The Belles are preparing to host Franklin Sunday in hopes of securing their second win of the season. Saint Mary's recently secured their first season victory Sept. 16 off a goal from freshman Jordan Diffenderfer to defeat Illinois Tech 1-0.
But the Belles were not able to keep the streak going, falling short Tuesday 2-0 to Manchester and bring their record to 1-8.
Saint Mary's will look to freshman midfielder Mollie Valencia and junior forward Katelyn Tondo-Steele for offensive production. In addition, Saint Mary's will hope to improve its second-half defense, as two-thirds of the goals the Belles have allowed have come after the halftime break.A large part of improving second-half play will be decreasing the number of fouls the Belles commit.
The Grizzlies (3-3) are coming off a recent string of losses, the last being to the Belles conference foe Trine. Saint Mary's hopes to capitalize on those losses when they host Franklin at 2 p.m. Sunday.