The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
BIG WIN
Saline over .500 after 2-1 win over Dexter
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 10, 2007
There would be no tie this time for the Saline girls' soccer team.
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The Hornets had drawn nearly every other major program they had faced in their nine games entering Thursday night's match with Division 2 No. 2 Dexter. But a sensational second-half goal from Lauren Birdsong built a 2-0 Saline lead the Hornets would not relinquish, downing the Dreadnaughts 2-1.
"This was one of those games we had circled on the calendar," said head coach Dave Tapping. "They've beaten us the last couple of years and we were tired of it. This was a total team effort. They played a great game."
With the win, Saline moves over the .500 mark for the first time this season at 3-2-5, 2-1-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
Playing at home, Saline got off to a strong start and scored their first goal only 12 minutes into the match. Junior midfielder Andrea Sulavik rose to meet freshman Autumn Jacob's corner kick and headed home for the 1-0 lead.
Both defenses settled down after the goal and neither goalkeeper was seriously troubled for the remainder of the half, although Saline outside midfielder Katelyn Welzbacker looked increasingly dangerous as the half progressed, serving in a series of tantalizing crosses from the right wing.
The Dexter defense failed to respond to the Saline pressure and paid the price early in the second half. Junior forward Stephanie Burke had already fired narrowly wide in the opening seconds before she pounced on a loose ball just outside the Dreadnaught penalty area and laid it off to Birdsong.
The sophomore struck a high-arcing shot that caught the Dreadnaught goalkeeper off balance and dipped just under the crossbar, giving Birdsong her first tally of the season and Saline a two-goal advantage with 38 minutes to play.
"It was a long shot. I tried to get it over the head of the goalie," Birdsong said. "When it did, I thought it was going in. It was very, very exciting."
But the Hornets still had nearly an entire half to play and the Dreadnaughts did not go quietly, pulling one back with 28:50 remaining.
The goal seemed to energize the visitors and for the next several minutes, the Hornets appeared to be on the back foot. Saline goalkeeper Mackenzie Gilmore raced off her line on multiple occasions to scoop up loose balls and made a solid save at the 12:50 mark.
But in the closing minutes, it was Saline that appeared closer to its third goal than Dexter was to its second. Burke, Sulavik, midfielder Meredith Faas, and forwards Jena Cooper and Chrissy Gentile helped keep the ball pinned in Dexter's half for the majority of the game's final 15 minutes.
The Dreadnaughts earned a corner kick with six minutes to play and a free kick from 35 yards with under 45 seconds to play, but failed to threaten the Saline goal on either attempt and the Hornets ran out the clock on the win.
Afterward, Tapping had high praise for all his players, from Birdsong up front to Monica Mezger the central defense, adding that the central midfield contributions of Burke, Jacobs, Sulavik, and Faas were particularly key.
"That's where it all starts," Tapping said. "Those four have the ability to come in and take control of the game for us."
The win gave the Hornets their first winning streak of the season after defeating Ann Arbor Greenhills 1-0 May 1.
Saline faces Tecumseh 5:30 p.m. Thursday at home.
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or at jhinnen@heritage.com.
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