Albion wasn't the toughest competition for the Saint Mary's soccer team Saturday. That honor went to the wind.
Playing in a very strong wind throughout the entire double overtime match, the Belles and Britons fought to a 0-0 tie in MIAA action last weekend. The tie puts the Belles at 3-1-2 in the conference and 6-1-2 overall.
"There was a lot of wind and that made it hard for either team to have an attack," Belles coach Peter Haring said. "There were not as many scoring opportunities throughout the game."
Anytime a Saint Mary's player wanted to pass the ball through the air, the wind would knock it down and cause less accuracy in each pass. That also caused the team to never get into sync.
"We didn't develop any kind of rhythm," Haring said.
Despite the conditions, Haring admitted his team had chances to score, but couldn't capitalize.
"We had a couple opportunities to score, but we took too much time trying to find the perfect shot," he said.
The Belles are third in the league heading into their match against Olivet Tuesday. Olivet stands at 1-8-2 and only 1-5 in the MIAA, but that doesn't mean Haring isn't concerned with the game.
"If we play our brand of consistent soccer, we should be fine," Haring said. "But if we let them sit around and don't put heat on them, things could get interesting."
Saint Mary's trails Alma and Hope in the conference standings, but could sneak past either team by winning their next two games. The Belles take on lowly Adrian after facing Olivet. Adrian is last in the MIAA with a 0-6 record. They are 0-10 for the season.
Notes:
Co-captain Katie Taylor was recently named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the Belles matches against Albion and Kalamazoo. She played every minute of the Belles' two games last week.
