SMC SOCCER: Belles fall to first-place Flying Dutch in MIAA contest
By JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
Playing on its home turf, the Saint Mary's soccer team had hope of grabbing an MIAA victory Tuesday night.
But Hope, the MIAA's top team, had other plans, shutting out the Belles 2-0.
"We were expecting them to be very good," senior captain Lynn Taylor said.
The Belles entered the game with a lot of confidence, coming off a 1-1 tie with second place Calvin last weekend.
"I thought we'd do a lot better," Belles forward Wendy Irvin said. "We played Calvin last week, and we played tough. We thought the momentum would carry through. I think they're the best team we've played so far, so it could have been worse."
The stalemate with the Knights, who are 5-1 in conference play, showed that the Belles can play with the top teams in the MIAA.
"After the Calvin tie, we went in with a lot of confidence tonight," sophomore Emily Wagoner said. "Defensively we played well, but we weren't able to pull it off."
The Belles need to become more consistent as they enter the second half of their season, in which they will face each team in their conference a second time.
"We have to work on our technique - there are little things we have to perfect," Taylor said. "We're a young team. We know how to play together, but we are not mentally prepared. We get scared hearing stories about [other teams'] rankings."
The team is still optimistic though, especially with several weaker opponents on the immediate horizon, including Adrian on Oct. 12. Saint Mary's solidly defeated Adrian on Sept. 18 by a score of 5-1, and the Bulldogs are 2-5 in conference play.
"I am excited to go back and play everyone again," Taylor said.
"We've improved since last year," Wagoner said. "With each game we're improving more and gelling more as a team. We have every chance to claim this conference if we want it."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 9, 2002
