NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's soccer team fell in a 6-0 final against preseason MIAA favorite and No. 3 regionally-ranked Calvin on Saturday evening.

 

The Knights found the back of the net in the 11th minute before adding a second tally in the 23rd minute. In the 25th minute, Lindsey Herdsman played a strong ball off of a free kick near the center line toward the box. Rose Stackhouse was on the receiving end of that ball and pushed a header shot into the box but off the mark. Calvin struck for a third time in the 35th minute, but the Belles put some pressure on the Knights' backline over the final ten minutes of the opening stanza. With just under seven minutes remaining in the period, Herdsman again had a promising free kick find its way into the box, but the effort took a hop before the Calvin goalkeeper snatched the ball away before a teammate could get behind it. Two minutes later, Mary Kaczynski played a through ball ahead for Stackhouse, but the touch was too heavy as the senior was unable to get a touch on it before the Calvin keeper collected the ball. Maddy Hansen then added a long-range effort that tailed high and wide right from the goal in the 44th minute as the score stood at 3-0 at the break.

 

An offside flag halted an early second-half scoring chance in the 54th minute for the Belles. Less than three minutes later, Rose Stackhouse got behind a ball at the top of the box only to have the effort blocked by a Calvin defender. Continuing to find pockets of pressure, the best opportunity for Saint Mary's came in the 60th minute. Kaczynski put a well-placed and well-paced ball ahead into space for Stackhouse. The senior raced to the ball as it was slowing at the edge of the 18-yard box only to have the Calvin goalkeeper slide to gain possession as Stackhouse leapt over the netminder at the last moment to avoid a collision.

 

Calvin added to their lead with goals in the 76th, 87th, and 88th minutes of play for the 6-0 final margin.

 

Rose Stackhouse had two shots for the Belles while Maddy Hansen registered a shot. Kara Stacey made five saves in goal over the first 60:30 of play. Brianna Dewey added three saves - including a particularly impressive diving stop - over the final 29:30 in goal.

 

The Belles (7-6, 0-4 MIAA) travel to Kalamazoo on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. conference tilt against the Hornets.