SMC SOCCER: Belles get stuck in the mud
KATRINA KALASKY
Sports Writer
The bad weather that has plagued the Belles all season hit with a vengeance on Saturday and left Saint Mary's stuck in the mud.
The Hornets of Kalamazoo dominated with an 8-0 victory, as the unpleasant weather on Saturday played a major roll in the Belles' loss.
Freshman goalkeeper Martha Hottenstein described the field conditions as "a murky mess of mud."
"It was a frustrating game," said junior captain Lynn Taylor. "The field was full of mud and it was pouring rain. Our keeper was ankle deep in mud and water for the whole game. Kalamazoo is a good team, but the final score did not reflect how we played Saturday afternoon."
Muddy weather wasn't the only explanation. The experienced Kalamazoo team was just too much for the inexperienced Belles to handle.
"We didn't come into to game mentally prepared," said Hottenstein. Kalamazoo's leading scorer, senior Lydia Raburn, scored three out of the eight goals for Kalamazoo.
The loss gives Saint Mary's an overall record of 5-8 for the season.
This is not the first time this season the Belles fell short to the Hornets — They lost earlier in the year, 9-1. Kalamazoo is ranked No. 2 behind Albion in the MIAA conference.
The Belles only have four more games left this season before the playoffs. The next game is at home on Wednesday against fourth ranked Olivet College. This is the first match up between the Belles and the Comets this year. The first game was indefinitely postponed. "We're excited to finally play Olivet," Taylor said. "They're probably our biggest rivals in the conference."
Wednesday will be the last chance to catch the Belles at home before fall break. The game kicks off at 3 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 15, 2001
