Belles put up fight against Britons
By SARAH RYKOWSKI
Sports Writer
Although they didn't pull an upset victory against the Albion Britons, the Belles of Saint Mary's stayed closer than expected.
The Belles kept their deficit to one in the first half and ended the game 5-1, a far cry from the 7-0 shutout loss they suffered earlier in the season at the hands of the top-ranked Britons.
"We took [the win] for granted," Britons head coach Lisa Roschek said.
"Saint Mary's played a lot harder than we thought they would. I was very impressed with how hard they played even until the end."
The Belles squad, which has been decimated by injury for most of the season, appreciated the return of veteran co-captain Jessica Klink, who played forward instead of her usual spot at sweeper, and garnered her first assist of the season.
"The change [of position] was fine," Klink said. "I really enjoyed it. It was a great game to come back to."
The Belles played without sophomore co-captain and leading scorer Heather Muth, but stepped up the offense and defense to even dominate the top-ranked team at times.
"For teams to miss one of their top players usually means a loss of drive or spirit," Roschek said. "Saint Mary's stepped up and played really well regardless."
The match was a contrast to the early season loss. In that game, the Britons outshot the Belles 26-1. On their own turf, the Britons again got off 26 shots, but the Belles made 16 of their own in an improved offensive effort.
"We really started attacking right away," Belles head coach Jason Milligan said. "We maintained possession of the ball real well. I don't think they expected us to be that successful."
After the Britons opened up a 2-0 lead, the Belles stole their thunder when Belles junior midfielder Adrian Kirby passed the ball to Klink. Klink directed it to freshman Wendy Irvin for the Belles' first goal just a minute after the Britons' second tally.
"I didn't think it was going to go in," Irvin said. "It was a shocker.
Klink passed it and there was nobody there, so I took the shot."
After the initial flurry of goals, the offensive guns were silent until the second half.
Saint Mary's opened the half with a quick shot on goal, and continued the offensive pressure. However, the Britons broke the Belles' defensive line to build their lead to 3-1 in the second half.
The Belles were pressuring for a score for the remainder of the game, but allowed two more Britons to score to end the game 5-1.
"It's unfortunate every time you lose, but we played really well this game," Stephanie Artnak, the Belles' leading freshman scorer, said. "We came into this game the underdog so that played to our advantage. A lot of people played different positions and this time we clicked."
Belles' goalie Tia Kapphahn made 10 saves against the Britons. Kirby led the Belles with four shots, while defensive mainstay and co-captain Katy Robinson made three shots at midfield. Artnak and Klink finished with two shots. Freshmen Irvin, Katie Green, Kristin Greenwood, and Catherine Valent had one shot each.
"Even though the score doesn't reflect it, I thought we played a good game," Artnak said. "I can't believe we lost."
The Belles, especially Artnak, were extremely physical, outfouling the Britons 8-2.
Britons Stacey Supanich, Liz Hermiller, Lauran Gentry, Erica Williams, and Angela Anagnost scored in Albion's record-setting fifteenth win.
Briton goalie Annie Lerew finished with 10 saves and allowed one goal in her second win.
As Saint Mary's looks forward to its last game of the season against Hope, it will carry positives with it from the loss.
"I was happy with our first touch today," Milligan said. "A lot of the things we've been working on continue to improve. Overall its the best performance this team's had all year."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 25, 2000
