Balanced Offensive Attack Lifts Belles Past Cougars
Saint Mary's Stories
- Four players scored at least three goals in the Belles' 17-2 win over Concordia University Chicago.
- Seven Belles registered at least one goal.
- The 15-goal differential marks the largest margin of victory for the Saint Mary's lacrosse program.
RIVER FOREST, Ill. - Four different players notched a hat trick and seven Belles registered a goal in a 17-2 win by the Saint Mary's lacrosse team against Concordia University Chicago.
The Belles scored the first 13 goals of the game and kept the Cougars off the scoreboard until there was less than 18 minutes left in the second half of play. Clare Theisen got the scoring started with an end-to-end effort by picking up the ground ball in the defensive zone and racing all the way to the offensive zone and scoring on the first shot of the game. Two minutes later, Molly Stout rolled the crease and sent home a goal to make it 2-0. Stout later cut through the middle of the defense, and Hanna Makowski fed the freshman a pass inside the critical scoring area for the 3-0 Belles lead 11:40 into the game.
The Belles kept control of the ball and the game as time continued to elapse. Kate Kelly scored a quick-stick goal in front of goal off of a pass from Rachael Leonard, and Lauren Telford was on the receiving end of a pass from Leonard on the way to scoring a goal from close range to make it 5-0. Kelly added a second goal before threading a pass through the defense to Hanna Makowski to extend the lead to 7-0 midway through the first period. Theisen completed the hat trick with more than 10 minutes left on the clock to push the lead to 9-0, and Lauren Telford followed suit with consecutive goals to net her first collegiate hat trick for the 11-0 Saint Mary's advantage. Kelly then capped off the scoring in the first half with a hat trick of her own to push the score to 12-0 at the break.
Makowski opened the second half scoring with a goal in transition to extend the lead to 13-0. The Cougars got on the scoreboard with 17:23 on the clock, but Rachael Leonard netted the first goal of her collegiate career three minutes later to make it 14-1. Another goal by the Cougars doubled the host's scoring output, but Jackie Loesch came up with the response by scoring just moments after the draw control to send the score to 15-2. Kate Kelly wove her way through a flock of defenders, and Makowski sent home a free position shot to tally the hat trick to cap off the scoring in the game.
The 17 goals ties the program record for most in a contest while the two goals allowed ties the fewest goals conceded by a Belles squad in a game. Additionally, the 15-goal differential marks the largest margin of victory for the Saint Mary's lacrosse program.
While being in possession of the ball for much of the game, the Belles held a 31-20 edge in ground balls against the Cougars while out-shooting CUC 36-9 for the game. Saint Mary's was a highly efficient 11-of-13 on clear attempts while causing the Cougars trouble on the other end of the field as CUC posted a 10-of-21 effort on clears for the night.
Kate Kelly led the way with four goals and seven ground balls while notching an assist. Clare Theisen added three goals and five ground balls with an assist. Lauren Telford and Hanna Makowski each scored three goals while earning an assist for the Belles. Molly Stout chipped in two goals, and Jackie Loesch and Rachael Leonard each scored once. Leonard tallied a school record three assists in the win.
The Belles (2-2) travel to Ohio Northern on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. contest against the Polar Bears.