(Have photos to go with this story? Email pics to Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and also list the photo credit as well.)
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
Michigan Soccer Network | Premier Media Group and affiliates
BUSINESS LINE: (248) 525-2349
CELL PHONE: (248) 884-1051
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
DEARBORN, Mich. – Monroe was able to keep Saline in check for a little more than 40 minutes Friday.
Then the floodgates opened.
The 11th-ranked Hornets exploded for five second-half goals – all coming in the final 32:51 of the contest – to down the unranked Trojans 5-0 in a Division 1 regional finals match at Dearborn Fordson.
Saline advances to the Division 1 state semifinals for the first time since 2014 and have earned a date with uber-talented Rochester Adams next Wednesday at Troy Athens.
Saline has regrouped from a 0-2-1 start and is now on a 19-0-3 streak – perhaps one of the longest unbeaten streaks of the 2024 season in all of the divisions combined. The Hornets lost two games at the Balconi Invitational back on Aug. 24 and have not tasted defeat since that day.
It marked the second time that Saline defeated Monroe this season, as the Hornets deflated the Trojans 6-2 on Sept. 12. This win capped a brilliant two-win week where Saline posted a 10-1 scoring edge over its two regional opponents, including a 5-1 victory over Dearborn Edsel Ford, listed as honorable mention in the rankings, in the regional semifinals last Tuesday.
“We’ve really pulled it together,” admitted first-year Saline coach Bartley Lydy, whose team is now just two wins potentially from a first state title. “I got a miracle situation with this team. Last time we were in a state (semifinal) was 2014. We’re trying to take it all the way and it’s something the school has never done before. We have a very strong group – very tightly knit. I think our chemistry is second to none. If there’s any group from Saline to do it, it’s this one.”
Overall, Saline (16-2-4) has outscored five postseason opponents 24-3 with three clean sheets, while the Hornets have outscored the opposition 72-15 with 12 shutouts throughout the entire season. Saline has been kept off the scoreboard three times, once at the Balconi tournament and twice in 0-0 draws in league play – but each of those contests came within the first eight games of the season and between Aug. 24 and Sept. 10.
Senior midfielder Juan Martin Balda broke the scoreless tie against Monroe. After teammate Jaedyn Sifuna was tripped up in the corner of the box, Balda stepped up to the penalty spot and buried the kick down into the middle of the goal with 32:51 remaining in the contest.
That gave Saline a 1-0 advantage and it more than began a downpour on Monroe’s unexpected parade of making a run to the regional finals for the just the third time in program history.
Sifuna netted the second goal off long pass from Balda with 29:05 left to push the lead to 2-0. Senior midfielder Keegan Cahill scored the third goal, following up the rebound off his own shot and blasting it home from close range with 25:33 left.
The Hornets began substituting players in and out of the lineup, but the scoring did not end. Sifuna scored again off a breakaway feed from junior midfielder Bryce Nadig with 20:25 remaining, while freshman midfielder Jake Martin got involved in the scoring act with 55 seconds left with his breakaway goal coming off a long serve from senior midfielder Lucas Urdangarin.
Saline has great balance in its attack, with a multitude of forwards and wing midfielders causing all types of problems for the opposition in just about each game this season. The Hornets can play possession soccer as well as utilize their speed by slotting the ball through traffic and have players run onto the ball, or they can knock it over the top and have forwards beat their mark to gain shots.
Sifuna was the most effective on this day, netting the brace and wreaking havoc on Monroe’s back line until being subbed out with around 10 minutes remaining.
“Jaedyn is pretty darn effective with or without the ball. When he’s moving, he’s aggressive, energetic – he’s a force to be reckoned with or without the ball,” smiled Lydy. “I think Jaedyn was even pretty effective in the first half. The shots, he just didn’t get his foot behind the ball in the sweet spot. But ultimately in the second half, he was just kind of bullying past kids. He can get clean touches to create chances for himself and his teammates. (He was) just one short of the hattrick tonight.”
