The Alma College Women's Soccer team defeated host Saint Mary's College on Thursday afternoon by a score of 1-0 on a goal in the 54th minute. The win improved the Scots to 3-1 in the MIAA and 7-1 overall, while the Belles fell to 1-2 in the league and 5-2 for the 2011 campaign. 

"When you go to Saint Mary's on a weekday, it is probably the toughest road trip we have during the league schedule, but the girls controlled play from the start and kept the pressure on during the match," said Alma Head Coach Jeff Hosler. "Today we played our entire roster and had a lot of minutes from many people. I was impressed by the impact that the non-starters had in the win and I want to bring attention to Autumn Root and Brooke Bergeron, who both played very well off of the bench." 

The teams played a scoreless first half that saw the visitors out-shoot the hosts by a mark of 10-1 (5-0 shots on goal).

In the second half, Alma scored the only goal of the game, when Fr. F MacKenzie Smith (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw Nouvel) scored unassisted at the 53:35 mark for a tally that would dictate the outcome of the game. The final shot numbers favored Alma by a mark of 19-6 and 8-1 in shots on goal.

For the Scots, five players had shots on goal and they were led by Jr. M/F Elaine Cunningham (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) who had three on the afternoon. Smith had two, while Sr. M Becky Marton (Williamston, Mich./Williamston), Sr. M/F Carly Reising (Ostego, Mich./Ostego) and Fr. D Samantha Waldrop (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) each added one shot on goal for the Scots.

Alma continues play on Saturday when they travel to Holland, to take on Hope College beginning at Noon.