Might as well call Saint Mary's junior goalkeeper ChanlerRosenbaum"Stonewall."
Thanks to Rosenbaum's career-high 13 saves, the Belles were able to hang on for a 0-0 draw in extra time against Calvin on Wednesday despite being outshot 21-9 by the Knights (4-1-1, 1-1-1 MIAA).
"Chanler had such a great game," senior midfielder Mollie Valencia said. "She just made clutch save after clutch save."
One of those saves occurred in the 25th minute, when a Knights shot from just inside the 18-yard box sailed toward the upper right corner of the goal, but Rosenbaum was somehow able to get a fist on it and punch it over the crossbar. Then, facing a flurry of Knights shots as time ticked down late in regulation, an almost identical shot looked like it was going to dip under the crossbar until Rosenbaum, again, punched it out of play.
"Those two saves were incredible," Valencia said. "We all thought they were going in, but somehow she got a hand on it. ... That kept us in the game."
Although the Knights held a large shot advantage, Valencia said it wasn't a one-sided game, adding that the Belles without a doubt played on par with preseason MIAA favorite Calvin and had their fair share of chances. In particlar, Valencia mentioned one opportunity in the when sophomore forward Maggie McLaughlin fired a point-blank shot that was saved by Calvin junior goalkeeper Ashton Hearn. Valencia's rebound bid was then blocked.
"We played a much better game offensively than it might look like on paper," Valencia said. "We kept possession and played crisply, and we were able to create chances, just not as many chances as we'd like, and the ones we did create we didn't finish like we can. Still, we're happy with the result."
It doesn't get any easier for the Belles (2-4-1, 0-2-1) moving forward. After taking on the third- and first-place preseason MIAA picks in Alma and Calvin the past two games, respectively, Saint Mary's squares off against Hope on Saturday. The Flying Dutch, picked to finish second in the MIAA, have won their first seven games to start the year, including their first four to start the conference season.
"We had a bad time against Alma on Saturday, losing 4-0, but we really played well today," Valencia said. "If we can play like that, we'll be fine. And really, if we can convert our chances, there's no reason we can't beat [Hope]."
"These last three teams - Alma, Calvin and Hope - were the top three finishers last year in the MIAA," Valencia said. "They didn't get any worse this year, and we have to play our best against them. But we look forward to that."
The Belles take on the Flying Dutch at home Saturday at noon.
Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu
