Sals-CR Soccer: Esser leads Salesianum past undefeated Caesar Rodney 3-1

Salesianum soccer Chase 17 Esser scored two goals in their win over Caesar Rodney. Photo by Nick Halliday

Salesianum soccer Chase Esser (17) scored two goals in their win over Caesar Rodney. Photo by Nick Halliday

WILMINGTON — The state’s two top soccer teams — Caesar Rodney and Salesianum — met on the Sals’ home turf at Abessinio Stadium Tuesday evening. In the end, the Sals controlled the ball for the majority of the fairly competitive game en route to handing the Riders their first loss of the season by a 3-1 score.

The Riders entered the match with an impressive 9-0-1 record that included a win over Sussex Academy. Salesianum, which historically plays a challenging schedule against regional powerhouses, sported a 4-4-1 record, with notable losses to LaSalle College Prep and St. Benedict’s.

Salesianum striker Chase Esser wasted no time as he ran down the opening kick-off by Caesar Rodney. He single-handedly caught the Riders’ defense and goalkeeper on their heels as he broke up a backward pass, chipping it in as the ball rolled into the net in the first 20 seconds of the game.

After a slow next 15 minutes, the Sals played a string of passes from left to right across the 18-yard box. Esser found himself with another great scoring opportunity in front of the net. He faked a volley and made a solid directional touch of the ball to his left, then blasted a shot past the diving Riders keeper for his second goal of the contest.

The Riders attempted to play over the top as they blasted the ball from their backfield into their offensive third, but their forwards could not gain any meaningful possession and turned the ball over quickly, leading to a Sallies counter-attack. The Riders played out the rest of the half with an urgency and a toughness that didn’t exist early in the match but were unable to create any legitimate scoring opportunities as the Sals defense stifled all their attacks.

The Riders finally broke through in the 50th minute when Trevor Sullivan found the ball at his feet at the top of the box after a short scramble in front of the goal. Sullivan blasted a shot near post past a diving Sallies’ keeper to bring the score to 2-1.

However, their momentum was stopped in its tracks as the Sals scored on the very next offensive possession. Salesianum Dominic Gennusa caught the Riders’ defense out of position and sent a shot into the back of the net to secure the final two-goal advantage.

Salesianum improves to 5-4-1 on the season and, with the victory, looks to take over the undisputed No. 1 seed in the state. The Riders fall to 9-1-1 as they suffer their first loss of the season, but they won’t fall too far in the rankings, considering they lost to a team like Salesianum.