Salem players celebrate Emily Lundh's game-tying goal with 27:45 left in regulation. (Ed Wright photo)

Early deficit no problem for resilient Rocks who earn ticket to District final

BY ED WRIGHT
June 4, 2010, 3:05 a.m.

  About six minutes into Thursday night's Division 1 District semifinal game against Pinckney, several members of Salem's girls soccer team probably thought about approaching the ref and asking him, "Um, sir, would you mind if we start this thing over?"

  After giving up two goals in the time it takes Usain Bolt to run to the grocery store and back, the Rocks found themselves facing a deficit as deep as that sinkhole that sucked in a three-story building in Central America earlier this week.

  But unlike the building, the never-say-die Rocks dug themselves out before earning a memorable 3-2 double-overtime, shoot-out victory.

  There were plenty of heroes for the winners. The most notable one, however, was senior goal-keeper Tabitha Mann, who squeezed two of the Pirates five penalty kicks while her teammates were burying four of five to earn a ticket to Saturday's noon D1 District final against Plymouth.

   "It feels awesome," said Mann, who entered the game in the sixth minute for starting keeper Jamie Hunley. "I tried to just read the ball and the eyes of the players. I thought they'd go to the corners more, but I'm glad they didn't."

  "Tabitha stepped up big time tonight," said Salem coach Joe Nora, whose 12-5-3 squad will face Plymouth on Saturday at noon at Livonia Stevenson with the Distric title at stake. "Both of our keepers have been doing a great job all year. But when we saw Pinckney was going to the air more, Tabitha is by far our better player in the air, so we made the switch.

  "Tabitha had her greatest game of the season so far. She was dynamic. I told her if she could stop one -- or maybe even two -- we'd score enough for us to win."

  Nora had high praise for the Pirates, who finished 9-6-3.

  "What a classy, hard-working team," he said. "I love watching them play."

  He didn't love watching the way Pinckney played the first six minutes, when they roared to a 2-0 lead on goals from Brianna Amat and Rachel Clark.

  The momentum eventually started swinging in the Rocks' direction with 35:25 left in regulation when junior mid-fielder Kristina Klusek deposited a shot from about nine yards out to cut the Rocks' deficits in half, 2-1.

  Eight minutes later, Emily Lundh deadlocked the entertaining contest with a spectacular goal from 15 yards out.

  The Rocks threatened to break the match open on several occasions, looping perfect chasing passes  over the Pirates' midfield so that their speedy forwards could run them down.

  But Pinckney senior keeper Lauren Weber Wright was up to the challenge, racing out of the 18-yard box to re-direct the potential threats on several occasions.

  "Number 14 (Eliza VanDeKerkhove) was clearly their best player, so we wanted to bypass her if we could," said Nora. "So we tried to play the ball over their midfield, try to such their two players to the outside then get in. We worked that effectively 10 or 11 times, but their goalie was dynamic. She was almost like a sweeper/keeper for them."

  The shoot-out started on an ominous note for the Rocks when No. 1 kicker Mackenzie Rogers hit the right post. Pinckney's Vija Veinbergs gave her team a 1-0 advantage when she beat Mann left.

  The tide turned quickly, however, when Salem's Lindsey Newton deadlocked the shoot-out at 1-1 with a low-left scorcher.

  Pinckney regained the lead for the last time when Cat Olson slipped a host past Mann, but the lead was short-lived thanks to Victoria Kaye, who went top-shelf right to make it 2-all.

  That set the stage for Mann, who dove all out to her right to snare Amat's sizzler. After Salem's Katelynn Krause ripped a shot past Weber Wright to put the Rocks up, 3-2, Mann sparkled again, denying Jessica Fierek's effort.

  When Lundh's perfectly placed PK found its target seconds later, Salem had earned its first District final berth in three years.

  "I'm so proud of these girls," said Nora. "They were coming off the field so tired that they couldn't breathe, they were limping and dragging, but they gave everything they had, which is all we ask.

  "We came out flat, but the girls turned it around. They showed their character and their heart."

  During the first half of the second semifinal game between Plymouth and Northville, Nora didn't have an answer when asked who he'd rather play in the title game.

  "To tell you the truth," he said, grinning, "I'm just so happy, I honestly don't care who we play."

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.

Salem's Jenna Coon (9) and Pinckney's Leah Bauer racef for the ball. (Ed Wright photo)

  Lindsey Newton dribbles the ball upfield. (Ed Wright photo)

Kristina Klusek cocks her right leg before launching a shot. (Ed Wright photo)

Salem's Emily Lundh and Pinckney's Lindsey Rey try to gain an advantage with some arm work. (Ed Wright photo)

Tabitha Mann makes a diving save of a Pinckney penalty kick during the shoot-out. (Ed Wright photo)