Historic Season Ends for Hornets Soccer Team

One of the longest and most successful seasons in Saline High School girls’ soccer history came to a close Friday night when the Hornets fell to Canton, 2-0, in the regional final.

Playing in front of the largest crowd of the year, the Hornets and Chiefs were scoreless after a half, but the Chiefs scored twice in the final 15 minutes to win the trophy and advance to the MHSAA Division 1 semifinal game against Troy.

Saline’s offense struggled to get behind a quick Canton defense. At the other end of the field, Saline’s defense had their hands full with Allyson Krause. Keeper Amanda Price and her shot-blocking mates, Mackenzie Schumborg Brittany Brown, held the Chiefs at bay in the first half. But Krause broke the scoreless tie with 14:50 to play and Megan Trapp added an insurance goal late to seal the victory for Canton.

“I thought we played well. We had to put one in and we didn’t do that. They’ve been here before and they know how to win. That's something we are still working on. You have to give them credit,” said Restrick.

The Chiefs penned the Hornets in their own end in the early stages of the first half. On several occasions, Canton midfield hit Krause in stride with good passes. Krause weaved her way around Saline’s zone but was thwarted by the defense and by Price.

Saline’s first shot on goal came when Melissa Stevens threaded a pass through to Danielle Rathfon halfway through the first half. Rathfon’s low shot was scooped up by keeper Danielle Schendell.

Amanda Zylstra created pressure with a nice spin move away from Chiefs at midfield and find space in Canton’s zone, but the Hornets couldn’t turn the flurry into shots on goal.

The Hornets had several strong during a five-minute stretch but couldn’t test the Canton keeper. Canton finished the half with pressure in Saline’s end.

No Score at Half

“The first half, we didn't execute the game plan on offense,” Restrick said. “The second half we settled down and tried to get more looks. I thought we had far more possession in the second half.”

In the first minute of the half, good pressure by Kristina Veal, Taylor Mulder and Caitlin Ellis resulted in a good shooting opportunity for Ellis, but Schendel made the stop.

But as the Hornets began to look more dangerous, so did Krause. Just three minutes into the half, she spun off a defender and chipped a shot off the crossbar. As the half went on, the Canton attack became stronger. The Hornets were bending, but they wouldn’t break. Abbey Sovitch won a great one-on-one battle with Taylor Dalian in the leftwing corner to prevent a great scoring chance.

About 10 minutes into the half, the keeper Hayley Reynolds came up big on a corner kick opportunity.

20 minutes into the half, Krause began to look dangerous every time she touched the ball. During one flurry in front of the Saline goal, she had two chances blocked by Saline’s defense and Reynolds.

With just over 16 minutes left in the half, Veal, Mulder, Ellis and Sovitch returned to the field after a break and put solid pressure on Canton for a full minute.

Krause Draws First Blood

But the ball turned up field and Trapp found Krause with a pass.

“Megan Trapp put a great ball into the left corner. I had two players on my back. I pulled the ball back with one foot and touched it past the other defender, looked up and saw the net and toe poked it past the goalie,” said Krause, who said the team was a little frustrated after pressuring Saline most of the first half but coming away without a goal. “We just had to stay composed.”

When Krause emerged from the scrum and fired the shot, the diving Reynolds had no chance to stop the ball. Canton led 1-0 with 14:50 to play.

The Hornets responded with a good sequence that resulted in a shot on goal from Sovitch, but as the Hornets began to press, Canton had more room in transition. Reynolds as forced to make a point blank save on Trapp with 13 minutes to play. With just over 11 minutes to play, Reynolds made a great diving stop to thwart Gabriella Epelman.

The Chiefs continued to press and, with 7:06 to play, Trapp scored to seal the victory.

Coach Proud of Team's Accomplishments

By advancing to the regional final, Saline matched its longest post-season run ever.

“I am so proud of this team. For the 11 seniors to get as far as they did is really a testament to the work they did over the past four years,” said Restrick after emotional post-game talks with the girls.

And Restrick should know. She began coaching most of the girls when they were freshman and she was the coach of the junior varsity team. When she became varsity coach, the girls came with her.

“They've been with me all four seasons, which is extremely rare,” Restrick said. “In my first three years as varsity coach, they've been patient with me and I've grown as a coach. It's really been an honor to coach them.”

The team, were just two games shy of the state finals, has won back-to-back district championships.

“There's so much to be proud of this season. I wouldn't change anything—except for today,” Restrick said.