Saint Mary’s will look to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss to Calvin this Saturday in a conference game at Albion.
The Belles (6-7, 2-3 MIAA) have had trouble generating consistency this season, only recording back-to-back victories on one occasion. On the other hand, they have regularly rebounded from losses, only dropping consecutive games once this season.
With a win, Saint Mary’s would climb back to the .500 mark and would avoid their first losing streak since the first two games of the season, losses to George Fox and Pacific (Oregon).
A high-scoring Britons offense awaits the Belles on Saturday; Albion (9-2, 3-1 MIAA) has scored at least 10 goals in all but one game this season.
The Belles gave up 19 goals in Wednesday’s loss, their first time surrendering more than 10 goals since a 14-10 defeat to Hope on April 1.
Offensively, Saint Mary’s had been enjoying success prior to Wednesday’s setback — in the seven prior games, the Belles averaged 11.4 goals per game — but scored just four times against Calvin.
As teams start to head to the homestretch of their seasons, Albion is ranked third in the MIAA standings, currently in a position to qualify for the conference tournament. The Britons have performed well statistically on both sides of the field in MIAA play — their 62 goals scored rank second in the conference while their 42 goals conceded rank as the third-best defensive unit in the league.
Saint Mary’s sits seventh in the conference standings, on the outside looking in, with setbacks at the hands of the other three top-four teams so far this season. A Belles loss Saturday would make it near impossible for Saint Mary’s to qualify for the end-of-year conference tournament.
After the trip to Albion, Saint Mary’s will head to Alma and host Kalamazoo to finish off its MIAA slate.
The first draw between the Belles and Britons is scheduled for Saturday at 3:3o p.m. in Albion, Michigan.
