ADRIAN, Mich. - The Saint Mary's soccer team fell in a 2-0 final at Adrian on Saturday evening.

 

The Belles shut down chances for the Bulldogs over the opening 20 minutes of action. Caroline Miklavcic won a 1v1 after confidently racing off her line and playing the ball away with her feet just outside of the box less than ten minutes into the contest. Lindsey Adent, Mary Kaczynski, and Grace Barresi in the midfield along with Claire Keely, Holly Skrip, Izzy Sherman, and Grace Brown in the back demonstrated strong team defending as the group broke up possessions by Adrian and forced the Bulldogs into several backward passes.

 

In the 19th minute, Adent, Izzi Linus, and Kaitlyn Day strung together consecutive passes before an attempt by Adent to loft the ball into the box from 35 yards out was caught by the Adrian goalkeeper. The Belles earned a free kick a few minutes later, and Margaret Slove ensured the Belles kept possession after the ball was initially cleared. After the ensuing throw in, Grace Barresi played a ball back centrally to Holly Skrip, who got fully behind an effort from 40 yards out that had to be punched over the crossbar by the keeper for a save in the 22nd minute.

 

Saint Mary's tried to get things going in transition on the quick turf in the 34th minute, but a long pass ahead rolled beyond Slove and to the goalkeeper. The Bulldogs had a free kick in the 36th minute which resulted in a loose ball in the box. That chance gave Adrian an opportunity on which they capitalized for a 1-0 advantage.

 

The second half of play saw the Bulldogs take advantage of a turnover deep in the defensive end by the Belles as Adrian doubled their lead to 2-0 on the optimal chance in the 55th minute.

 

Each Saint Mary's chance, meanwhile, was one more touch or pass away from a scoring opportunity for the Belles throughout the night. Marina C. Vasconcelos could not quite find the edge on the right side of the pitch in the 59th minute. Grace Brown tried to connect with Kaitlyn Day from left to right in the 64th minute only to see the ball bounce beyond Day and out of play. A few minutes later, Brown got behind another ball from 30 yards away that skidded left of the frame of the goal. Margaret Slove had a ball wide on the left in some space before a touch carried long and was played away by an Adrian defender with under 15 minutes to play.

Moments later at the other end, Grace Brown broke up a chance in the box for the Bulldogs. The Belles pushed the ball up in transition as Slove gained possession in the midfield. The freshman looked to play a central pass to Grace Barresi but had the ball played away before Barresi could receive the pass. A pass from Lindsey Adent in the midfield out to Izzi Linus was sent into the box with a one-time touch by the junior but was unmet by a teammate and carried in to the keeper with six minutes to play. Grace Brown pushed the ball ahead and tried to get a shot off at the top of the box in the 87th minute. Her effort was blocked, but Mary Kaczynski collected the loose ball and played it off to Grace Barresi. Barresi had a good look at goal but had her effort carry high in the 87th minute in the 2-0 final.

Grace Barresi, Mary Kaczynski, and Holly Skrip were all credited with shots in the contest. Caroline Miklavcic shouldered the loss in goal for the Belles.

 

Saint Mary's (6-6, 0-3 MIAA) return home to host Albion on Tuesday, October 10 at 4:00 p.m.