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The rain forced the Plymouth and Salem girls soccer teams to change the location of its annual pink out game, but it wasn't going to be enough to postpone the affair.

The No. 12 ranked Plymouth Wildcats beat Salem 3-1 Thursday night at Canton High School's football field, where the game was moved after the normal Plymouth soccer field became unplayable due to the weather.

Both squads were decked out in pink uniforms, with the Wildcats in primarily pink jerseys with white accents, while the Rocks wore white jerseys with pink accents. 

"The kids enjoy putting this on and being involved," Plymouth coach Jeff Neschich said.

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Concessions and other baked goods were available for sale, with funds going towards breast cancer research. Bracelets and other items were for sale as well. The schools raised more than $800, which will be donated to St. Joe's Cancer Center in Canton.

"It's nice, it's our big park rival game and it's also for charity, so that's also nice," Plymouth's Brianna McNab said. "Being able to come out with a win is great. We've been working on a lot of set pieces and defending, we executed that really well tonight."

The teams battled to a 0-0- tie at halftime, but the second half was a different story.

Plymouth had the best scoring chance of the first-half with about 17 minutes left to play. Kennedy White fired a shot towards the net, but Salem goalkeeper Gwen Pratt was able to make the spectacular save. 

Outside of that moment, it was a relatively quiet half for both teams.

"The weather made it a little tough, the ball would slip away from us and would cause a faster pace, but we adapted really well," McNab said.

The second-half started with a bang. White again received the ball in the box and put a shot into the lower right corner of the goal, giving Plymouth a 1-0 lead. Seeing her connect after missing in the first half was big for her coach.

"That's what it's all about, you keep trying and get it the next play," Neschich said. "The most important play is always the next play. We don't give up and we keep making runs."

Less than three minutes later, Plymouth made it 2-0 after McNab scored on a long shot from way outside the Salem box. 

"It was a strong second half," Neschich said. "We actually started possessing the ball a lot better and got it down on the ground, used our outside backs and were dangerous on set pieces and counterattacks."

Salem got back in it with a wild goal by Sydney Smith. Salem had several scoring chances all in a row, and Smith was there to head the ball in after Plymouth goalie Ashley Bowles, who was in net during the second half, punched it away. 

Midway through the half, Salem had a great chance to even the score, but Macayla Harris hit it just wide of the goal and out of bounds.

The missed opportunity would come back to bite the Rocks, as McNab scored again with about 11 minutes remaining to secure the win. It was her eighth goal of the year.

"She's playing really well," Neschich said. "She's very determined out there and she lifts up the other girls with her determination and work ethic out there on the field."

Plymouth is now 7-1-1 in the KLAA West, good for second-place behind undefeated Novi, which it has a date with next week. Salem falls to 1-5-2 in the division.
