sized free kick in the 62nd minute. Grace Barresi flicked on the ball, and Jillian Bowen's strong strike at the top of the box was met with a diving save before the play was waved offside. Ellen Hartzog battled to keep possession with just over 17 minutes remaining before Grace Reyda kept the play alive, but the pair were unable to connect on a give-and-go chance toward the attacking third. With under 10 minutes to go, the Belles held a stretch of possession with several players contributing to a string of passes. Sophia Fleming worked her way up from the outside back area and played a well-placed pass into space for Jillian Bowen on the left flank only to have the offside flag blow the play dead.

 

Fleming earned the team a free kick just in front of the bench a short while later, and Abaigeal Patnode struck the ball well into the box only to have the effort miss connecting with a teammate. Moments later, Ellen Hartzog was fouled at the center line for another free kick for the Belles. Patnode delivered another beauty of a ball into the box, but Izzy Sherman's flick on the play was saved in the 86th minute. The work rate for the Belles never waned down the stretch despite the deficit as Saint Mary's left it all on the field in the 5-0 final in the team's last match of the year.

 

Kaitlyn Day tallied two shots in the contest. Jillian Bowen, Izzy Sherman, and Izzi Linus each collected a shot for the Belles. Riley Lindsey made 11 saves in goal on the night as the Belles saw their season come to an end.