Saint Mary's lacrosse had an impressive bookending quarter in their matchup against Adrian on Saturday. The Belles captured the 13-8 away win in Michigan with top performances by freshman Alyssa Grant (career-best six points) and senior Erin Dotson (four goals, seven ground balls) to bring the team's overall record to 10-5.
In the first quarter, Grant found the goal just over a minute into the game and added another just 2:03 later to make it 2-0. Another goal by senior Molly Mullet off of sophomore Valentina Rubio's feed got the Belles a quick lead. The Bulldogs countered with a quick goal off of the draw. But Grant came back to add another to the Belles tally. Saint Mary’s peppered Adrian with shots on goal, with Dotson eventually putting one away to make it 5-1 late into the first quarter.
Adrian scored back-to-back goals in the second, making the score 5-3. A forced turnover and ground ball pickup by Rubio allowed Dotson to score and up the lead 6-3. However, the Bulldogs edged two goals in at the end of the second to make it a close game of 6-5. The third quarter of play saw a quick strike from the Belles through another Grant goal. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs found the net again to make it 7-6. But strong goalkeeping by sophomore goalie Emma Zmudzinski allowed the Belles to maintain an unwavering lead.
The Belles shined in the fourth quarter and were able to put the Bulldogs away with strong play on both sides of the ball. A quick goal by Mullet less than a minute into the quarter built the momentum. Graduate student Lindsey Herdsman helped maintain it by causing a turnover and subsequently picking up the ground ball. The ground ball was No. 100 in the career of Herdsman, who shared the team-best in the caused turnovers forced column with three. Mullet scored again for the Belles, followed soon after by Dotson to gain a 10-6 advantage for the Belles.
Adrian countered with two goals less than two minutes apart to bring the two teams closer at 10-8. However, critical saves by Zmudzinski allowed the offense to regain control. Grant and Dotson each found the net to make it 12-8. A final goal by sophomore attacker Christina Singler closed out the game 13-8 and claimed a road win for the Belles.
The Belles are back at home for a matchup against Trine on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Three seniors will be honored before the action begins.
