The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Soccer team shows potential
Strong seniors show promise for season
By Jana Miller, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: August 28, 2008
The Saline varsity boys' soccer team took its first SEC win Aug. 21 when it beat rival Ann Arbor Pioneer on Pioneer's home turf. The Hornets defeated the Pioneers 2-1, which appears much closer than the game actually was.
Advertisement
Head coach Brian Lampman thought the game was a good start, but revealed a few areas for improvement.
"We played well, but I think we learned we need to work on capitalizing on opportunities," he said. "We really could've put the game away a lot earlier."
The first goal was scored on a penalty kick by senior captain Kyle Mattson. Junior Mark Weist scored the second goal. The assist was given to senior captain Yllson Asani, who, Lampman said, played a very strong game.
"He had wonderful play," Lampman said. "I think we'll really be counting on him. He's sort of been our Mr. Everything so far."
Two days later, on Aug. 23, the Hornets attended the 16-team Portage Northern Invitational, where the learning continued for Lampman and his players.
Saline's first game was a success against Kalamazoo Central with a score of 3-0. Goal scorers were Weist, Luke Dishnow and Asani.
The Hornets' next match-up against Portage Northern proved more difficult, testing their skill and their will against a fiercely competitive team. Saline lost 2-3, with goals scored by juniors Kyle Bishop and Tyler Walls.
"It was a huge disappointment from a tactical standpoint," Lampman said. "You hate to lose a game like that. They really wanted it more."
Despite the second game, Lampman was incredibly pleased with the Hornets' response against East Kentwood, the defending state champions. They lost 0-1, but played incredibly well.
"I absolutely loved how we responded to losing our second game," Lampman said. "We came into our third game against Kentwood and played straight up and brilliantly, so we were pretty pleased with how we played."
Overall, the learning experience for the Hornets was more important than a win-loss record. With an opportunity to play strong teams and view so many others, they saw a lot of different styles of play and learned a great deal about themselves.
For the future, the Hornets will be looking to their senior captains to pace the team and their goaltender, Carter Beil, to keep them strong.
If Saline can utilize what they've learned about themselves and others, combined with the leadership they're already seeing from four strong and talented players, then parents and fans should have a lot of smiles on their faces as the season progresses.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
Staff Blog, "Inside The Newsroom"
TOP JOBS
