The Belles endured a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss at Kalamazoo on Thursday night.
Saint Mary's (2-3, 0-1 MIAA) played hard against the Hornets (3-1, 2-0) until the very last seconds, only to fall short in its conference opener
"Everyone put in tremendous work today," Belles coach Michael Joyce said. "The feel and intensity was definitely higher with a conference game."
The Belles had eight shots in the first half, with two in the first six minutes alone. Freshman midfielder JennJarmy and sophomore midfielder Kathryn Lueking both had early shots for the Belles, but Saint Mary's couldn't capitalize.
In the second half, the Belles came out refreshed from halftime and totaled 13 shots. The Hornets only had six shots the entire second period.
"We didn't look great in the first half, but made some adjustments at halftime and they worked out," Joyce said.
But the Hornets emerged victorious when senior forward Sam Voss scored on a high-arcing shot from the left side of the penalty box in the game's 99th minute.
"We didn't have a unique strategy for the overtime. We were starting to get the run of play, so we just kept working that," Joyce said. "It felt like we were going to get the winner, so to lose it was rough."
The Belles outshot the Hornets 23-14, with Saint Mary's putting 11 shots on net compared to Kalamazoo's eight.
Belles junior goalkeeper ChanlerRosenbaum saved seven shots, but surrendered the lone goal.
Saint Mary's has a quick turnaround to its next game against one of the MIAA's top squads, Alma, and Joyce said it's critical to move past the loss to the Hornets.
"The tough part is working that hard, losing, and getting up for the next game in two days," Joyce said. "But I'm sure we'll be up for it. The disappointment will fuel us to be even sharper."
The Belles will travel to Alma to play Saturday at noon.
Contact Meri Kelly at mkelly29@nd.edu
