Saint Mary's extended its season-opening winning streak with a 2-1 victory over Taylor University. The Belles became the first team in school history to open a season with three consecutive wins.
Saint Mary's scored both of their goals in the first half. Junior Jen Concannon scored her fourth goal of the season to open the game's scoring. Sophomore defender Shannon Culbertson and senior forward Wendy Irvin both were credited with assists. Concannon added her fifth goal of the season later in the half off of an assist by junior midfielder Katie Noble.
Taylor's only goal came early in the second half on a 32 yard free kick from straight away. Coach Peter Haring was pleased with his team's effort.
"We're 3-0 right now," Haring said. "It's a great start. We're playing really well with our new concepts."
Freshman Laura Heline continued her strong play in goal. Heline had 14 saves behind a stellar defense.
The Belles accomplished their goal of cutting down the number of opponents' corner kicks. Saint Mary's allowed 14 corner kicks in its first game versus the State University of New York Rockport over the weekend. The Belles allowed only two Taylor corner kicks as opposed to four of their own.
"Being a freshmen in only her second full start, [Heline] made some big saves," Haring said. "Culbertson, Carrie Orr, and Taylor played solid defense."
Haring's main concern is that his offense doesn't fall prey to asymmetry. The Belles have sometimes been favoring one side of the field for attacks over the other.
"Right now, we need to work on the organization of our set plays and utilize the outside midfielders," Haring said. "We need to be able to switch the field more easily."
Saint Mary's will work the next two days then take a much-deserved weekend off.
