Hornets Shut Down Railsplitters

The Saline Hornets girls' soccer team shut out the Lincoln Railsplitters 3-0 on a rainy Tuesday evening. The two teams locked into a physical game in the cold, but Saline was able to use its aggressive play-style to dominate on the field and come away with the win.

Stacey Stevens opened Hornet scoring with her goal at 25:09 in the first half, and the Hornets never looked back. Saline stayed on the offensive all night, never allowing the Railsplitters any quality chances on goal, and severely limiting any offensive chances by Lincoln to a bare minimum.  The Hornets' aggressive play outmatched Lincoln’s physical attack all night. Kristina Veal scored her first goal of the season with 1:19 left in the half, and Saline took a 2-0 lead into the break.

“Kristina has been knocking at the door all season. She’s building her confidence in front of the net.  It’s really nice to get that first goal and hopefully the floodgates will open,” said head coach Dana Restrick.

The second half started the same way the first half ended, with Saline controlling the ball and keeping Lincoln in their defensive zone. Caitlin Ellis added the final Hornet score at the 35:28 mark of the half after Madison Phillips made a great hustle save on the end line to keep the ball in play. Saline had more offensive opportunities, but were unable to finish the rest of the night.

“[Madison] is really a hustle player who also has speed, and that’s deadly in high school soccer. She’s been getting a lot of good looks; she did most of the work on the third goal and Caitlin has a beautiful finish,” said Restrick.

Saline continues its season on Thursday, May 19 when they travel to Monroe to play the Trojans.