The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Hornets rally for win in playoff opener, head to Regionals
Crichton, Littlejohn come up big as Saline hunts state berth
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 15, 2008
After the first half of their do-or-die first round district game against Troy, the Saline girls' water polo team felt like they had been better than the Colts, despite the 0-0 halftime score.
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"We controlled every aspect of the game," said head coach Brad Silverman. "We told the girls to just keep doing what they were doing."
They did. And it worked.
The Hornets twice came back from one-goal deficits and earned a trip to this weekend's regional tournament with a 4-2 win over the Colts. Sophomore Alli Littlejohn scored the winning goal with 6:43 to play in the game.
"What it boils down to is that we've got the right to keep playing," Silverman said of the importance of the victory. "Even if we'd lost, we still would have been very, very happy with our season. But to be able to go Regionals and have the chance to make States is a great opportunity."
A key moment for the Hornets occurred with two minutes to play and Saline up 4-2. The Colts worked the ball inside as Saline was called for a foul, giving Troy a 5-meter (or penalty) shot that could have brought them within a goal.
Instead, Hornet junior goalie Sam Crichton rose high into the left corner to block the shot and preserve the two-goal advantage.
"It's unreal," Crichton said. "It was a total guess. I just waited for her to shoot and went after it.
"We knew we were going to win this game before it even started. But to make that save just makes it that much better."
"When she made that save," Silverman said, "we knew the game was over."
A smothering Hornet defense held the Colts without a shot on goal in the first half. The Colts appeared to have half a chance late in the second period, only for junior Carly Haller to track back and disrupt the play.
"I thought we played with great intensity.," Silverman said of his defense.
While Saline was able to produce several close shots of its own — including a narrow miss from Alyssa Hart on their first possession — the team went into halftime scoreless.
The Colts would break the deadlock with a goal at the 5:30 mark of the third quarter. Saline responded 90 seconds later as Hart's lobbed shot found the back of the net to tie the game at 1.
Troy wasted no time reclaiming the lead, scoring on its next possession. But again Saline would answer, with freshman Stephanie Bundas making a steal in the center of the pool and sending senior Kristen Kotlarczyk in on a breakaway. Kotlarczyk would score from close range to send the game into the fourth quarter tied at two.
From there, it was all Hornets. Littlejohn gave Saline the lead early in the period from her 2-meter position and doubled it with 5:14 to play on a lob just over the fingertips of the Troy goalie.
"No matter what happens, we're going to keep pounding it down to her at two meters," Silverman said. "We know she's going to get her opportunities."
Crichton made sure the lead was never in danger, producing a string of saves to keep Saline two goals in front and capping it with the 5-meter save.
Saline would follow the critical Troy win with a hard-fought 8-4 loss to Ann Arbor Pioneer and a 3-2 upset of third-seeded Birmingham Groves to take third place. The Hornets will face Okemos in the first round of Regionals Friday.
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