Saline went on to post a 22-6 overall shots advantage in the game, including 13-4 with shots on target, and even held a 5-1 edge on cornerkicks. The Hornets actually scored on their first four shots on frame in the first 20 minutes of the second half. They also hit the crossbar or goal post three times in the contest.
Senior goalkeeper Eric Friedholm notched his team's 12th shutout on four saves, while the Hornets defense rarely allowed quality chances.
Monroe (13-8-2) lost in the regional finals in 1988 and 1995 but came up short against Saline in its third trip to this stage. The Trojans did not face a state-ranked team in the tournament until running into a buzzsaw in Saline – a team that has not lost in its last 22 matches.
Nevertheless, Monroe, the sixth-place finisher in the Southeastern Conference-Red Division (4-6-2), won its previous four state tournament games behind a combined 18-4 scoring edge. The Trojans’ renaissance was led by an offense that outscored the opposition 65-46 this season with three shutouts.
“Monroe soccer is back on the map and I’m happy with that,” said Monroe coach Ian Cooke, whose squad has won district titles in two of the last five seasons. “It was something like six years ago we had a 1-18 season. Now we’re much more competitive and we were able to make (the run). We have nine seniors, five whom (start) that were a big part of us getting this far, and we’ll being back a lot of players next year.”
Saline has outscored Monroe 11-2 this season, although the Hornets have done that to several opponents this year. The two quick goals just 3:42 apart early in the second half put the Trojans into a deficit where they could not recover. Saline’s attack was relentless in the second half, where the Hornets held a 13-3 shots advantage and scored all five of their goals and deflated any hopes for a major upset by Monroe.
“We became a bit reckless and unfortunately drew a penalty,” offered Cooke on the first goal. “The call was justified. For about ten minutes, we lost our composure, and that lapse was pivotal.
“We recognized we were in a difficult situation,” added Cooke. “Facing off against a team like Saline requires you to summon your absolute best, but with two key seniors nursing significant injuries, we faced an uphill battle. Many of their players have previously competed on a (Saline Soccer Club MSYSA) state championship club team.”
Cooke’s Trojans had a plan of slowing down Saline’s vaunted attack, which averages 3.28 goals a game and were led by Sifuna and junior forward Zach Heisler, both who had over 15 goals apiece this season. The Hornets proved to have too many weapons to deal with on this night.
“We crafted a strategy to mitigate their dangerous (forwards), and we actually crafted the best scoring opportunity in the first half,” offered Cooke. “But Saline came out in the second half and were able to score some quick goals.”
Saline must now turn its attention to a Rochester Adams team that features seven NCAA Division I recruits and some others that could play at other levels of college soccer.
Two years ago, Saline lost in double-overtime to Salem in the regional finals, so the last time the Hornets reached the Final Four was when the current seniors were in second grade. Saline finished as the Division 1 state runner-up back in 2003, some 21 years ago.
“You just really have to go into each game calm, composed. You can’t let the moment be too big for you,” said Saline senior center back Jackson Phillips, a fourth-year varsity veteran and team leader for the Hornets. “You just have to control your emotions and play your game.”
Saline has not played Adams in several years but may not be favored in that contest despite the 22-game unbeaten streak.
“We’ll start to do our research tomorrow, go out and watch some film,” said Lydy. “It may be the case where we are the underdogs for once, and that’s okay.”
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(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com and jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
(MSN will compile a random sampling of game results from around the state each day. To send in results from high school varsity, club, amateur, pre-pro, semi-pro or professional soccer, email all pertinent details to Communications Specialist / Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com or submit information right on the correct link on the MSN website at https://www.michigansoccernetwork.com/reportascore. Please submit the competing teams, location and date of game, final score, overall and league records, goals, assists, goalkeepers and saves, standout defenders, players of the match, and any other pertinent details of the game. If there are courtesy action photos available, feel free to submit them at the above-listed emails.)
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