The Belles begin their final push for a winning record when they host Albion on Wednesday.
"We're at 8-9 with three games to go, so we're still shooting for a winning season," Belles coach Michael Joyce said.
Saint Mary's (8-9, 4-9 MIAA) will need a victory in each of its remaining matches against Albion (0-16-1, 0-12-1), Trine and Hope in order to finish the season with a winning record, but to do that the Belles will need to turn around their recent skid.
The Belles have dropped their last four contests by a combined score of 12-1. They haven't scored a goal in their last three matches, and were shut out 5-0 by Calvin at home Saturday.
"I think we're in good shape for the game against Albion," Joyce said. "I think the losses last week have motivated us to get back on track in the win column."
The Belles are in sixth place in the MIAA conference standings with 12 points, while the Britons are languishing in last place with one point, earned in their tie with Trine on Oct. 12. Adrian leads the league with 36 points and a 12-2 conference record.
While the Belles had trouble of late offensively, they are ahead of the winless Britons, whose woeful season record includes a 2-1 loss to the Belles at their home field in September. Albion has only scored 12 goals this season, three of which came in an overtime loss to Kalamazoo Sept. 17, while allowing 66.
Albion celebrated Senior Day during its match against Olivet on Saturday, but its final home game of the season was marred by a 2-1 loss to the Comets (3-14, 3-10), who scored an early goal in each half.
While the Belles are focused on securing a victory, soccer will not be the only item on Wednesday's agenda. The team will be honoring Domestic Violence Awareness month by wearing a specially made purple shirt ⎯ the color of domestic violence awareness.
"This is our second year promoting domestic violence awareness through the Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO) here on campus," Joyce said. "We will have an empowerment wall serving as a message board and a table with flyers, information, statistics, food, desserts, hot chocolate and tie dye T-shirt making. There will also be a number of people on hand from the BAVO department to answer any questions people have."
The Belles will face off with the Britons at home Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Contact Vicky Jacobsen at vjacobse@nd.edu
