The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Lacrosse opens with 12-6 win
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Editor
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2007
The season-opening performance of the Saline lacrosse team wasn't perfect. But it was good enough to start 2007 with a win.
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The Hornets pulled away late from a stubborn Grosse Ile squad, opening the season at home with a 12-6 victory. The Red Devils trimmed a 7-1 deficit to 8-6 entering the fourth quarter, but Saline's Ben Donahue and Ryan Crawford scored two goals each to end the game with a 4-0 Hornet run and the win.
"We had a little bit of first-game jitters," head coach John Phillips said after the win. "But I thought we possessed the ball really well and played very well offensively."
The Hornets were led on the offensive end by senior Grant Phillips, who totaled three goals and four assists. Crawford also finished with three goals.
Although Phillips said senior goalie Kevin Borst "did a nice job" between the sticks, he added that the Hornets' defensive efforts were hamstrung by several series of penalties and "man down" opportunities for Grosse Ile.
"All we have to do is stay out of the penalty box," he said. "Everything else tonight, I thought we did well. But we gave up too many penalties."
The penalties kept the Red Devils within striking distance despite the Hornets threatening to break the game open on several occasions. Saline opened the scoring through Grant Phillips with 9:19 left in the first quarter and built a 3-1 lead on a second Phillips goal with 7:25 remaining in the second.
The Devils responded by trimming the lead to one with 6:25 left in the half and forcing a Borst save at the 4:08 mark. But Saline broke the other way and Scott Harris scored to restore the two-goal lead. The Hornets then built on that momentum by scoring three more times in a three-minute span, capped by Bobby Bianchi's goal with 1:22 left in the half for a 7-2 lead.
Grosse Ile came out firing after the break, scoring three goals in a two-minute span in the third quarter. Kelly O'Sullivan ended a long Hornet possession with a goal and an 8-5 lead, but the Devils trimmed the lead to two again with 28 seconds left in the quarter.
But thanks to tighter defense and Donahue's and Crawford's precision in front of net, that was as close as the visitors would get.
"Defensively, we had a couple of breakdowns, but overall they did a nice job tonight," John Phillips said. "If we just cut down on those penalties, we'll be in good shape."
Saline's next game will be 7 p.m. Friday at Tecumseh.
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