Photo courtesy of Dan Horan.
Posted: Oct 01, 2023
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - A four-goal second half propelled the Saint Mary's soccer team to a 6-1 win over visiting Hiram on Sunday afternoon.
The Belles put the pressure on early against the Terriers. Marina C. Vasconcelos had a strong cross into the box for Margaret Slove, but Slove's effort tailed just high. Saint Mary's tried to take advantage of a moment in the period when the Hiram goalkeeper was well off the line. Unfortunately for the home side, they were unable to connect the passes needed to get off a high-percentage shot. The Belles broke through in the 11th minute. Lindsey Adent slotted a perfectly-weighted pass into the box for Slove. The freshman raced past her defender, took a pair of unmarked touches, and buried the near-post offering for the 1-0 lead.
Claire Keely, Layne Ridderman, and Lindsey Adent had a solid combination of passes deep in the attacking end that resulted in a shot by Adent that tailed high and left of the goal. Grace Brown looked to connect with Slove in the 26th minute but the freshman's attempt rolled just wide of the right post. The Terriers, meanwhile, found an equalizer in the 30th minute after a wide cross from the right was shot off the inside of the left post and into the goal to make it 1-1. Margaret Slove was not to be denied as the freshman found a way on what looked like a broken play to somehow find the back of the net in the 34th minute to give the Belles a 2-1 halftime lead.
Slove picked right up where she left off by striking two more times in the opening 12 minutes of the second period. In the 49th minute, Grace Barresi played a ball ahead to Slove in the box, and the freshman used a crafty cut-back move to work past a defender. Slove used that little amount of space to hit a tight-angled shot for her third goal of the contest. Eight minutes later, Slove took on a defender one-on-one on the left side of the box and lofted above the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper for her fourth goal.
The Belles continued with the offensive pressure. A well-struck cross by Grace Reyda was unmet in the box in the 63rd minute. Two minutes later, Mary Kaczynski cleaned up a loose ball that popped up off of a defender with a goal on her birthday to make it a 5-1 advantage. Moments later, Izzi Linus used a spin move in the box to beat a defender and nearly bent in a shot from the left side of the box that eventually carried high and right of the goal. Brynn Stauffacher fired in a strong cross from the right side of the Belles' attacking end, but the goalkeeper smothered the chance in the 77th minute. Saint Mary's was awarded a free kick just a few yards outside the box on the left side of the field in the 86th minute, and Marina C. Vasconcelos's shot off the free kick was true as the freshman buried the goal for the 6-1 margin of victory.
Margaret Slove tied the program record for most goals in a game with four, including the game-winning goal for the Belles. Mary Kaczynski and Marina C. Vasconcelos each had a goal in the contest as the Belles outshot the Terriers 24-4. Seven different players each had at least one shot in the contest for Saint Mary's. Caroline Miklavcic collected the win in goal and picked up a save.
The Belles (6-4, 0-1 MIAA) return to conference play on Wednesday when they host Calvin at 5:00 p.m.