SMC SOCCER: Belles to face Bulldogs
By KATRINA KALASKY
Sports Writer
The Belles hit the road today for the first time in a month to take on Adrian College.
Saint Mary's has played the last seven games on their own field and are eager to test their skills on the road.
"It's exciting to finally travel as a team," junior captain Lynn Taylor said. "We usually play well against them and we have the opportunity to win today."
Adrian is currently in eighth place in the MIAA conference with a record of 3-8. They only have two returning seniors along with nine freshmen on the team this year.
The Belles' main source of trouble will be senior Beth Amman. She is the Bulldog's leading scorer and is on this week's MIAA offensive honor roll. The Bulldogs are led by head coach Rick Gutierrez who is in his fourth season with the Bulldogs.
Despite their 4-1 loss on Saturday to Albion, the Belles feel fairly confident going into the game.
"We beat Adrian twice last year so we're going in with a lot of confidence," said sophomore Wendy Irvin.
Adding to Saint Mary's self-assurance, freshman Jen Cocannon was named the MIAA's player of the week. The Belles are also coming out of a successful week winning three out of their four games.
"This game will be a really good preparation for Saturday when we play Hope," said junior Heather Muth. "They [Hope] barely beat us earlier in the season and we hope to beat them this time around."
Coach Bobby Johnston does not plan on changing the Belle's game plan.
"The system is working," said coach Johnston. "I'm happy with the way the girls are playing. We're going to go in with a good attitude and we're ready for the second half of the season. If we play well and have a good mentality, we can win this one."
The game is at 4 p.m. at Adrian College.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 3, 2001
