It isn't quite practice, but playing Adrian College in soccer is pretty close.
The Bulldogs are 0-11 overall, 0-7 in the MIAA and face Saint Mary's Saturday at Adrian.
The Belles beat Adrian 7-0 in the two teams' first meeting.
"The challenge we have is to play quick and not hold on to the ball," Belles coach Peter Haring said. "We need to work on the things we do in practice."
Saint Mary's will use the Adrian matchup to tune up for several more difficult games in the near future.
Haring also said he wants to get more players involved in this game.
"We just want to continue to develop a rhythm," Haring said. "We can also get more bench players involved in case we need them, then they're ready."
The biggest task Haring wants to accomplish is working on the Belles two-touch game plan. This involves having players receive a pass then quickly deliver the ball to another teammate and ignite more ball movement.
The goal is to get the ball to the outside and look for opportunities from that point. When the Belles perform this strategy well during games, they usually have success, Haring said.
"Our center and midfield players haven't done a great job with [the two-touch strategy], which allows other teams to step in and win," Haring said.
When the Belles struggle, they usually have players trying to run with the ball and not pass it to teammates.
Then other teams have an easier time intercepting passes and converting those turnovers into fast break opportunities.
In their last meeting, Carolyn Logan scored three goals, while Ashley Hinton added two goals and two assists.
The Belles have a tough stretch of their schedule coming up in the next few weeks. After playing Adrian, the team faces MIAA leader Hope, which hasn't lost a conference game, standing at 7-0.
The Belles then take on non-conference foe Tri-State before playing Alma in the team's final home game.
Alma is tied for second in the division with Saint Mary's.
