FIELD HOCKEY: Saline Presses for Comeback Until Final Horn at Pioneer

ANN ARBOR - Pioneer's hot start in the heat Monday was just enough to beat the Saline Hornets in varsity field hockey action.

Pioneer built a 3-0 lead early in the third quarter and then held on for 3-2 victory.

Saline battled to tie the game until the final seconds.

Casey Griffin scored both goals for the Hornets.

"I thought we played a great game. it was a little hot at the beginning. It was a little hot and we had a slower start than expected, but we came back," Saline coach Sophia O'Connor said of her young team.

Not bad for a team playing their first game of the season, on the first day of school, in hot weather, on the road at the home of the defending state champions.

Pioneer had control of the first few minutes, but it was Saline's Celia Padot with the best early opportunity in front of the Pioneer cage after the Hornets had worked the ball up the field. The Pioneer defenders got their sticks in the way of Padot's shot. It was Saline's only real opportunity of the half.

Lily Soldan, Lillian Schultz and Gabby Howden scored for Pioneer.

After Saline's early chance, the Pioneers really turned up the pressure. On a clear-cut 2-on-1, Claire Clark was the only defender back, and she stopped the pass across to prevent a breakaway and knock the ball away. About 45 seconds later, though,  the Pioneers struck first when they knocked down a clearing attempt, turned it around and Soldan scored to make it 1-0 with 4:19 left to play in the first quarter.

The Pioneers continued to dominate play into the second quarter. On a penalty corner Clark again made a big play, knocking down a hot shot before it got to keeper Kaylee Mitzel.

Later in the quarter, Lillian Schultz scored to make it 2-0. The Pioneers took that lead into halftime.

Saline looked like a different team to start the second half, carrying the ball over midfield and generating good looks.

"We tried to get the ball to the right side of the field more. (In the first half) It was kind of on our weak side, which is their strong side," O'Connor said.

Saline had two great early looks.

Clare Arvai didn't have much room - but she doesn't need much. She won a battle for the ball, took a couple steps to the center and fired a shot that hit one post, deflected across, and hit the second post before bouncing back out.

On a penalty corner just a moment later, Carly Pufpaf insert the ball to Arvai again and she ripped a shot that a strong Pioneer stopped by rushing out and kicked away.

But just as the Hornets found some offense, Pioneer's Gabby Howden scored to make it 3-0. It didn't look good for the Hornets. But the team kept battling.

Casey Griffin had done a great job working the side of the net to prevent a clean clear.  The ball came back to Padot, who fired a shot from about 12 yards out.  The ball bounced just to the keeper's left. Griffin got to it first, tapping it past the down-and-out goalie and into the cage. Saline was on the board.

In the fourth quarter the Hornets cut it even closer. This time, Alivia Pufpaf skillfully moved the ball up the left side of the field. Griffin got the ball and moved it into the middle for a shot that squeezed between the Pioneer goalie's pads and into the net.

The Hornets had all kinds of chances down the stretch.

With about 2:20 left in the game, Elle PufPaf smashed a hard shot that found its way into the net, but it was waived off because the shot came from outside the circle.

With about 40 seconds left, the Hornets had a great chance on a corner. Carly Pufpaf inserted the ball to Alivia Pufpaf, who sent it to Clare Arvai. Arvai came in from the angle and centered a ball that somehow went through everyone crowding the net.

The game ended a moment later.

O'Connor said she was proud of her team's effort and said she expected this year's team to have a deep run in the playoffs.

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