For the Belles, this isn't the time for celebration. It's time to get back to work.After posting their biggest victory of the year Wednesday, a 2-0 win over Hope, Saint Mary's will once again face a challenging opponent when it takes on Calvin College on the road Saturday."They [Calvin] are another high level opponent who will give us a tough match," said coach Caryn Mackenzie. "I'm sure they are as eagerly awaiting this contest as we are."The Belles enter the game in a three-way tie for first place in the MIAA with rivals Hope and Calvin. To earn a victory and sole possession of first, Saint Mary's will need to control Sarah Weesies, the star sophomore forward for Calvin. Weesies was the MIAA Most Valuable Player last year despite only being a freshman. "She [Weesies] will be extremely dangerous. Hopefully she won't be too much to handle, but she could pose a problem," Mackenzie said. "I feel confident in our goalie and our defense that we can defend her."The Belles played Calvin to a tie twice last year, a demonstration of just how evenly matched the teams are, but with a much improved team this year, Saint Mary's will look for a better result this time around."We're playing good soccer right now, and we've gained some confidence from the Hope win," Mackenzie said. "But the MIAA is full of surprises, and any team is capable of winning on any day. If we can play the kind of soccer we played against Hope, I'm confident we'll stay in the game and put ourselves in position to win it."The Belles will look to gain an edge over Calvin with the play of their upperclassmen, who have led them all season."We have great team chemistry, and that starts with the upperclassmen leading us," Mackenzie said. "The seniors have been very instrumental in the team's success to this point. This team is very focused, and it starts with the seniors."With their best team in four years, the seniors have set high standards for themselves and their squad. "They've set standards that require a level of discipline and sacrifice; they're willing to put their teammates first," Mackenzie said. Despite making some changes to the defensive scheme for the Hope game, the Belles are confident that their flat-back four defense will yield similar results against another strong team."We're going to try to play our brand of soccer, and let it stand on its own," Mackenzie said.
