The Saint Mary's Soccer team (4-8-1, 1-2) dropped a hard fought game 1-0 to MIAA foe Calvin, the reigning conference champion, Tuesday.
"Today against Calvin we had an outstanding team performance," Belles coach Ryan Crabbe said. "While we came out on the short end of a 1-0 result the team committed to a defensive plan, and we gave ourselves a shot at a tie or win to the very end of the game."
The Belles were coming off of a shutout of the worst team in the conference, Trine but put up a tough fight until Calvin broke the scoreless tie in the second half with a winning goal from Carly Prins in the 59th minute of the game.
Saint Mary's was able to come together as a team and play strong for the full 90 minutes which was a stumbling block for them most of this season.
"We were very organized and disciplined for the entire 90 minutes," Crabbe said. "Some players who are used to more playing time or having a greater role had to sacrifice their spot in order to make today's approach work."
Senior Patty Duffy played all 90 minutes in goal for the Belles making 8 saves while only allowing one goal.
Despite foot injuries that have hampered her throughout parts of her career Duffy has been a staple for the Belles on defense each of the last two seasons totaling 81 saves last season, her first full season as a starter.
The Belles were outshot in the game 22-2, having only one shot in each half, while Calvin tallied 9 in the first half and 13 in the second half.
Corissa Hart tallied the only shot on goal for the Belles in the game.
While the Belles were not able to score a goal for the eight time this season, they showed improvement on all fronts including working together as a team that will be necessary to propel them through the rest of their conference schedule.
The Belles defense was able to help out Duffy by keeping less than half of Calvin's shots on goal throughout the game despite the miserable weather conditions.
The Belles will next host Alma College on Saturday beginning at noon.
"We need to come out and get 3 points in the conference standings," Crabbe said. "We need to score first and play ahead for 90 minutes."
