NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team battled back from an early deficit but fell in an overtime nailbiter by a 19-18 score against visiting Alma on Wednesday night.

 

Alma opened the game with four goals in the first five minutes of action. The Belles came back with a goal by Reese Bauer and another by Alyssa Grant to halve the deficit, but a late goal in the period gave the Scots a 5-2 advantage through the first quarter of play.

 

Saint Mary's steadily built momentum and capitalized on strong offensive possessions as the game progressed. Down 7-2, the Belles rattled off three consecutive goals - one by Lana Skibins and back-to-back free position goals by Christiana Singler - to pull within two. The two sides continued to trade goals back and forth in the second stanza with Valentina Rubio and Alyssa Grant each notching a goal as the Belles stayed close at 10-7 at halftime.

 

The Belles were in control of the third quarter as the momentum and the lead shifted fully to the home bench. Kathryn Kalinowski and Cate Krema each put away a goal in the opening two minutes to make it a one-goal difference. After an Alma goal, the Belles came right back with a free position goal by Alyssa Grant to make it an 11-10 game. The Scots countered with a goal of their own with just over eight minutes on the clock. Grant buried a free position chance two-and-a-half minutes later, and Reese Bauer knotted the game up at 12-12 with under five minutes to go in the quarter. Cate Krema sent home her second goal of the quarter to give the Belles a 13-12 lead, and Valentina Rubio converted a free position chance with 1:48 on the clock to put Saint Mary's ahead 14-12.

 

Rubio opened the fourth quarter with another goal to give the Belles their largest lead of the contest at 15-12. Alma used a pair of free position goals and a third goal a minute-plus later to pull even at 15-15 with ten minutes to play in regulation. Alyssa Grant regained the lead for the Belles. The two teams traded goals over the remainder of the quarter as four nail-biting goals were scored over the final minute of play. Rubio gave the Belles a 17-16 lead with 55 seconds on the clock, but the Scots notched a goal with 34 seconds remaining. Rubio again found a way to find the back of the net with 12 seconds on the clock, but Alma got the game-tying shot-turned-goal off in time to send the game to a sudden-victory overtime. The Belles were unable to find the game-winner while the Scots converted the first shot they took in the period to claim the 19-18 decision.

 

Alyssa Grant had five goals on five shots and added a ground ball and a draw control. Valentina Rubio put up five goals, four ground balls, a draw control, and a caused turnover. Lana Skibins tallied a goal and a season-high five assists with three ground balls. Reese Bauer had two goals and two assists with two ground balls and three caused turnovers. Cate Krema tallied two goals, and Christiana Singler added two goals, three ground balls, and four draw controls. Kathryn Kalinowski added a goal, two assists, two ground balls, seven draw controls, and a caused turnover. Kelsey King picked up three ground balls, and Mary Grace Heekin, Sophia Delgado, Kelsey King, Kate King, and Elizabeth Bourassa each had a caused turnover on the defensive end. Emma Zmudzinski registered a career-high 14 saves in goal on the night.

 

The Belles (1-8, 0-2 MIAA) are set to host Adrian on Saturday, April 13 at 7:00 p.m.