Tuesday's prep roundup: Salem, Novi tie in boys soccer

Salem boys soccer was looking to start a fresh winning streak Tuesday night heading into this weekend’s games, but Novi’s Jason Mo found the back of the net off of a set piece in the match's final minutes, tying it 1-1 and salvaging a draw for the home team.

The tying goal from Mo was the result of a seemingly endless offensive pursuit that managed to take Salem off its game, Salem coach Kyle Karns said.

“You can definitely sense when momentum shifts back and forth,” Karns said. “They were playing with a sense of urgency and getting a lot of chances off of crosses.”

Salem’s goal came on a penalty kick from Jason Warras minutes with 1:50 left in the first half.

“It was one of those games where you kind of wish you didn’t have a halftime,” Karns said.

Novi made a number of adjustments in the second half, and its ability to control the ball stopped Salem from doing what it does best.

“At that point, I felt like we, unfortunately, went away from what we do: keeping possession,” Karns said. “You have to stick within your own gameplan, and unfortunately we just kind of lost track of that in the last ten minutes or so.”

Entering Tuesday’s match, Salem had won its last six of seven games, dropping their most recent game with Northville. Tuesday's hard-fought draw with a fellow Kensington Lakes Activities Conference Gold contender gives the team some momentum before it plays Plymouth on Saturday.

“We’re just looking to come off a tie, continue to get better, and get ready for our game against our rival,” Karns said.

Nolan Bianchi is a freelance writer