The Saline Hornets exploded for four goals in the second half on the way to shutting out the Adrian Maples 5-0 Thursday night. Saline’s aggressive offensive play kept Adrian off balance all night.
“I really think the best defense is a good offense in these kinds of games; never let the other team develop their game plan or develop their attack. Playing our game and being able to possess going forward is the best way for us to score,” said head coach Dana Restrick.
The Hornets came out fast and hard in the first half. They attacked quickly, but were coming up just off the mark. Makenzie Crimmins scored the lone goal of the half at the 19:13 mark. Saline’s aggressiveness allowed Adrian to only get two shots on goal, neither of which were quality scoring opportunities.
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“We worked on transitioning as a team. We kind of struggled with it in the first half, but picked it up in the second half. The game plan was set in the first half. I felt we were comfortable in the first half, we played well, we just didn’t get the goals, so nothing needed to be changed, we just needed to finish,” said Restrick.
The second half began the offensive barrage from the Hornets. The shots that went just high or just wide in the first half were on target in the second. Adrian’s keeper performed valiantly, but fell beneath the barrage of Saline shots. Kayla Kouba opened the second half scoring with a goal at the 36:49 mark. Melissa Needham made it 3-0 at 33:07. Emilee Kaminski scored the last two Hornet goals (31:18 and 14:44). The torrent of shots against Adrian kept them pinned in their defensive zone; Saline only allowed one quality chance for the Maples all evening.
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“I think we never really gave them a chance to execute any type of game plan. I really felt like we were in control the entire game. They might have gotten a few looks in the first half, but that was because we were slow in transitioning back, but we fixed that in the second half,” said Restrick.
The Hornets junior varsity team mercied the Maples 8-0 earlier in the evening. The team hosts Northville on Saturday, April 30.