Two huge saves by Jenna Brock enables Hartland to tie Canton in KLAA West soccer showdown

CANTON — Hartland was considered one of the top girls soccer teams in Michigan heading into the season because of its wealth of experienced players.

Those veterans are big reason why the Eagles remain atop one of the state’s toughest divisions, but they might not be if not for the massive contributions of a first-time starter.

Junior goalie Jenna Brock made 11 saves Thursday during a 0-0 tie with Canton in a clash between the top two teams in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West Division heading into the night.

Two spectacular saves by Brock, one late in the first half and another late in the game, were all that separated the Eagles from a tie that kept them four points up in the division to a loss that would’ve cut their cushion to one point.

Canton junior Kayla Rankin had the two best scoring chances of the game, only to be thwarted by Brock.

With a minute left in the first half, Rankin outraced two Hartland defenders to a ball that was sent toward the Eagles’ net. Rankin took a shot from the left side of the box and Brock made a diving save.

“I wasn’t expecting her to shoot,” Brock said. “I was expecting her to take another touch; that’s why I kind of dropped back. It was a huge save there, because going into half down one would have been very bad for us. I probably should have communicated better with my defense, but we got the job done, so that’s all that matters.”

Allowing a goal before halftime would have been tough, but the Eagles would have had 40 minutes to get the equalizer. The margin for error was much smaller when Brock made her second big save of the night on Rankin with four minutes left in the game.

Canton’s Scarlett Nuechterlein sent a ball into the box that was quickly redirected toward the net by Rankin. Brock dove to her left and reached up to snare the ball to keep the game scoreless.

“They had a really good cross right to their open (player),” Brock said. “The girl one-timed it. Luckily, I got to it in time. I was in perfect position for that. Luckily, I didn’t get too stuck on the cross, made the save, kept it 0-0.”

The Eagles have counted on Brock to make big saves in clutch situations. Her stop on a 25-yard free kick with 47 seconds left by one of Brighton’s top players, Olivia Sebestyen, allowed Hartland to come away with a 2-1 victory on April 11.

Brock saw little action last season as the backup to senior Leila Al-Qallaf, a second-team All-Livingston County selection. Brock has come through with back-to-back shutouts against two of the KLAA’s top programs, Northville and Canton.

“We knew she was a good goalie,” Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. “We had her with us last year, because we knew she was solid. We really wouldn’t have had any issue with her playing last year. She just had a senior who was very experienced ahead of her. We were hoping she would step in and take control. She’s gotten more comfortable as the season’s gone on and she’s learned more about the girls she’s playing with and communicated better with them.”

Hartland’s best scoring chance came with 17 minutes left in the first half when Canton goalie Julia Tasker made a save on a shot by Josephine Wisniewski while sitting on the ground during a scramble following a corner kick.

The tie enabled Hartland to stay four points ahead of Canton in the division. Salem also moved within four points with an 8-0 victory over Howell.

Hartland is 8-1-2 for 26 points with three division games remaining, Canton and Salem are 6-1-4 for 22 and Brighton is 6-3-2 for 20. Brighton will host Hartland at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Sloan Field with an opportunity to move within three points of first place.

“A win would have really put us in a nice spot,” Kartsounes said. “The tie doesn’t really hurt us all that much. We’re still up by four on Canton and Salem and we’ve already played Salem for the second time. Now at this point we’ve just got to get the job done and we need to win some games, none bigger than next Tuesday with Brighton. That’s gonna be a big one.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland remains atop KLAA West girls soccer after 0-0 tie with Canton