When St. Clair faced off with their biggest rival, the Marine City Mariners, for their second match this year, they were hoping to complete a sweep of them for the season.

However, the Mariners had other plans for the Lady Saints, coming out looking hungry for a win from the kickoff.  The aggressive play by the Mariners made it difficult for St. Clair to put the ball in their net, with the majority of their 11 shots throughout the game missing high or wide of the frame. 

Despite the strong play by the Mariners, the Saints struck first, in the eighth minute of the game, when they were awarded a free kick inside the Mariners' half. Like they do in many similar situations, one of their center backs, Paige Holstine, was tasked with taking the kick. Although the net was within Holstine’s range, Coach Cliff Freeland made a last-second decision for Holstine to drop a short pass to a wide-open Natalie Booms, who was in an even better position from which to score.  And score she did, giving the Saints a 1-0 lead and the fans something to cheer about.

But before the half was over, the Mariners were awarded a PK. As outstanding of a keeper as St. Clair's Kara Donaldson is, the shot still managed to slip past her, ending the half in a 1-1 tie.

The second half looked much like the first, with Marine City out-hustling St. Clair and looking more hungry for a win than the Saints were. A short time into the half, Marine City was awarded a second PK. Again, they capitalized on it, bringing their lead to 2-1. As the game continued, St. Clair continued to throw shots at the Mariners' net every chance they could, but continued missing on their opportunities. 

Knowing what was on the line in this game -- The Burns Trophy -- awarded to the team (between the two rivals) who performs the best during their two meetings of the season, the Saints had a sense of urgency to place at least one more shot in the Mariners' net.

With the game winding down to the final minutes, things were looking grim for the Saints. That is until one of their star forwards, Tayler Malone, sent a shot past the Mariners' keeper, again bringing the game to a tie at 2 apiece.

That is where the scoring would end, bringing the new record for St. Clair to 5-2-3.

Since St. Clair won their first match against Marine City (by a score of 2-0), the Saints were able to maintain possession of the coveted Burns Trophy.

The next game for St. Clair is an away game at Almont this Friday at 5:00.