The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Saline wins overtime thriller, 7-6
Saline wins by three strokes, takes quad and dual meet in SEC
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
If there's one thing no one will accuse the Saline lacrosse team of lacking in 2008, it's resiliency.
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Much as they had in putting together a three-game winning streak after their pair of season-opening losses, the Hornets responded to a 16-7 setback at Birmingham Seaholm April 17 with a 7-6 triple-overtime win at Rockford Saturday.
After goalie Ryan O'Neil made a pair of critical overtime saves to keep the Hornets in it, senior captain Scott Harris scored in the third overtime to improve Saline to 4-3 overall headed into Wednesday afternoon's 2007 regional semifinal rematch against Novi.
"It was a great game for us," Saline head coach John Harris said. "Both teams are programs on the rise. We were evenly matched and it went back-and-forth. Fortunately, we came up with some big plays to send it to overtime and were able to score the winner."
Harris said the biggest change for his team between the Seaholm loss and the Rockford win was the Hornets' ability to hang onto the ball and maintain their offensive momentum.
"The big difference was that we weren't turning the ball over," said Harris. "We were able to possess the ball and generate some offense"
Saline fell behind 4-1 in the first period before roaring back to tie the game at four by halftime.
Junior Rob DeHaan was Saline's only multi-goal scorer of the game after finishing with a pair. Also landing on the score sheet for the balanced Hornet offense were seniors Jordan Hartman and Matt Dysko, and juniors Bob Bianchi and Evan Kourtjian.
O'Neil finished with 13 saves in a strong performance.
"He did a super job," Harris said. "He had a couple of real key saves for us, but he also cleared the ball extremely well and helped control the pace of play."
Against Seaholm, the Hornets fell behind early and were unable to dig themselves out of the hole.
"That was just a very tough game for us," Harris said. "We ran into a team that played almost flawless lacrosse and moved the ball very, very well."
Saline now prepares to face a Novi team that could be out for revenge after Saline eliminated them in the 2007 playoffs before hosting Tecumseh 7 p.m. Friday and traveling to Northville Saturday.
But after the Rockford win, Harris is confident his team can continue to build on their four-wins-in-five-games streak.
"I think Saturday's win was pivotal for us," he said. "We feel like we still have a good team despite that loss. When you make a three-hour drive and come home with a win, that really helps your confidence."
Saline 13, Davison 5;
Saline 17, Salem 2
Goal scorers for Saline's wins April 9 over Davison and April 12 over Salem included Shane Jay-Garfein with eight total goals; Harris with six and 11 assists; Ryan Luke with four; Bianchi, Nick Schineman, and Dysko with three; DeHaan with two; and Tom Golden and Mike Irey with one each.
Saline JV 7, Davison 2; Saline JV 6, Dexter 1
In their five-goal win over Davison, Ryan Mickevicius scored four goals for the Hornets while Kyle Harris added two and T.J. Braun added the seventh. Ian Evans and Hank Remenapp combined to earn the win in goal. The Hornets would then go on to defeat the Dreadnaughts by five.
CCLA tournament
coming to Saline
Hornet Stadium will play host to the 2008 Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association Tournament May 2 through 4. Competing for the crown will be six Division 1 lacrosse teams including University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Central Michigan, which will feature Saline class of 2006 graduate Andrew Tillman. Also in attendance will be U of M staff member Jon Tillman (Saline '07).
A series of raffles will be held May 3, with proceeds benefiting Saline Social Services. For more information, visit www.cclax.org.
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or jhinnen@heritage.com.
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