NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Lacrosse fell to Trine University in a lightning delayed matchup on the final day of the regular season, 17-13, on Tuesday. The Belles fall to 10-6 (2-5 MIAA) to close out the regular season while the Thunder improve to 8-7 (3-4 MIAA)
 
Saint Mary's kicked off the game with a goal just 17 seconds in as junior Kathryn Kalinowski (Atlanta, GA) found the back of the net quickly. Trine responded with a goal of their own just over 30 seconds later. The Belles bounced right back with a goal nine seconds later, after winning the draw control, junior Rachel Speckhard (Munster, IN) retook the lead for the Belles. The Thunder came back and added two more goals before the end of the first quarter to take a 3-2 lead into the first break.
 
Speckhard kicked off the scoring in the second quarter with back-to-back goals in the first five minutes of the quarter to secure her hat trick. Junior Kelsey King (Sylvania, OH) and freshman June McMahon (River Forest, IL) each added an assist on the two goals. Trine added another goal shortly after to even it back up. Speckhard then added her fourth goal of the game less than a minute later with an assist from junior Lana Skibins (Granger, IN) to help the Belles retake the lead. Trine added another goal to even the game at five before the two teams went into a lengthy lightning delay that lasted two and a half hours.
 
After the teams returned to the field, the Belles got back on the board as sophomore Piper Downey (Northbrook, IL) got her name on the scoresheet to retake the lead. Trine followed that up with a goal with just a minute and a half left in the half to send the game to halftime tied at 6-6.
 
Saint Mary's came out the shortened halftime break strong as sophomore Annabelle Spruill (Brookhaven, GA) got the second half scoring going just 17 seconds in. The Thunder then rattled off four unanswered goals in less than two minutes to take a 10-7 lead. Speckhard found the back of the net once again to cut into the deficit but Trine responded with another goal. The Belles then went back-to-back as both Skibins and senior Alyssa Grant (Oak Lawn, IL) got on the scoresheet with assists from Kalinowski and McMahon to cut the deficit to one. Trine responded with two more goals just before the quarter break to head into the final quarter with a 13-10 lead. 
 
The Thunder added another goal to kick off the scoring before Speckhard would start a strong offensive run for Saint Mary's with an assist from Grant. Four minutes later, Downey got her second goal of the night before Speckhard and Grant hooked up once again for Speckhard's seventh goal of the night and cut the deficit to one with six minutes to play. Trine would go on to add three more goals in the final four minutes to close out their 17-13 win.
 
Speckhard led the team in goals as she tied a career high with seven on the night. Downey joined her with multiple as she finished with two. Grant and McMahon both led the team with two assists each.
 
Eight different Belles led the team with a ground ball each while nine Belles tallied a caused turnover each. Freshman Ella Klingerman (Noblesville, IN) led the team with seven draw controls while Speckhard added four.
 
In goal, sophomore Kaya Seaboy made nine saves on the night while facing 41 total shots and 26 shots on goal.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's will head to the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2023. The Belles will be the sixth seed in the tournament and hit the road on Saturday, April 25, as they take a trip to Adrian College.