Fit
to be tied
Rocks, Mustangs battle to 1-all
deadlock
As dads
across the country learn every Father's Day, some ties are better than
others.
The 1-1 tie Salem's boys soccer team earned against Northville
Thursday night was more satisfying than most, but it could have been
better.
By deadlocking the visiting Mustangs, the Rocks secured their
place in the KLAA Central Division's driver's seat by leaving the pitch
with a 6-1-1 division mark. Northville (5-1-2) needed to win by two
goals to have a shot at catching Salem.
Salem led 1-0 for nearly 60 minutes Thursday night until
Northville's Fatai Alashe chipped a shot over Salem keeper Sasa
Miskovic with 11:04 to play.
The Rocks mounted a "Savage" effort to break the draw in the
final four minutes, but Lachlan Savage's sizzling shot went wide left
by inches at the 3:32 mark and Sal Savage's attempt from the left
door-step was somehow smothered by Mustang keeper Nick Shaya with 1:49
on the clock.
"Having the lead for most of the game and giving it up late is
disappointing," said Salem coach Ed McCarthy. "But after they tied it
up, I felt we played well the final 10 minutes.
"Even before they got their goal, we weren't playing very well.
I thought we were fortunate to have a one-goal lead. We didn't get
really motivated until they scored their goal."
Salem's lone goal was so slick, it looked like something you'd
see in a training video. Junior defender Tommy Halewicz launched a
towering, dead-on free kick from 45 yards out that fellow defender John
Krutty controlled eight yards from the goal crease and drilled it past
Shaya with 8:26 into the contest.
"We've been waiting for our back-line to kind of come through
for us in a big game and tonight it did," said McCarthy. "That was a
huge goal by John and a nice serve by Tommy."
McCarthy said Krutty's skills make him an ideal candidate for
situations for the one he starred in Thursday night.
"John is very good in the air," said McCarthy. "We put him in
there for a little extra attack and he did a great job of getting on
the end of that pass."
Miskovic was stellar throughout most of the game. On several
occasions he leapt high in the air to snag the ball with a group of
Mustangs lurking nearby.
Ed Wright can be reached at
info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 453-1980.
