Coming off a dominating performance Monday against Illinois Tech, Saint Mary's will attempt to carry that momentum into another non-conference tilt when it faces Wilmington on Saturday.
The Quakers (1-1-1), on the other hand, are trying to get back on the winning side of things after a 1-1 draw against Wittenberg.
In addition to trying to build some momentum for the upcoming MIAA season, Belles coach Michael Joyce is using this match to better gauge possible line-ups for the rest of the year.
"We're still looking at players, positions and trying to build chemistry on the field," Joyce said. "We'll use this weekend to finish sorting that out for the conference schedule."
Joyce says he believes the game against Wilmington will be a solid tune-up for the conference season, pointing out that the Belles (1-1-0) and the Quakers share many similarities.
"Wilmington is a solid team with a lot of experience," Joyce said. "Their conference is very similar to the MIAA. It's very deep with a lot of talented teams and a strong history of consistently doing well."
In their blowout 4-1 win against Illinois Tech, Saint Mary's outshot the Scarlet Hawks 30-2, looking like a completely different team than the one that was shut out,1-0, against Bethel to start the season.
"As well as we've played offensively, we'd like to finish a higher percentage of our shots on goal," Joyce said. "We should be scoring more often with the number of chances we've been creating."
On the other hand, Joyce said the team needs to play under control, especially against a talented team like Wilmington.
"The last couple of games we've played recklessly on the attacking side, which we can't afford to do" Joyce said. "We need to bring back proper balance, especially in the back. Wilmington will be very organized and aren't going to give anything foolish away."
The Belles return to action at Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Charlie Gilhart Field in Wilmington, Ohio.
Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu
