Belles Defeated by Titans

Box Score

• Mary Singler led Saint Mary's with two goals and an assist.
• Molly Stout and Kendra Osinski each added two goals.
• Kate Kelly had a goal, an assist, and four draw controls.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team lost a 17-8 contest at Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon.

The host Titans jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first five minutes of play. The Belles put the pressure on Illinois Wesleyan and peppered the goalie with a handful of good shots before breaking through in the scoring column. Lauren Telford picked up the assist on a player-up goal by Kendra Osinski with more than 17 minutes still remaining before the half to get the Belles on the scoreboard. Kate Kelly sent home a free position shot almost five minutes later to make it a 4-2 game with plenty of time remaining.

Cara Givens came up with back-to-back saves a short while later, but the third shot the sophomore goalie faced during the Titans' next possession found the back of the net to make it 5-2 with 10:47 on the clock. Emilie Vanneste won the ensuing draw, and Mary Singler put the Belles right back within striking distance at 5-3 with more than nine minutes left remaining before halftime.

Illinois Wesleyan responded with the next three goals to build an 8-3 lead. Saint Mary's continued to show resilience, and Vanneste scored off of a pass from Kelly on the Belles' next possession to make it an 8-4 game. Despite a handful of good looks at goal late in the period, the Belles went to the halftime break still trailing by the 8-4 margin.

The Titans took over the momentum for good to start the second half of play as Illinois Wesleyan put the first four goals on the scoreboard on their way to establishing a 12-4 lead. The Belles continued to fight. Clare Theisen snagged the next draw control, and Mary Singler earned an assist on Osinski's second goal of the game. Another draw control won by the Belles led to a good possession before Saint Mary's regained possession on a strong re-defend. That defense-turned-offense led to a goal by Singler to make it a 12-6 game with more than 19 minutes still left in the second period.

Illinois Wesleyan, however, responded with four goals over the next ten minutes of play as the Titans consumed big chunks of time with extended possessions while pushing their lead to 16-6. The Belles almost immediately put an end to the running clock rule implementation after Kelly won the next draw and Molly Stout sunk a shot into the net. A Titan goal with under five minutes remaining made it 17-7, but again, the Belles had a near-immediate response with Stout finding the back of the net again with 2:49 to play. Saint Mary's was unable to cut any further into the deficit as the game ended by that same 17-8 margin.

The Belles held a 19-14 edge in ground balls in the contest while committing fewer turnovers (22) than Illinois Wesleyan (30). The Titans out-shot the Belles 28-22 with 23 shots on goal to Saint Mary's 17 shots on goal.

Mary Singler led Saint Mary's with two goals and an assist. Molly Stout and Kendra Osinski each added two goals. Kate Kelly had a goal, an assist, and four draw controls. Emilie Vanneste netted a goal. Clare Theisen picked up an assist, five ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Cara Givens posted six saves in goal.

The Belles (3-5) open MIAA play on Wednesday, April 5 when they host Olivet at 6:00 p.m.