Cape beats Sussex Academy to advance to championship

Cape Henlopen Girls lacrosse Louise Rishko take a shot in the win over Sussex Academy. Photo by Ben FultonThe Cape girls lacrosse team remains undefeated this season defeating Sussex Academy 20-12, advancing to the DIAA State Championship Finals. These two teams are familiar ro say the least and their schools only sit 11 miles apart. They faced off in the semi finals of last year’s tournament where Cape upended the Seahawks 20-4, then in the regular season this year Cape came out on top 19-6. So to say these teams know each other is an understatement.

In sports, we know how hard it is to beat a team twice in a season. The Seahawks were more prepared this time around and talking with their head coach, Taylor Gibbs, she said it’s just a mindset. They had to mentally prepare to beat Ursuline to get here and they have the skill, they have to believe they can win.

The Seahawks gave Cape everything they could handle in the first quarter, gaining traction and out-scoring the Vikings 6-5 with Shelby Manlove (Richmond commit) contributing 4 of those goals. Remember in the regular season they had 6 goals total, so adjustments had been made prior to Gibbs’ team stepping on the field today. Cape looked shell-shocked and couldn’t find their rhythm.

Cape outshot Sussex Academy in the 2nd quarter 11 to 4 but only added 6 goals to their total. The game went into halftime 11-9, Cape with the lead. At this point 6 different Cape players had scored and 5 different Sussex Academy players had scored. Sharing the ball is a fast way to win in lacrosse.

In the short halftime, Cape’s head coach Linsdey Underwood and her staff went to work. The Vikings came out like a different team and owned the 3rd quarter. Their defense stifled any offensive attack by the Seahawks holding them to 1 goal. They were patient on offense, using the clock to their advantage and scoring 4. 15-10 Cape.

In the 4th Cape kept the pressure up and simply wore down the Seahawks. Cape plays fast and that wears on their competitors. The Vikings would score 5 times to Sussex Academy’s 2 and they pulled away for the 20-12 win to earn their spot in the Championship Finals.

They will play Tatnall Thursday night at Caesar Rodney High School, 6 pm. Cape will have the chance to avenge their loss last season to Tatnall. Prior to that, Cape had won the last 13 consecutive state titles.