NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's scored six consecutive goals to open the second half and take a 9-7 lead, but a late push by Hope saw the visiting Flying Dutch take a 13-12 decision in the MIAA Tournament Semifinal round on Wednesday evening.

 

Hope got on the scoreboard first with a free position goal less than two minutes into the contest. Erin Doyle then drew the Belles even two minutes later with a goal for a 1-1 score just 3:58 into play. The Flying Dutch countered with back-to-back goals for a 3-1 advantage with 20:15 on the clock as the Belles used their first timeout of the game.

 

Kate Kelly pulled the Belles back within a goal with a free position goal more than five minutes later, but Hope got a goal back quickly and added another to take a 5-2 lead. Emily Kraker made one of her many big saves of the night to help prevent a sizable run by the Flying Dutch, and Erin Doyle had a strong feed to Kendra Osinski, who rattled the back of the cage with her first goal of the night to make it a 5-3 game. Kraker stuffed a free position shot for a save with under ten minutes remaining in the half. Hope, however, struck again with 9:00 on the clock and added a goal with 3:09 remaining before the break to take a 7-3 lead. Kraker gave the Belles some momentum going into the halftime break as the sophomore goalie made two big saves in the final minute of the half to keep the score at 7-3.

 

The Belles came out of halftime on a tear. Kendra Osinski buried a free position goal to jump-start a 6-0 run over the opening nine minutes of the period. Bridget Kane struck less than three minutes later as Saint Mary's continued to swing things back in their favor. Kate Kelly had a pair of free position goals sandwiched around a tough-angle goal by Raigan Althouse in the span of less than a minute as the Belles put three short-handed goals on the scoreboard to take their first lead of the game at 8-7. Shannon McCloskey then came up with the next draw control in the Saint Mary's offensive end, and Molly Stout connected a pass with a cutting Kate Kelly as Kelly fired in her fourth goal of the game for a 9-7 lead with 21:43 on the clock.

 

Hope got a goal back on a free position chance, but Kraker stood tall by making four saves over the next seven minutes of action to preserve the lead. After the fourth of those saves, Saint Mary's got the ball back after a Hope turnover, and Kate Kelly buried a shot off of a feed from Doyle to give the Belles a 10-8 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining.

 

The Flying Dutch cut the Belles' lead to one with a goal less than two minutes later, but the Belles defense kept things difficult for Hope while Kraker collected three more saves over the next five minutes. Eventually, it was the Flying Dutch who broke through with a goal as the score stood even at 10-10 with 5:21 on the clock. Hope used a redefend in the midfield to stop a Saint Mary's clear attempt a minute later, and the Flying Dutch regained the lead with a goal with 3:28 on the clock for an 11-10 lead.

 

Raigan Althouse came down with the next draw control, and Kendra Osinski capitalized on a free position chance with a rocket of a goal with 3:06 on the clock. The Flying Dutch pulled down the ensuing draw control and struck for a goal with 1:59 on the clock to take a 12-11 lead. After a timeout, Kate Kelly won the draw to get the ball back to the Belles. Less than 30 seconds later, Molly Stout wove through traffic and buried a close-range shot to knot the game at 12-12 with 1:30 to play. Hope came away with the next draw control before posting a goal with 52 seconds on the clock. The Belles had a final chance to potentially tie the game as Kate Kelly won the ensuing draw, but a caused turnover by the Flying Dutch saw Hope get the ball back before running out the clock in the 13-12 final.

 

Kate Kelly led all players with five goals and shared game-high honors with five draw controls while picking up six ground balls. Kendra Osinski posted a hat trick with three goals. Erin Doyle had a goal and three assists, and Molly Stout chipped in a goal and two assists. Raigan Althouse and Bridget Kane each scored a goal. Althouse added a career-high six ground balls. Rachael Leonard tied her school record with 11 ground balls to go along with six caused turnovers. Emily Kraker set a new career-high with 16 saves in goal.

 

The Belles finish the season 12-6 as Saint Mary's captured the program's first MIAA regular season title in 2019.