Dan Stickradt
Special to Sports Scene
EAST LANSING — There are many words to describe Saline on the soccer pitch this spring. . .stifling, stingy, lock-down. The list can go on.
The Hornets put together one of the most impressive seasons in Division 1 history, culminated by a 4-0 blanking of Grand Blanc in the state final June 13 at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Stadium.
Saline finished with a brilliant 0.16 goals-against-average over 25 games, with 22 shutouts, the most in Division 1 history and third-best overall in state history. Unity Christian’s 24 shutouts in 27 games during 2011 is the all-time best.
“Our chemistry is amazing,” said Saline senior goalkeeper Sophia Swier, a second-team all-state keeper last season and one of Michigan’s top netminders this season. “A lot of us have been playing together for years with [club and high school], and that makes a difference. We are so close.”
Just two weeks after Saline captured the Division 1 state title in boys’ track and field, it grabbed the championship trophy in girls’ soccer — the school’s first in the sport.
“I think it was really at the end of last season when we thought that this could be a special season for us,” said Saline coach Dana Restrick, whose team broke several team and individual school records this spring.
Team chemistry was the main ingredient that led to one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. “A lot of my seniors have played together since they were seven or something,” explained Restrick. “The chemistry is definitely there. We coach them very specifically on what to do at all times. These girls are so coachable. They take everything that we say and do what we coach them to do in different scenarios.”
Unbeaten Saline, which finished the campaign 22-0-3 and entered the postseason ranked sixth, opened the scoring with 32:41 left in the first half. Senior Danielle Rathfon’s shot rang off the crossbar of the goal post, and senior Molly O’Sullivan was there to pounce on the rebound from close range.
The Hornets, making their first appearance in the final, pushed the advantage to 2-0 with 30:18 still left in the opening half, when junior Allison Luurtsema’s long shot from near the touch line sailed above traffic and deflected off the fingertips of Grand Blanc goalkeeper Amy Puidokas and into the far corner of the goal.
Saline, which outshot Grand Blanc 8-5 in the first 40 minutes, cashed in again with 23:22 remaining in the first half, when senior Taylor Mulder redirected a cross from senior Amanda Zylsra and tucked the ball home from three yards out.
Grand Blanc put plenty of pressure on Saline’s bend-but-don’t-break defense in the second half, posting a 6-4 shots edge, but to no avail.
Saline capped the scoring late in the contest, when Mulder scored her 43rd goal of the season, a single-season school record, with 1:28 remaining in the contest.
Saline closed the season with nine straight shutouts, including all seven postseason games. The last team to score on the Hornets was Ann Arbor Skyline, in a 5-1 Hornets’ victory in the third-to-last game of the regular season. Saline also gave up a goal to Skyline in mid-April and two goals to Brighton in early-April in games that ended in tie scores.
“To go down 2-0 was tough. I think the third goal was what really broke our back,” conceded veteran Grand Blanc coach Greg Kehler. “That team gave up only four goals all season, so that was a tough wall to climb. I thought we could put pressure on them and possibly score. But they are a great defensive team. Dana Restrick’s team is great — they are as good as advertised. They are very good in the back, very organized, they possess well, and they have a lot of players who can finish.
“Saline defines the principals of defending,” noted Kehler. “They got it all. If they weren’t pressuring the ball, they had someone nearby, a cover defender back there to balance the field for them. That’s an experienced team, very well-coached. They are very good. No shame losing to that team.”
The Bobcats became Saline’s 22nd shutout victim of the season. The Hornets outscored the opposition, 104-4, this season and the four goals scored against them is tied for third-least goals allowed in a single season in state history.