After a spirited run to the top of the MIAA standings, the Belles soccer team dropped its first tough loss in more than two weeks to Calvin College 3-0 Saturday.
Calvin spread the three goals evenly throughout the game and utilized swift attackers to give the Belles their first loss since an MIAA season-opening letdown to Hope. The Belles were forced to reposition a majority of their fielders due to the absence of midfielder Colleen Courtney, which caused numerous problems throughout the game.
It did not take long for the aggressive Calvin attack to puncture the tough Belles' defense. Sarah Weesies (two goals, one assist) fed the ball to Jill Capel (one goal, one assist), who proceeded to paste the far post in the eighth minute past overworked Belles' goalkeeper Laura Heline (11 saves).
Freshman attacker Whitney Fron remained upbeat following the grueling defeat.
"It's never fun losing, so it was a tough loss," she said. "But it was a well-played game, and hopefully we will get them next time."
It was Weesies' turn to strike in the 30th minute on a breakaway strike fed by fellow attacker Karla VanBeveren. The goal put the Belles down 2-0, but they refused to yield.
The Hinton sisters, Ashley and Lauren, pressured the Calvin defense and got off several well-placed shots, only to be saved by Calvin keeper Linda Heilman (three saves). But Calvin was able to shut down the Saint Mary's attackers who had accumulated seven goals in the last three games.
"I think that we played really well, but we had a problem finding the back of the net," Fron said. "We couldn't finish. The score really didn't show our effort that well."
The last Calvin tally once again came from Weesies, assisted by Capel, who brushed the far side of the net in the 82nd minute of regulation. That was all the game wrote on offense, securing the 3-0 Calvin lead. With the loss, the Belles move to 3-2 in the MIAA conference and 4-4 overall.
The Belles will not take this defeat and lay back on their heels.
"We will have really good, intense practices," Fron said, as the Belles ready for Wednesday's home game against Adrian College. "We'll just mentally prepare ourselves. Even though we lost the game, it doesn't mean anything. It will be a totally new team we play next time."
