WAUKESHA, Wis. - Trailing 12-7 in the second half, the Saint Mary's lacrosse team rattled off four consecutive goals to pull within one of host Carroll on Sunday. The Pioneers, however, responded with a scoring run of their own to take a 19-12 decision.

 

Carroll took the quick lead with a goal in the opening minute, but Saint Mary's responded with five of the next six goals for a 5-2 advantage with 11:08 on the clock. Erin Doyle popped off all five of the Saint Mary's goals with Katie Haas registering two assists and Kendra Osinski tallying one assist during that stretch.

 

The Pioneers drew even two minutes later, and Carroll built quick momentum with a pair of goals within 12 seconds of one another. That three-goal spurt yielded two more goals, and the home side swayed the lead in their favor by a 7-5 margin. Molly Mullett came away with a key draw control to restart play, and Katie Haas buried a free position goal 45 seconds later to make it a one-goal game. Shannon McCloskey then knotted things up with a goal less than 30 seconds after Haas's goal. The Pioneers took the ensuing draw control and scored with just over a minute remaining in the half to carry an 8-7 lead into the break as Haas's shot in the final minute was saved by the Carroll goalie.

 

Carroll opened the second period with four consecutive goals, but the Belles dug in their heels and battled their way right back into the mix. Isabella Thompson-Davoli had a strong redefend and forced a turnover as the clock moved just below 21 minutes. The Belles pushed ahead in transition, and Kendra Osinski drew a free position attempt and converted the chance to make it 12-8. A Sarah Frick ground ball two minutes later resulted in a goal by Erin Doyle the other way. Emily Kraker saved the next shot on goal she faced, and Doyle eventually caused a turnover, picked up the ground ball, and scored as the momentum continued to build for Saint Mary's. The Belles gained possession on the chase after a wide shot by the Pioneers at the 15-minute mark, and Doyle buried another free position shot just 30 seconds later to pull Saint Mary's within a goal at 12-11 with 14:35 to play.

 

Kraker came up with another big save, but the Pioneers collected the ground ball and made the most of the possession by scoring with 13:51 on the clock. Carroll won the next draw, but Kraker again made a stop on a free position attempt by the home side. The Pioneers, however, stopped the clear attempt and scored in transition quickly for a 14-11 lead. Both goalies came up with saves for their respective teams over the next three minutes as the teams both battled to gain control of the game. The Pioneers used a yellow card against the Belles to their advantage for a goal with 7:21 to play to sway the momentum in their favor. Carroll added another goal less than a minute later before posting back-to-back goals at 4:46 and 4:23. Another Carroll goal gave the Pioneers a 19-11 lead with 1:41 to play. Kendra Osinski scored on a free position opportunity on the next Saint Mary's possession, but the Belles were unable to pull any closer in the 19-12 final.

 

The Belles held a slight edge in ground balls in the game, collecting 34 to Carroll's 33. The Pioneers pulled down 23 draw controls to the Belles' nine in the contest. Saint Mary's had more success on free position chances as the Belles were 5-of-11 while Carroll converted 3-of-10 shots from the eight-meter arc.

 

Erin Doyle scored eight goals while collecting an assist, a draw control, three caused turnovers, and four ground balls. Kendra Osinski added two goals, an assist, and a ground ball. Katie Haas posted a goal, two assists, two caused turnovers, and three ground balls. Shannon McCloskey notched a goal, and Molly Mullett had a team-high six draw controls to go along with seven ground balls.

 

Emily Kraker made a career-high 17 saves in goal for the Belles. That total also ties the program record for saves in a single game, which was set in 2014. The junior also tallied the most ground balls by a goalie in a game for Saint Mary's with nine.

 

The Belles (0-3) travel to Michigan on Friday to face Aquinas at 6:00 p.m.