Girls Soccer: Mustangs Go 2-0-1 at Saginaw Heritage Invitational

The Northville Mustangs girls soccer team went 2-0-1 over the weekend at the Saginaw Heritage Invitational.

On Saturday, the Mustangs managed just a 1-1 tie with Saline, despite outshooting the Hornets 9-2.

Sophomore Jamie Cheslik scored the Mustangs' lone goal at the 13-minute mark of the game after a throw-in by senior Jenni Borawski, driving the ball into the net from 22 yards out.

Late in the second half, Saline was awarded a free kick from 45 yards out and during a battle to clear the ball, the Hornets drove the ball into the net to tie the game at the 47-minute mark.

Northville coach Eric Brucker said in an email that a poor clearance out of the back cost the Mustangs a goal — and a shot at winning the game.

The Mustangs regained their footing in the second half, however, routing the Grand Blanc Bobcats, 7-1.

Northville earned first-half goals from sophomore Megan Buckingham at the eight- and 10-minute marks to take a quick 2-0 lead. Sophomore Rachel Yaggi followed up two minutes later to give the Mustangs a 3-0 lead, followed by senior Mallory Weber's goal at the 14-minute mark.

Emily Bush added the Mustangs' fifth goal at the 23-minute mark, burying a corner kick that came her way from senior Sasha Gardner.

Bush tallied her second goal of the game at the 30-minute mark in the second half.

Grand Blanc finally found the back of the net at the 45-minute mark when the Bobcats drove the ball past freshman Northville goaltender Emily Maresh.

Forty seconds later, however, the Mustangs put the game away on Chelsik's unassisted goal, securing a 7-1 win for Northville.

"After the slow start in Game 1, it was nice to see the offense running on all cylinders," Brucker said in an email. "We are getting a lot of production out of a lot different players."

Northville's stifling defense and high-powered offense was no match for Dewitt in the Mustangs' third game of the invitational, scoring three goals in the first seven minutes to steal the momentum from their feisty opponents.

Cheslik found the back of the net early, beating Dewitt at the game's two-minute mark and adding a second tally at the six-minute mark on a breakaway.

Borawski added to the Mustangs' early surge, scoring at the seven-minute mark to give Northville a 3-0 lead heading into the second half.

Weber scored the Mustangs' fourth and final goal at the 48-minute mark of an assist by Bush.

Junior Kiki Hilmer recorded the shutout for Northville.

"I think the early goals really took the wind out of Dewitt's sails," Brucker said in an email. "I felt we did a great job coming out early and put pressure on their back line very early. By the time they gained their composure, they were down three goals."

Brucker said he was pleased with his team's performance through the three games, but was disappointed to just earn a tie during the Saline game.

"Overall for the day I'm very pleased with the team's performance," he said in an email. "The goal from Saline was very frustrating because I thought we controlled the game. We'll discuss the situation at practice on Monday to make sure we're all on the same page."

Northville improved to 8-0-3 (4-0-0 KLAA Central) and plays Livonia Stevenson on Tuesday.

As of Saturday, the Mustang girls were ranked No. 9 in the ESPN Rise national ranking and No. 1 in its state ranking, third in the MHSSCA state ranking and fifth in the NSCAA Region IV (Midwest) ranking.