‘CLAIRE’ & PRESENT DANGER: Hammill sparks Rocks’ District win
Salem’s Lauren Driscoll advances the ball between Plymouth’s Kady Knauf and Olympia Dixon.
Warning to high school soccer goal-keepers: Don’t give Salem senior Claire Hammill even a couple of feet of space when she’s pushing the ball toward the net, or she’ll make you pay.
Powered by two thread-the-needle goals by Hammill, Salem’s girls soccer team marched on to the MHSAA Division 1 District 9 semifinal round by ousting Plymouth, 2-1, Wednesday night at the P-CEP east turf stadium.
Wednesday’s game promised to be close based on the two Plymouth-Canton Educational Park rivals’ two previous meetings this spring.
The Wildcats battled Salem to a 1-1 draw on April 4, before the Rocks edged Plymouth 3-1 just over three weeks later.
Salem advances to Tuesday’s showdown against P-CEP neighbor Canton, which earned a first-round district bye. The game will kick off at 5 p.m. at Livonia Stevenson High School.
To check out video highlights from Wednesday’s game, click here.
Round 3 of epic ’24 rivalry
The Chiefs posted 1-0 and 2-0 triumphs over the Rocks in their two regular-season encounters.
Salem threatened to score on multiple occasions prior to Hammill’s first goal 18 minute into the game, but were turned away by Plymouth’s phenomenal senior keeper Grace Cheetam.
The first opportunity came when a hard-charging Hammill touched a pass to teammate Elaine Rama, whose hard blast from about 12 yards out was somehow redirected to the outside of the left post by Cheetam.
Rama also executed a near-perfect bicycle-esque shot from just outside the goalie box that sailed just high of the cross-bar.
Hammill ultimately cashed in with a right-footed missile from 20 yards out that found the absolute top-right corner of the net, just eluding a leaping Cheetam.
Fifteen minutes later, Hammill added what turned out to be the game-winner when she dribbled down the right sideline before striking a perfectly-placed turf-hugging shot that barely rolled past the horizontal Cheetham and into the lower-front corner of the goal.
Slick save keeps ‘Cats alive
Salem sophomore Lauren Fowler nearly made it 3-0 mid-way through the second half when she spun to create space from the Plymouth defense before ripping a left-footed rope that Cheetam diverted away from the net.
Following their season-long mode of operating, the Wildcats didn’t let the two-goal deficit faze them.
With just under 11 minutes left in the contest, Plymouth junior Victoria Powell motored up the right sideline before striking a centering pass in front of the the goal. After the ball bounced off a Rock defender in front of the net, Plymouth’s Ivy Turnquist placed a low shot past Salem keeper Morganne Jones to give the Wildcats new life.
Jones secured the triumph for Salem with less than three minutes to play when she pounced on a bouncing ball 10 yards from the goal as Turnquist and senior Kendall Elmy were closing fast.
In the bottom half of the District 9 brackets, host Stevenson edged Northville, 2-1, while Livonia Franklin defeated Livonia Churchill, 4-1. Stevenson and Franklin will face off in Tuesday’s 7 p.m. semifinal game.
The championship tilt is set for June 1 at 11 a.m. at Stevenson.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
