Saint Mary's drew its season to a close Saturday after a 1-0 loss to Hope in the first round of the MIAA tournament. The Belles finished their season with a conference record of 3-4-2 and overall at 7-5-5, landing them in fifth place for the conference.
The Belles played their last game Saturday in their third match against Hope this fall, and had their third loss against the Flying Dutchmen. They didn't score, but junior forward Lauren Hinton had three shots on goal and sophomore midfielder Katie Wehrli and sophomore defenseman Bridget Ronayne both came up with one.
Hinton finished conference play with four goals, placing her in the top 12 of the conference. She was followed by Wehrli and Katy Durkin, who both had three goals for Saint Mary's, and Bridget Ronayne and Julia Gragtmans with two.
The Belles scored 13 goals during conference play this season. Julia Gragtmans, Sarah DuBree and Wehrli all had two assists in the MIAA.
Saint Mary's was led on offense by Lauren Hinton, who was sidelined with injury at the start of conference play, but made a strong comeback the rest of the season.
Her injuries, and those of sophomore Micki Hedinger, gave new players a lot of playing time and a chance to show their talent on the field. Freshman midfielder Gragtmans was a key player for the Belles this season, with six goals and multiple assists.
Senior goalkeeper Amy Mahoney made over 67 saves and helped the Belles win a tough match against Kalamazoo at the beginning of league play, and tie Albion, another strong team.
Scoring 29 total goals and a record of 7-5-5 is not a record-breaking season for the Belles, but they definitely showed themselves to be a team who didn't stop competing when they were down.
Saint Mary's will say good-bye to seniors Justine Higgins, DuBree and Amy Mahoney, but it has a powerful group of players remaining who are looking ahead to next year.
