NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team posted several short scoring bursts to build an insurmountable first-half lead on their way to a 22-8 conference win over Hope on Senior Day on Saturday.

 

Both sides took some time to find a rhythm to start the game before Bridget Kane gave the Belles a 1-0 lead with a goal 5:08 into the contest. The Flying Dutch came back with a goal 20 seconds later to knot the game up at one goal apiece. Emily Kraker kept Hope off the scoreboard with the first of her six saves in the first period, and the Belles capitalized on the stop as Erin Doyle rattled the back of the cage with her first goal of the game with 22:16 on the clock. Kane won the ensuing draw control and almost immediately fed a pass to Molly Stout, who buried a goal just 16 seconds later. Doyle added a player-up goal with 21:07 for a 4-1 Saint Mary's advantage.

 

The Flying Dutch got back on the scoreboard a minute and a half later, but the Belles responded with four consecutive goals over the next nine minutes of play. A minute after another save by Kraker, Erin Doyle added her second player-up goal on a free position chance to make it 5-2. Kendra Osinski got into the scoring column with a goal at 13:15, and Kate Kelly scored back-to-back goals within a minute and a half of one another for an 8-2 Saint mary's lead.

 

A Hope goal at 8:42 broke up the scoring spurt, but Saint Mary's quickly regained the momentum as Erin Doyle sent home a free position goal just 23 seconds later. The Belles made the Flying Dutch pay for a turnover deep in their defensive zone as Doyle scored off of a pass from Molly Stout for a 10-3 lead. Emily Kraker continued to come up with key saves to hold Hope at bay, and Kelly and Stout scored back-to-back goals in the span of 16 seconds as Saint Mary's surged ahead 12-3 with 4:42 on the clock in the first half. The Flying Dutch got a goal back with under four minutes remaining in the period, but Kraker added two more stops and the defense blocked a free position shot to prevent consecutive goals by Hope. Erin Doyle then scored in transition, and Kendra Osinski sent home a free position goal as the Belles took a 14-4 lead into the halftime break.

 

Doyle opened the second period with back-to-back goals, and Kane added her second goal of the contest for a 17-4 lead 5:05 into the half. Hope got back in the scoring column with a free position goal, but the Belles rattled off four goals in-a-row to put the game well out of reach. Doyle had two goals serve as the bookends to a goal by Raigan Althouse and a goal by Kendra Osinski to make it 21-5 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Flying Dutch put the next two goals on the scoreboard, but Rachael Leonard turned defense into offense with a caused turnover, ground ball, and goal in the span of a few seconds late in the game as all three seniors on the Saint Mary's squad scored a goal. Hope closed out the scoring with a goal in the closing seconds of the game as the Belles prevailed by the 22-8 final margin.

 

Erin Doyle tied her own program record with 10 goals on only 15 shots while picking up an assist, three draw controls, and four ground balls. Kendra Osinski tallied three goals and two assists. Kate Kelly added a hat trick, needing only three shots to score three times, while tallying seven draw controls and two ground balls with one caused turnover. Bridget Kane had two goals, an assist, six draw controls, and two ground balls. Molly Stout posted two goals and an assist, and Rachael Leonard and Raigan Althouse each scored a goal. Gabby Belsito registered an assist.

 

Emily Kraker recorded her fourth-consecutive 10-plus save effort in goal as the sophomore stopped 10 shots on goal for a 55.5 percent save percentage. Sarah Frick had a game-high six ground balls defensively for the Belles.

 

The Belles (9-5, 5-0 MIAA) are off until next Friday when they travel to Calvin for a 3:30 p.m. contest against the Knights.