Blue Monday

Two first-half goals lead Salem over 'Cats

  There is a small area in the frame of every soccer goal that goal-keepers despise.
  If shots with any velocity at all are ripped into this tight area in the top corner of the goal, saves are all but impossible to make.
  Salem's soccer team ripped two perfectly placed shots into that area in the first half of Monday's cross-campus clash against Plymouth and, as a result, registered a 2-0 triumph.
  With 27:58 left in the first half, Salem's Alex Tramel dribbled around a Plymouth defender just inside the left edge of the 18-yard box, then unleashed a rope to the top-right corner of the net that Wildcat keeper Kyle   Brindza was able to touch, but not stop.
  Dan Martin doubled the Rocks' lead with 4:55 to play in the half when he rocketed a clothesline stinger that tucked just inside the same part of the net that Tramel had found less than a half-hour earlier.
  "I felt confident, so I dribbled in and picked my corner," said Tramel. "The goalie touched it -- I thought at first that he was going to save it -- but just just got by him."
Tramel was assisted by Martin.
  Fittingly, Martin's net-finder was assisted by Tramel.
"I was delighted with how we played tonight," said Salem coach Ed McCarthy. "It was a fantastic team performance.
  "Our possession was really good tonight. Our central mid-fielders, Dan Martin and Lachlan Savage, helped us keep the ball and our back four (John Krutty, Tommy Halewicz, Brandon Barfuss and Jake Genrich) worked together better."
  Junior Dan Adsit was stellar in goal, notching nine saves while filling in for All-State keeper Sasa Miskovic, who may return Wednesday against Livonia Churchill.
  "Adsit played great," said Tramel. "We knew he had it in him; that's why Ed put him in there while Sasa's out."
Plymouth coach Jeff Neschich was pleased with the way his team created chances.
  "We just have to get more organized and capitalize on our opportunities," said Neschich. "We had a lot of opportunities, especially early.
  "Salem had four chances in the first half and they scored on two of them. We had four chances, but we couldn't get it on frame."
  Adsit's best save came with 15 minutes to play in the first half when he ranged far from the goal-line to stuff a rush by Plymouth's Derek Austin.

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