After a hard loss against Albion, the Saint Mary's lacrosse team was back in action on Saturday as it faced off against Alma and took the 11-8 win. The Belles now improve to 4-6 overall on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
Neither team scored in the first seven minutes of the first quarter until Alma made its way down the field and Kylie Lewis put in the first goal with an assist from Rileigh McGeorge. Seven minutes passed with no goals until Alma's Briar-Rose Mackey added an unassisted goal.
A quick start in the second quarter followed as Mackey put in her second goal of the day for Alma. Nearing the end of the quarter with no goals from either team, senior midfielder Valentina Rubio put in a goal with an assist from freshman midfielder Piper Downey to put the Belles on the board.
Now going into a very high-scoring third quarter, Saint Mary's kicked it off as sophomore attacker Rachel Speckhard added her first goal of the day with an assist from freshman midfielder Annabelle Spruill. Alma made its comeback as Sarah Bollinger nailed a free position shot to keep Alma ahead 4-2. Despite this, the Belles came back with two goals as Speckhard added on with an assist from sophomore attacker Lana Skibins and junior midfielder Mary Grace Heekin put in a free position shot to tie the score. Alma returned the favor with two goals of its own, one from Maya Durham on an assist from Lewis and the second from Mackey unassisted. But the Belles continued to push, rounding out the quarter with a free position shot from Downey and a last-second goal from Heekin with an assist from Speckhard to tie the score.
In the final quarter, Alma continued its drive as Mackey put in her third goal of the night. But Saint Mary's did not give up, putting in four goals to follow including a free position shot from sophomore attack Kathryn Kalinowski, two goals from Speckhard with two assists from Skibins and an unassisted goal from sophomore attacker Cate Krema, putting the Belles ahead 10-8. Alma managed another goal, but Skibins came through in the final minute with an unassisted goal to make the final score 11-8.
Speckhard led the Belles as she finished the day with four goals and one assist. The Belles now prepare to travel as they face Adrian on April 8, starting at 4 p.m.
