The Belles made history with their 3-0 victory over Trine on Saturday. The victory was their 12th win of the season - the most wins the program has ever had in a single campaign.
Senior captain MaddieMeckes gave the Belles (12-5-2, 9-5-1 MIAA) a head start with a long goal 30 minutes into regulation. Not long after, sophomore midfielder Hillary Burton converted a pass from freshman midfielder Maggie McLaughlin to give Saint Mary's a 2-0 lead. Trine (1-15-3, 0-13-2 MIAA) was unable to respond, getting only two shots on goal for the entirety of the match.
Freshman midfielder Kathryn Lueking drove the victory home in the last 15 minutes of the match with her first assist of the season, sending the ball to junior forward Jordan Diffenderfer to bring the final score to 3-0.
The game also marked sophomore goalkeeper ChanlerRosenbaum's seventh shutout of the year.
Meckes said as a whole the team was extremely unified during the game against Trine.
"We really came together as a team and connected passes," Meckes said. "We played our game and eventually the goals started coming."
The 12-win season breaks the previously held record of 11 from 2005, but the Belles are looking to add at least one more win to their total.
Meckes said the success her team found this season has been incredible, but they are still striving for postseason opportunities.
"We have really turned the Saint Mary's soccer program around and we are a top team in the conference," Meckes said. "We aren't ready for the season to end and that's why we will be playing our hearts out on Wednesday."
Wednesday marks the final game of the regular season for the Belles when they take on Kalamazoo at home. The game will determine Saint Mary's standing in the conference. The Belles currently six in sixth place in the MIAA, where only the top four teams advance to the conference tournament.
Kalamazoo, Alma and Hope all boast 9-4-2 MIAA records, though, leaving the Belles just one point out of a logjam for third place and the final two postseason berths. All four of those teams will be fighting for their lives on Wednesday, making Saint Mary's final regular season game its most important of the year, as well.
"In order to make the postseason, we need to win our game Wednesday," Meckes said. "We would also need another conference game to go our way and the best scenario is for Calvin to beat Adrian."
Saint Mary's will look to extend their season on Wednesday when they take on Kalamazoo at home at 3 p.m.
Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu
