Belles Top Wildcats

Box Score

• Erin Doyle led the offense with eight goals and two assists while also causing two turnovers on defense.
• Kate Kelly scored three goals with two assists while surpassing her own school record with 11 draw controls.
• Clare Theisen and Kendra Osinski each posted a hat trick with three goals apiece.

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team concluded their spring break competitive schedule in Oregon with a 20-2 win at Linfield on Wednesday evening.

A pair of big defensive plays early by Saint Mary's helped to set the tone. After the Wildcats won the opening draw, the Belles blocked the first shot Linfield took and gained possession before successfully clearing the ball into the offensive end. That possession resulted in a goal by Erin Doyle 1:26 into play for the early Saint Mary's lead. Linfield won the ensuing draw control and had a prolonged offensive possession before the Belles came up with another blocked shot. Clare Theisen fired a shot wide of the cage, but Saint Mary's kept possession on the chase. Doyle then sent home her second goal in as many shots with 26:06 on the clock for the 2-0 advantage.

The Wildcats again gained control of the ensuing draw, but Emily Kraker came up with a big save. Erin Doyle then capped off the hat trick with her third goal of the game 7:02 into play. Almost two minutes later, Doyle fed a pass to Clare Theisen, and the senior co-captain sent home her first goal of the game for a 4-0 Saint Mary's lead.

Emily Kraker made a pair of back-to-back saves on Linfield free position shots to prevent the Wildcats from gaining any momentum. Doyle and Molly Stout traded goals back-and-forth over the next two minutes as the Belles pushed the lead to 8-0. Consecutive goals by Doyle and Theisen almost two and a half minutes apart from one another made it a 10-0 lead to implement the running clock.

Kendra Osinski, Kate Kelly, and Clare Theisen each added a goal before the halftime break, and Linfield slid a shot into the goal in the final minute of the period to make it a 13-1 score at the midway point.

Doyle, Osinski, and Kelly each tallied two goals over the final 30 minutes of play. Rachael Leonard capped off the offensive outpouring with a goal after a Linfield goal for the final 20-2 score.

Erin Doyle led the offense with eight goals and two assists while also causing two turnovers on defense. Kate Kelly scored three goals with two assists while surpassing her own school record with 11 draw controls. Clare Theisen and Kendra Osinski each posted a hat trick with three goals apiece.

Molly Stout tallied two goals. Rachael Leonard had a goal and an assist while leading the Belles with five ground balls. Liv Heppeler picked up the first point of her career with an assist. Emily Kraker made three saves in goal for the Belles.

The Belles (4-0) return to action on Wednesday, March 21 when they host Illinois Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m.