ANGOLA, Ind.-- Trine fought back in the second half, but was unable to overcome a halftime deficit as the Thunder dropped an 8-6 decision to St. Mary's in MIAA-action Saturday afternoon in Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
Trine faced a five-goal deficit at the half and fought back to within a goal in the second half, but the Belles held the Thunder there to earn the victory. Taylor Gast (Akron, Ind./Tippecanoe Valley) scored three times to lead the Thunder attack. The senior also tallied four draw controls, caused two turnovers and notched a pair of ground balls. Claire Thiesen scored four goals for SMC. Trine fell to 3-5 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA. The Belles evened their record at 6-6 overall, 2-2 in conference play.
Grace Garrett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) turned in a superb effort in net for Trine, making 15 saves to help the Thunder keep pace. The senior netminder turned away eight of nine attempts on goal in the second half.
Hunter Johnson (Millbury, Ohio/Lake), Rebecca Plantz (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) and Nikkolette Makaryk (Joliet, Ill./Minooka) each added goals for Trine. Johnson also notched three ground balls and caused three turnovers.
The Belles scored five of the first six goals to build a 5-1 lead with 11:34 to play in the first half. Thiesen scored three of her goals to help pace the hot start for SMC. Gast scored a pair of free-position goals before halftime, the second of which was answered by Thiesen to push the Belles lead back to four.
Emilie Vanneste added another goal to make the score 7-2 at the half. Vanneste entered the play as the MIAA's overall leading scorer with 41 points and added three goals on the day.
Trine was able to fight back, as Johnson started the comeback just 29 seconds into the second half with a goal. Plantz followed up with another goal to cut the score to 7-4. A free-position goal by Makaryk kept the run rolling, before Gast cut the deficit to one midway through the half with her third goal of the contest.
Vanneste stopped the run with a goal with 10:02 remaining to make the score 8-6. Garrett made several key saves down the stretch to keep Trine's hopes alive, but the Thunder were unable to convert at the other end as SMC closed out the victory.
Trine heads on the road to Hope this Wednesday, April 15. Game time is set for 5 p.m.