Jacobs Shines in Saline's 1-1 tie with Pioneer

In a preview of Monday's MHSAA soccer district opener, Saline and Pioneer fought to a 1-1 tie Thursday night at .

Senior goalie Kyler Jacobs kept the Hornets in the game with stellar goaltending in the first half and Kevin Souders scored for the Hornets in the second half.

The Hornets controlled play for much of the second half but had to settle for a tie when a Pioneer player booted a 25-yard kick from the sideline into the upper left corner, over the leaping Jacobs.

"We settled down a little in the second half. (The Pioneer coach) pulled a lot of big guns, so I think we took advantage of that. Unfortunately, the ball didn't end up in the back of the net more often," said head coach Dana Restrick, who kept her big guns on the field, hoping to get a win for her boys on senior night. "Credit to number 19 on their team, he probably scored the goal of his life. You can't do anything about that."

Jacobs made several saves in the first half, including one on a penalty kick late in the first half.

"Kyler came up huge for us at Huron on Tuesday and again (tonight). He's a great keeper. He wants this bad and it showed for us tonight," said Restrict.

Saline took a 1-0 lead on a corner kick midway through the second half. Mark Sulavik lined a kick toward the crease. Souders crashed the crease to get the diving ball and headed it past the Pioneer goalie, wiping him out in the process.

The two teams play again at 7 p.m. Monday at Hornet Stadium.

Restrick likes the way her team is playing heading into the post season.

"I'm really proud of the way the team is playing. Even more than the soccer aspect of it, these guys give heart and sould and that's all you can ask for as a coach," Restrick said.