Hornets Muscle Past Kicking Mules

The Saline Hornets soccer team used an aggressive offense to keep the Bedford Kicking Mules off-balance all Tuesday night.  The Hornets shut out Bedford 3-0, allowing the Kicking Mules few shots and even less quality attempts.

Saline started the night with fervor, attacking Bedford and never letting up.  The Hornets struggled early to avoid the off-sides trap defense the Mules employed, but settled down midway through the half.  Emilee Kaminski scored the lone goal of the half at the 12:31 mark.  The defense saw little action, as the offense kept the ball deep in Bedford’s half of the field.

“We just haven’t let the other team play to their strengths.  We kept the ball, working on possession.  Their keeper is very good, so we knew that we were going to have to edit our choices on shooting.  It was a patient attack and looking for the gaps,” said head coach Dana Restrick.

After the break, Saline attacked relentlessly.  They quickly added to their lead when Caitlin Ellis scored at the 38:15 mark.  Less than three minutes later, Melissa Stevens added her own goal.  From there, the Hornets continued the assault but were unable to put anything else past Bedford’s goalie.  Defensively, they faced few quality attempts, and quickly expelled the Mules’ entrances into their half of the field.

“We changed our approach and positioning a little bit at the half.  We said we needed to score a quick goal, knowing that it’s dangerous to keep the other team in the game and that putting the nail in the coffin early is important,” said Restrick.

Saline travels to Chelsea to face the Bulldogs on Thursday, May 5.