Belles Shut Out on Senior Day
- Jenn Jarmy and Emily Rompola each had three shots.
- Maggie McLaughlin added two shots.
- Liza Felix made four saves.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Saint Mary's soccer team suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of visiting Adrian on Senior Recognition Day on Saturday.
Maggie McLaughlin
goes up to head the
ball against Adrian.The Belles had the first solid scoring chance of the day less than six minutes into the game. Maggie McLaughlin played a ball across the left side of the field to Kathryn Lueking. Lueking looked to play the ball ahead and sent a pass into the box, but the Belles were unable to get off a close-range shot.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard early with a rebound tap-in goal in the 14th minute of play for the 1-0 lead. Saint Mary's sought the equalizer with a pair of chances less than two minutes after the goal. Lueking played the ball back toward Emily Rompola after a free kick, and the junior rifled a shot from middle distance less than five yards over the cross bar. Lueking again looked to set the table for her teammates with a long ball toward Jenn Jarmy less than a minute later, but the cross was intercepted by the Adrian goalkeeper.
After a team save on the goal line by the Belles kept the score at 1-0 in the 19th minute, Saint Mary's had their best scoring chance of the half ten minutes later. Jarmy was on the sending end of a pass along the right side of the field. Her cross bounced past two players and fell at the feet of Rachel Moore. Moore's shot from the top of the 18-yard box did not quite have the pace needed to sneak past the keeper as her shot was collected low toward the right post.
With ten minutes remaining before halftime, Maggie McLaughlin tapped the ball past the Adrian goalkeeper as the Bulldogs' netminder was well off her line between the six-yard box and the 18-yard box. The senior tried to play the ball in front of the net for a teammate, but a final defender for the Bulldogs was able to clear the ball up field to keep the Belles off the scoreboard.
In the second period, Jenn Jarmy fired a shot at the top of the 18-yard box off a pass from Emily Beedie only to see her effort spin wide right of the goal. Kay Thursby later played a pass from the center of the Belles' offensive end into dangerous space in front of the goal, but the keeper was able to pick the ball up before a Saint Mary's player could get a touch on the pass.
Adrian doubled their lead in the 63rd minute on a tough-to-stop shot. A pass was played in across the front of the goal from the right endline toward the left post. The Adrian player was able to one-touch redirect the pass back from the direction it came from for the goal just inside the right post for the 2-0 advantage.
The Belles kicked up the pressure against the Bulldogs for the final 15 minutes of play. Rompola hit a blast of a free kick on goal. Her initial shot was saved, but the ball was loose off the keeper for a couple of seconds before it was covered up by the Bulldogs. A minute later, Rompola again put a well-placed free kick into the box. This time, it was just beyond the outstretched foot of Lindsay Rzepecki inside the six-yard box as the keeper was again able to break up the play.
Jarmy got off a pair of shots as the clock moved below ten minutes. Her first strike from the top of the box rolled just wide right of the goal, and her second effort carried over the crossbar. The Belles had a pair of plays which appeared to be developing toward a goal-scoring opportunity in the final five minutes, but neither chance was able to come to fruition for Saint Mary's late in the game as the contest ended with a 2-0 final score.
The two teams each registered 11 shots and four corner kicks on the day. Four of the Belles' shots were on goal while the Bulldogs had seven shots on goal.
Jenn Jarmy and Emily Rompola each had three shots on the day. Maggie McLaughlin added two shots for the Belles. Liza Felix made four saves.
The Belles (2-14-1, 2-12-1 MIAA) conclude their season on Monday when they host Alma at 3:00 p.m. at the Junior Irish Airport Fields.