Belles Stopped by Nationally-Ranked Titans
Saint Mary's Stories
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Saint Mary's soccer team suffered a 4-1 loss at No. 20 ranked Illinois Wesleyan on Tuesday night.
The host Titans got on the scoreboard early. In the sixth minute of play, the Belles' defense clamped down in the middle of the box and forced the ball back outside the 18-yard box on the left flank. The ball, however, settled right at the feet of an Illinois Wesleyan player who took little time to send an unstoppable, high-arcing shot just inside the far post for the 1-0 advantage.
The Titans' second goal came after several deflections inside the box in the 33rd minute. Illinois Wesleyan went into the halftime break with a 3-0 lead as the Titans scored on a header in the 39th minute of action.
The hosts chipped in another header goal in the first five minutes to make it a 4-0 contest.
The Belles never relented in their attempt to give the nationally-ranked Titans a run for their money. Saint Mary's was whistled for an offside call as the offense continued to push up and apply pressure in the second half.
Less than a minute later, the Belles broke through with a dramatic goal. Liza Felix played the ball from the left side of the field up toward the right corner of the 18-yard box. As the Titans' goalkeeper came running off her line in an effort to collect the ball, Jenn Jarmy had a perfectly timed sliding shot as she sent the ball over the goalkeeper and into the empty net in the 65th minute.
Chanler Rosenbaum made five saves in goal while playing the first half against Illinois Wesleyan. Natalie Warner came in at the half and collected a save over the final 45 minutes of play.
The Belles (1-2) travel to Illinois Institute of Technology on Sunday, September 6 for a 1:00 p.m. CDT contest against the Scarlet Hawks.