ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's soccer team came up on the short end of a 4-0 final at Trine on Tuesday night to open their conference slate of competition.

 

The Belles nearly broke through in the opening minute of play when a ball over the top presented Mary Kaczynski with a 50-50 ball with the Trine goalkeeper. The pair had simultaneous contact, but the Trine keeper came away with more of the ball and cleared the chance away.

 

The Thunder got on the scoreboard in the fourth minute of action, but the Belles put the pressure back on the Trine backline and won a corner kick. Lindsey Adent's effort on that set piece, however, trailed wide left. A short while later, Rose Stackhouse played a pass through the middle of the Thunder defense for Izzi Linus, but a Trine center back recovered in time to clear the ball away from a certain breakaway opportunity for the freshman. Trine got on the scoreboard again in the 42nd minute to take a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.

 

The Saint Mary's backline held off some early pressure in the second stanza before the Belles earned a pair of corner kicks in the 61st minute. That shift from defense to offense was sustained by Saint Mary's over the next five minutes of action, but a Mary Kaczynski shot from mid-range was saved off the one-hop. Late in the period, Stackhouse nearly connected with Becca Stella. Stackhouse flicked a pass into space in the right side of the box for her classmate as the Belles adjusted their formation to look to get on the scoreboard. Stella was unable to get a shot off, but Stackhouse found the ball at her feet moments later and put a shot on goal that was collected by the Trine keeper. 

 

Trine added to their lead in the 86th minute, but the Belles continued to battle down the stretch. Izzi Linus fed a pass into the box for Stella, and a melee for the ball deep in the Saint Mary's offensive end was unable to yield a scoring chance. The Thunder scored a late goal to take the 4-0 final on their home pitch. 

 

Rose Stackhouse tallied a pair of shots for the Belles while Lindsey Adent and Mary Kaczynski each added a shot. Kara Stacey picked up a save in goal.

 

The Belles (7-3, 0-1 MIAA) return home to host Hope on Saturday at noon.