Saint Mary’s lacrosse dropped its third consecutive game Wednesday evening at home. The Wooster Fighting Scots came into South Bend and controlled the match from start to finish, winning 20-6.
Wooster owned a 22-6 advantage in the draw control while posting a 23-10 margin on ground balls. Those factors kept the ball away from Saint Mary’s all day long, leading to a lopsided 33-9 shot count.
Coming out hot with a trio of goals in three minutes, the Fighting Scots built a 3-0 lead by the first quarter’s midway point. Saint Mary’s then broke through with a goal from Reese Bauer, the team’s lone bright spot on the day. The senior attacker scored a season-high three goals, adding a draw control as well.
Wooster, on the other hand, had four players post hat tricks. Two of them, senior attacker Kenzie Smith and sophomore attacker Brynne Snaguski, scored to follow Bauer’s goal and carry the visitors to a 5-1 lead. Bauer would then deliver a second goal during a player-up chance with 2:50 remaining in the first half.
Over the next 17 minutes, however, Wooster would completely run away with the game. The Fighting Scots scored 10 consecutive goals, building a 15-3 lead at halftime. In each of the first two quarters, Wooster peppered junior goalie Emma Zmudzinski and the Belles with 10 shots. Saint Mary’s could counter with only three in the opening 30 minutes.
Wooster extended its momentum to start the second half, scoring three straight goals in the first four minutes after the break. Senior attacker Julia Gorski pulled one back for the Belles with 8:53 remaining in the third quarter, bringing the score to 18-4. After that, both offenses went silent, leaving the score untouched through the end of the quarter.
With the game firmly in hand, Saint Mary’s would equal Wooster with two goals in the final quarter. Freshman attacker Rachel Speckhard found her first career goal two minutes in, and Bauer completed her hat trick two minutes later.
Wooster scored once more for good measure late in the fourth, closing out a 20-6 win. With the result, Saint Mary’s sank to 1-5, mired in a slump with less than seven goals scored in three straight games. The Belles are off to their worst six-game start to a season since 2014, their inaugural campaign as a women’s lacrosse program.
Saint Mary’s will return to the field and host Lake Forest on Saturday at 2 p.m.
