KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team got a record-breaking performance by Emily Kraker and overcame a late deficit to score twice in the final two minutes as the Belles captured an 18-17 win in the rain against Kalamazoo.

 

In a game where neither team held more than a three-goal lead at any time, Kalamazoo jumped out to a 2-0 lead and extended their advantage to 3-1 only to see Saint Mary's respond with three consecutive goals as the Belles snagged a 4-3 lead with 17:00 still to play in the opening half. Erin Doyle scored twice while Gabby Belsito and Erin Dotson each notched a goal. The Hornets tied things up two-and-a half minutes later, but Molly Mullett scored on a free position chance on the next possession to put the Belles ahead. Emily Kraker made three big saves - including back-to-back stops in the span of seven seconds - to keep Kalamazoo from regaining the lead, and Doyle then scored a free position goal to make it 6-4 in favor of Saint Mary's.

 

The sides traded goals back-and-forth with Katie Haas finding the back of the net for the Belles to make it 7-5, but Kalamazoo scored twice and held the Saint Mary's offense at bay over the final 6:33 of the half to make it a 7-7 game at the half on a wet and rainy evening.

 

The host Hornets gained even more momentum by netting three goals in the opening 4:24 of the second period for a 10-7 lead. Erin Dotson and Bridget Kane each found goals over the next three minutes of play, but Kalamazoo maintained a multiple-goal lead with a response each time to make it 12-9 with 21:16 on the clock. Liv Heppeler caused a turnover on the next Kalamazoo possession, Kraker collected the ground ball, and Bridget Kane struck quickly in transition to make it 12-10. Dotson then converted the free position attempt just over a minute later to pull the Belles within one at 12-11. Kalamazoo won the ensuing draw and scored in response to the Belles, but Saint Mary's continued to chip away at the narrow deficit.

 

After a timeout, the Belles won the next two draws and scored off of those possessions to knot things up at 13-13. The Hornets regained the lead with a free position goal with 16:32 remaining. Kraker then popped off four saves in the span of 1:20 of play to keep the Belles within a goal. The Hornets did sneak one past the senior goalie, but Katie Haas had a response goal at the other end to make it 15-14. The sides again traded goals with Bridget Kane finding the back of the net as Kalamazoo clung to a 17-15 lead with 7:15 to play in the second half.

 

Erin Doyle caused a turnover on the next Kalamazoo possession, and Kane buried her fourth goal of the game to make it a one-goal difference with 6:09 on the clock. Kraker came up with another save with just over three minutes on the clock, and Molly Mullett cut through the Hornets' defense before sneaking a shot under the crossbar with 1:24 to tie the game at 17-17. Mullett then came away with the ensuing draw control. The Belles patiently worked their offense until Bridget Kane fed a pass into the critical scoring area to Gabby Belsito, and Belsito beat the Kalamazoo goalie low for the go-ahead goal with 30 seconds on the clock. The Hornets called a timeout to try to put together a late game-tying push. Kalamazoo then won the draw and earned a free position attempt with 3.1 seconds on the clock. Kraker capped off a stellar performance in goal with the low save to preserve the one-goal lead and lift the Belles to the 18-17 win.

 

Emily Kraker had a school-record 21 saves as the senior surpassed her single-season high for saves with 146 in just 12 games so far in 2021. Kraker also had seven ground balls and collected the 30th win in goal of her career, making her the first goalie in Saint Mary's lacrosse history to reach 30 wins. The Belles had a balanced scoring effort on the day and were led by a career-best eight-point effort by Bridget Kane as the junior tallied four goals and four assists to go along with three ground balls. Erin Dotson added four goals and an assist. Erin Doyle posted three goals, five ground balls, and three caused turnovers. Gabby Belsito notched three goals - including the game-winner. Katie Haas tallied two goals and an assist, Molly Mullett posted two goals, five ground balls, and a team-best six draw controls.

 

The Belles (8-4, 4-1 MIAA) continue a string of road games when they travel to Adrian on Wednesday, April 14 for a 3:00 p.m. contest.