6-01-2014 4:05am

Gallery: Mulder, O'Sullivan Lead Hornets to 4th Straight District Championship

Molly O'Sullivan and Taylor Mudler each scored two goals as Saline defeated Monroe 4-1 at Bedford Saturday, giving the Hornets their fourth straight district championship. The Hornets advance to the regional tournament at Dearborn High School. Saline plays Garden City at 7 p.m., June 4. The winner of that game plays either Plymouth or Northville at 7 p.m., June 6.

Coach Dana Restrick said her team, particularly the seniors, were driven to win a fourth straight title for Saline.

“It's a testament to the senior group. I know they badly wanted to be able to say they were part of the program for four straight districts,” Restrick said.

It was the juniors, however, who did the goal scoring.

It started with Molly O'Sullivan converting a Becky Sulkowski cross for a 1-0 lead.

Monroe got it back just a few minutes later when a forward got behind the defense and scored.

O'Sullivan wasn't done yet, though. She lofted a ball over the Monroe keeper's head to make it 2-1. It was her fifth goal in the last four games – and not just any four games, three playoff games and a regular season game for the SEC Red championship.

“It feels good to be contributing the team,” O'Sullivan said. “We have a lot of talent on this team, and I think that makes it harder for other teams to stop us.”

Restrick said O'Sullivan is a smart player.

“She reads the play. She knows when to attack. We work really hard on timing our shots and executing our crosses and she does those things very well,” Restrick said.

Just minutes after O'Sullivan scored her second goal, Taylor Mulder added one of her own, heading Sarah Livesey's free kick over the goalie and into the net.

A few minutes later, Mulder blasted another shot off the crossbar. O'Sullivan put the rebound just over the crossbar.

Saline led 3-1 until midway through the second half, when Mulder collected a loose ball in the box, gained a step on the defenders and booted the ball through the goalie's arms for a 4-1 lead.

It was Mulder's third district championship ceremony. But she and the Hornets aren't satisfied. Two years ago, when Mulder was a freshman, the Hornets made it to the regional final – the deepest into the D1 tournament Saline has gone.

“We want to be able to describe this team as historic,” Mulder said. “And the way to do that is to get out of regionals.”
It won't be easy, of course. If the Hornets knock off Garden City, they'll face the winner of the Plymouth/Northville game. Northville is ranked the number one team in the state. Saline lost 1-0 when the teams played May 3.