ALMA, Mich. - Nearly 350 days since their last contest, the Saint Mary's lacrosse team shook off some early cobwebs and took a 14-2 win at Alma on Monday afternoon.

 

Both sides took some time to try to find the rhythm of the game as the teams battled for possessions at both ends of the field. The Belles saw a few early shots miss the mark while to Scots also saw a free position shot six minutes into the contest go wide of the goal frame. A short while later, both goalies kept the game knotted at 0-0. A save by Emily Kraker at almost the midway mark in the first half resulted in a good clear for the Belles. Erin Doyle then drew a free position shot and capitalized from short range for a 1-0 lead at 15:52. Another save by Kraker on the ensuing Alma possession resulted in another goal by Doyle with Julia Gorski collecting her first collegiate point with the assist.

 

Kraker continued to keep the Scots off the scoreboard with two more saves. The Belles swayed the momentum even more in their direction with a goal by Shannon McCloskey and a third goal by Doyle for a 4-0 advantage at the 9:32 mark. A stretch of strong defense by Saint Mary's kept the four-goal lead intact before Katie Haas netted a player-down goal on a free position shot for the 5-0 edge. Two saves by Kraker in the final two minutes of the period yielded a late scoring chance for the Belles, and Doyle scored in transition in the final seconds of the half for the 6-0 Saint Mary's lead at the break.

 

The Scots used three early saves by their goalie to stay within striking distance, and Alma broke through with their first goal of the game three minutes into the second period. Saint Mary's, however, responded with five consecutive goals over a 5:16 span to build an insurmountable 11-1 lead and initiate the running clock. Haas and Doyle each tallied two goals while Molly Mullett registered her first goal of the 2021 campaign during that stretch. Gabby Belsito added her first goal of the year on the next Saint Mary's possession for a 12-1 lead. The Scots got a goal back less than three minutes later, but the Belles kept the game out of reach as Doyle tallied two more goals for the 14-2 final.

 

Saint Mary's held advantages over Alma in ground balls (30-21), draw controls (14-3), and shots (30-17) while both teams were credited with 24 turnovers and 11 caused turnovers in the contest.

 

Erin Doyle led the way with eight goals and three assists while sharing team-high honors in caused turnovers with three. The senior also collecte four ground balls in the win. Katie Haas registered her third hat trick for the Belles on just four shots as she came away with four ground balls, four draw controls, and two caused turnovers. Molly Mullett added a goal, four ground balls, and a game-high nine draw controls. Gabby Belsito posted a goal on her only shot while tallying career-highs with six ground balls and three caused turnovers. Shannon McCloskey posted a goal and three ground balls. Julia Gorski collected her first collegiate point with an assist, and Erin Dotson registered an assist for the Belles. Emily Kraker, meanwhile, made nine saves on 11 shots on goal (81.8 save percentage).

 

The Belles (1-0) are back on the road on Saturday when they travel to Hope for a 1:00 p.m. contest.