Saint Mary's fell 2-0 to the No. 1 Calvin Saturday in the Knights' sixth conference game of the season in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The loss dropped the Belles to 6-3-4 overall and 2-2-2 in the MIAA. The team dropped to fifth place in the conference, while Calvin (10-3-1, 5-0-0 MIAA) remained in first place.
The Knights wasted no time establishing their dominance in the match. Calvin defender Kellie Honderd tapped in a rebound to score her third goal of the season just over one minute into the match. Freshman midfielder Carly Prins was credited with the assist.
The quick goal was all the stingy Calvin defense would need in the game, as they allowed only three shots over the next 89 minutes. The Belles' leading scorer, junior forwards Lauren Hinton, got loose for a shot four minutes into the game, but she missed wide to the left. Hinton also got off a shot during the 55th minute, but it was blocked by a Calvin defender before it reached the net.
Whitney Fron added the third and final shot for the Saint Mary's offense, which has struggled to produce in the past few weeks.
The shot total was the second lowest of the season for the Belles. Their lowest total was also against the Knights. The team was held to only one shot in a 0-0 draw in the conference opener for both clubs on Sept. 12.
Senior goalkeeper Amy Mahoney made five saves in the first game to pick up the shutout. This time around Calvin was able to sneak a few of their seven shots past Mahoney for the win.
Calvin midfielder Elizabeth Ribbens added an insurance goal with three minutes left in the game to bring the final score to 2-0. Junior Liz VanRees chipped a pass across the box to Ribbens who one-timed it past Mahoney for her seventh goal of the season. Ribbens is currently second on the team in goals scored behind Prins who has nine so far this season.
Saint Mary's struggled to keep possession of the ball throughout the game, often making careless fouls and failing to get past the Calvin defense. Coach Caryn Mackenzie tried to spark her team with frequent substitutions, but none of the combinations seemed to be working for the Belles.
Saint Mary's will look to regroup this week before taking on Tri-State Tuesday at 4 p.m. on the road in its second-to-last conference match of the regular season.
