This Lindsey Newton free kick
eluded the South Lyon wall and hit the near post before the Lions
managed to clear the ball. (photo by Ed Wright)
Sizzling Start
Salem improves to
5-0 with
emphatic victory over South Lyon
BY ED WRIGHT
April 20, 2010,
12:15 a.m.
It would not be surprising if
South Lyon goal-keeper Caitlyn Kort had unpleasant visions of Salem's
No. 6 in her sleep Tuesday night.
That's because Emily Lundh was nothing short of a nightmare for
the Lions.
The speedy, elusive and energetic sophomore single-footedly
ruined Kort's goals-against average by netting four goals in the Rocks'
7-2 victory over the Lions in both teams' KLAA Central Division
opener.
"Finishing for forwards is an art form and Emily is an artist
when it comes to that," said Salem coach Joe Nora. "She has that
seventh sense to know where to put the ball and how hard to hit it. Not
everybody has it. She does, as do a couple other girls on our team."
Of her quartet of net-finders, the petite Lundh singled out her
first one, which came in the game's fourth minute, as her most
significant.
"That one was probably the most important one because it set the
pace of the game, it got us going," she said. "And I've been working on
touching it in during practices, and that's how I scored
that one."
The victory improved the Rocks to 5-0 heading into Thursday's
home game against South Lyon East.
"I think we've been successful so far because this team is close
and we didn't have a lot of basics to learn coming into the season,"
said Lundh, who has already scored seven goals this spring. "We
all came in with a lot of skills and a lot of us played together last
year, so we didn't have to build from scratch."
Salem nearly doubled its lead six minutes in when Lundh fed
Brett de Bear in traffic just outside the right post, but de Bear's
rocket shot nailed the post.
Seven minutes later, South Lyon's Courtney Harrison lofted an
untouchable shot over the outstretched arms of Salem goalie Tabitha
Mann to deadlock the game at 1-all.
The Rocks regained the advantage 95 seconds later on probably
the slickest goal of the night. Senior Lindsey Newton placed a perfect
corner kick five yards in front of the goal crease and de Bear timed
her jump perfectly and headed the ball past Kort.
Nora used an MSU basketball analogy to describe Newton's
importance to the team.
"She's our Draymond Green," Nora said, smiling, referring to the
Spartans' ultra-effective sixth man. "She should be starting. She's a
senior and she should be starting, but we bring her off the bench
because we know when she comes in, out play is going to step up, not
drop off. She was tremendous tonight and one of the keys to the win."
The Rocks hit their second post of the night with 14:10 in the
first half when Newton curved a free kick from 19 yards out past the
Lions' three-player wall and inches from squeezing past the left post.
"South Lyon is a strong, fast team and they took it to us in the
first half," said Nora. "At halftime, we told the the girls we had to
match that or give a little more and I thought we did that. I was
especially pleased with our outside marking backs: Christine Pittel,
Megan McCormack, Jenna Coon and Lindsey Roy.
Salem all but sealed the win with two Lundh goals in the first
3:06 of the second half. Madeleine Vala assisted on the first and Megan
McCormack earned a helper on the second.
Andrea Pesch's empty-net goal cut South Lyon's deficit to 4-2
with 27:46 to play when a bad bounce caught Mann in no-man's land.
But Lundh answered with her fourth goal two minutes later to
make it 5-2.
Junior captain Kristina Klusek put the win on ice with a pair of
goals over the final 10:43.
"I think the key for us tonight was that we opened up the field
and really worked together to find the gaps," said Lundh. "They played
a wide flat four. We found the gaps and found a way to get behind them."
Ed
Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or
info@plymouthcantonsports.com.
South
Lyon keeper Caitlyn Kort secures the ball before a Rock can get her
head on it. (photo by Ed Wright)
