Cheers to the Rocks for an uplifting, unforgettable state title run

With her team facing a daunting 2-0 deficit early in the second half of Tuesday night’s MHSAA Division 1 state semifinal match, Salem senior Claire Hammill launched a bending, sizzling, straight-out-of-a-soccer-clinic corner kick that eluded the grasp of Rochester Adams goal-keeper Lexi Calcamuggio.

Hammill’s senior teammate Lauren Driscoll nudged the free ball sitting idly on the net’s doorstep over the goal line and, with just over 37 minutes left in the game, the Rocks were back in business, trailing just 2-1.

As the recharged contingent of jubilant Salem players shared a group hug in the goal’s wake, it appeared Hammill — an elite player who will compete for Rutgers University beginning in the fall — told her teammates, “We’re not done!”, or something to that effect.

She was right … kind of.

Trying to produce a score-equalizing goal against a defense that played with the discipline of Navy SEALs proved challenging — as did overcoming roughly 8,000 Adams corner kicks (compared to Salem’s three).

Rocks’ best efforts repelled

Despite the Rocks’ best efforts, the Highlanders cleared the ball out of the danger zone around the net time after time, header after header.

And once Adams advanced the ball to the opposite end of the 120-yard pitch, the Rocks’ valiant efforts to work it back into ScoreLand burned precious minutes off the clock, which suddenly appeared to be running at a Usain Bolt-esque pace.

(To check out video highlights of Tuesday night’s game, click here.)

Just when it looked as if the curtain was about to fall on the Rocks’ inspiring post-season run, Hammill delivered a fierce free kick from near mid-field with less than a minute to play.

For a split second, the ball’s urgency and trajectory made it appear as if it had an important appointment with Destiny in the back of the net, but Calcamuggio somehow redirected the blazing sphere over the cross-bar with her right hand.

And like it did throughout the final 37 minutes, Adams cleared Salem’s last-seconds corner kick out of harm’s way and toward the Highlanders’ cheering section, which celebrated the game-ending horn by waving a giant yellow flag emblazoned with the slogan “GOLD RUSH”.

Dream season ends

Just like that, Salem’s golden state title hopes were extinguished.

But the Rocks’ journey to even reach that point of temporary, yet gloom-coated, despair will be celebrated by everyone who witnessed their historic accomplishments.

After finishing fourth in the brutally-tough eight-team KLAA West Division — Salem’s regular season included a victory and draw against D1 state finalist Hartland — the Rocks peaked in the post-season, securing the school’s first girls soccer district title since 1999, the year DVD players were starting to phase out VHS tapes.

Following a hard-fought, nail-biting 1-0 triumph over No. 2-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline, Salem dominated Grosse Pointe South, 3-0, to win its first Regional championship since lord knows when.

The team’s blend of upperclassmen and youngsters merged perfectly, playing with poise and precision, while winning with the skills they first started mastering way back in their U-5 days.

It was Adams’ players who celebrated as the sun went down Tuesday night.

Salem’s season is over, but it won’t soon be forgotten.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.