The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Hornets snap skid with 4-0 victory
Cooper scores a brace as Saline offense breaks out of slump
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 22, 2008
After a week of rest and stewing over their last-minute loss to Ann Arbor Huron May 13, it's fair to say the Saline girls' soccer team should have been ready for its Tuesday night meeting with Tecumseh.
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The Hornets were.
They thumped the Indians 4-0, snapping a five-game winless streak and improving the team to 10-4-1 overall and 7-3-2 in Southeastern Conference play.
"We did what we had to do," said Saline head coach Dave Tapping. "We finished more opportunities, we moved the ball, we controlled the tempo. We were happy with the way we played."
The Indians forced Saline goalkeeper Hannah Ulrich into what Tapping labeled a "great save" in the opening minutes, but from there it was all Saline as the visitors were held without a shot on goal the remainder of the game. The Hornets would take a 2-0 lead into halftime and double it after the break.
Senior forward Jena Cooper scored twice, with Emilee Kaminski and Autumn Jacobs each adding a goal of her own. Janine Sulavik notched a pair of assists, while Stephanie Burke and Katrina Hollis each recorded one as well.
The win was especially important to the Hornets, Tapping said, with it coming on the team's Senior Night. The game was the final home contest for seniors Cooper, Hollis, Kacy Hartman, Kellie Stepaniak, Monica Mezger, Burke, Andrea Sulavik and Megan Johnson.
"They've worked so hard," Tapping said. "They've set the example both in the classroom and on the field."
Despite the recent skid, Tapping said the kind of competitiveness and pride exemplified by the seniors had more to do with the Hornets' motivation for the Tecumseh game — and eventual easy victory — than leftover frustration.
"No one was saying, 'Hey, let's go out and crush Tecumseh,'" he said. "They just knew they needed to play better tonight and take care of business."
The four goals broke the Hornets out of a scoring slump in which they had scored only a single goal over their previous five games. The difference, Tapping said, was that Tuesday Cooper, Kaminski, and Jacobs finished off the same Hornet chances that had gone begging before.
"We had 25 corner kicks over our past five games and didn't get any of them in," Tapping said. "Our offense has been creating opportunities. We have to take better advantage."
The Hornets will need to do exactly that when they enter the postseason with a district play-in game against Lincoln Tuesday. Saline has won its last four district tournaments.
"The district title is something the girls are driven by," Tapping said. "We want to keep it."
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