NOTRE DAME, Ind. - A big fourth quarter by the visiting Hornets saw the Saint Mary's lacrosse team come up short in a 20-12 final against Kalamazoo on Senior Day.

 

Kalamazoo opened the game with the first two goals of the contest, but the Belles came right back. Valentina Rubio went end-to-end after causing a turnover before picking up the ground ball and buried a goal with 11:45 on the clock. Christiana Singler caused a turnover moments after the ensuing draw control, and Cate Krema connected with Reese Bauer as Bauer put away a goal to knot the game at 2-2. The Hornets countered with three goals in a row as Saint Mary's opted for a timeout. Emma Zmudzinski smothered  a save a minute later, and Alyssa Grant reeled in a pass from Bauer before sending home a goal with 2:30 to go in the period. Rubio came away with the ensuing draw and took care of the rest with her second goal of the contest to edge the Belles within one at 5-4 with just over two minutes to go. The two sides played a back-and-forth stretch before Lana Skibins found Grant in the critical scoring area, and Grant did the rest to tie the game at 5-5.

 

The Belles took advantage of a player-up opportunity to open the second quarter as Alyssa Grant found the back of the net yet again to give Saint Mary's a 6-5 lead. Back-to-back Kalamazoo goals saw the lead trade hands again, but Cate Krema pulled the Belles back even with 11:36 on the clock to tie up the score at 7-7. After another Kalamazoo goal, Grant had a shot ricochet off the crossbar. Kathryn Kalinowski kept the possession alive with a ground ball, and Valentina Rubio ripped a shot in off of a free position chance with 8:00 on the clock to tie things up at 8-8. Kalamazoo regained the lead with under seven minutes to play, and the Hornets added a player-up goal three minutes later for a 10-8 lead. Neither team registered a shot over the final three minutes of the quarter as Kalamazoo held a two-goal lead at the halftime break.

 

The defense shut down a pair of possessions early in the third quarter, and Alyssa Grant put away a free position goal with 12:01 on the clock to make it a one-goal game. Kalamazoo countered quickly with a goal less than a minute later. Emma Zmudzinski posted a big save on a free position chance for Kalamazoo while another shot by Alyssa Grant glanced off the crossbar the other way. After several changes in possession without a shot, Kalamazoo was the side to break through with a goal with 5:07 remaining in the quarter. Zmudzinski posted two more saves in the span of a minute, and the Belles successfully fended off a two-player-down situation as it remained 12-9 going into the fourth quarter. 

 

Christiana Singler gave the Belles an early boost with a free position goal at 13:25 to make it 12-10. The Hornets, however, posted four goals in quick succession to build a 16-10 lead with 9:57 on the clock. Kalamazoo extended their lead to 19-10 over the six minutes of action. Saint Mary's continued to play hard, and Alyssa Grant put away a goal with under three minutes on the clock. Reese Bauer added a goal 30 seconds later to make it a 19-12 score, but a late goal by Kalamazoo closed out the scoring in a 20-12 final.

 

Alyssa Grant led the Belles with five goals and added a pair of draw controls. Valentina Rubio posted three goals, five ground balls, and five caused turnovers. Reese Bauer had two goals, two assists, and two draw controls on the day. Cate Krema put up a goal and two assists with four ground balls, and Christiana Singler tallied a goal with five ground balls, four caused turnovers, and a draw control. Lana Skibins collected an assist in the game. Marina De Castro Vasconcelos registered five ground balls and three caused turnovers, and Kathryn Kalinowski added four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Elizabeth Bourassa tallie two ground balls, and Rachel Speckhard came away with two draw controls. Emma Zmudzinski made seven saves in goal.

 

The Belles (1-11, 0-5 MIAA) are back home for their penultimate regular season game as they host Calvin on Wednesday, April 24 at 6:00 p.m. The game is also the team's Morgan's Message dedication game to raise awareness about mental health.