After suffering a loss in overtime to Albion on Wednesday, Saint Mary’s could not recover against Olivet, losing in a 2-1 contest against the Comets on Saturday afternoon.
After giving up a goal to the Comets five minutes into the first half, the Belles (3-7, 1-5 MIAA) quickly rallied and tied the game up 1-1, with junior midfielder Maggie McLaughlin scoring a goal off of a set piece just three minutes later.
Junior midfielder Kathryn Lueking, senior defender Abby Garcia and McLaughlin all added shots on goal near the end of the half, but Olivet junior goalkeeper Deanna Zolnoski denied each of the shots for the Comets.
Opening up the second half, Olivet put three shots on goal in the opening fourteen minutes of action, but Saint Mary’s senior goalkeeper Chanler Rosenbaum saved all of them.
The game remained tied until late in the second half, when Olivet put a shot off the crossbar, collected the rebound and forced Rosenbaum to deflect the ball out-of-bounds. On the following corner kick, the Comets broke through to take the 2-1 lead.
Olivet had a 13-9 advantage in shots with an 8-6 edge in shots on goal. Rosenbaum made six saves in goal for the Belles.
“We gave up two goals on crosses. We'll just have to be better clearing those out and not giving up good looks at our goal from crosses,” Belles coach Michael Joyce said. “We've focused on our play off crosses, both offensively and defensively, in practice, so hopefully we'll be up for it in our next matchup.
“Our biggest challenge for Wednesday is putting in the effort and intensity to win. We've lost a couple of close games, and it can be hard picking yourself up and fighting again when you haven't seen results, but these losses also serve as motivation for us to come out strong and win.”
The Belles hope to break their losing streak when they travel to Adrian on Tuesday to take on the Bulldogs in a conference matchup at 7 p.m.
