Sloppy Play Leads Hornets to Draw

The Saline Hornets boys’ soccer team came out confident and a little cocky against Chelsea Tuesday night. Unfortunately, that cockiness turned into sloppy play and a lackluster effort against the Bulldogs; after 80 minutes of play, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

“The only good thing out of [the game] was that we came back scored a goal after we gave one up. There just wasn’t effort at all. I really expected more from my guys,” said head coach Dana Restrick. 

The first half started off with the Hornets on their heels. Chelsea came out firing and took control of the momentum early and Saline struggled to regain control of the ball. After enduring through the initial outburst from the Bulldogs, Saline managed to assert itself a little and keep possession through a good portion of the first half. The team was never able to get consistant pressure on the Bulldogs’ keeper, however, due to poor passing and a lack of crispness in their offensive sets. The first half ended 0-0, thanks in large part to Saline’s keeper, Kyler Jacobs, who made a diving one-handed save with 3:15 remaining.

“We came in too cocky. Last year we had a good turnout, I think it was a 6-0 win. We got put on our heels early. Now we know not to come into a game expecting to win no matter what the score was last year,” said Jacobs.

The second half did not start any better for the Hornets. Chelsea’s offense broke the scoreless tie at 35:51 by capitalizing on a defensive breakdown. Saline showed mettle by not collapsing under the pressure of being down; they took possession and rarely gave it up the rest of the evening. The Hornets were able to break through only once during that time, however. Victor Pintilie slid through the defense in front of the net to put home a rebound at 14:04. Saline continued the pressure throughout the remaining time, but could not finish another goal.

The junior varsity team continued to win impressively, defeating the Chelsea squad 7-0.

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