Sallies show dominance with wins over Caesar Rodney and Dover; Hodgson baseball wins mid-season tourney; St. Mark’s deals out a huge upset in girls’ soccer.
By D. Matt Dale
MaxPreps.com
Salesianum traveled to Caesar Rodney on Saturday for a much-anticipated game between two of the state’s traditional powers. Caesar Rodney entered with a 6-1 record and was looking to hand the defending state champs their first loss of the season.
Salesianum head coach Bob Healy had other plans as his team roughed up the Riders and cruised to a 20-6 victory.
Mike Adkins led the Sallies in scoring with six goals, while fellow senior Kevin Kilpatrick added five goals of his own. Junior Brandon Groux manhandled Caesar Rodney’s defense, contributing five assists and four goals. Mark Manos, the Sallies all-everything goalie, had 17 saves as the Riders managed 25 shots.
The convincing victory not only improved Salesianum’s record to 7-0, it also sent a message to the rest of the state.
After another blowout victory (17-1) over Dover on Monday, Sallies improved to 8-0.
Bob Healy’s team has beaten every opponent they have faced this season by at least five goals and have outscored their opponents 118-28. Sallies will try to continue their state-wide dominance as they hit the road for a game against William Penn on Thursday.
Baseball: Hodgson Wins Stenta Cup
Hodgson Vo-Tech took on Holy Cross (N.Y.) Saturday in the championship game of the Henry Stenta Cup tournament held at Frawley Stadium. The Silver Eagles defeated the out-of-state opponents 4-1 despite committing five errors throughout the game.
Holy Cross scored an unearned run in the first inning that did not seem to faze Hodgson pitcher Sean Baeder. Baeder scored a run of his own in the fifth inning to tie things up, and ended the game with six strikeouts, surrendering only one hit and no earned runs in six full innings.
Hodgson broke the game open in the sixth when Holy Cross reliever Michael McManus walked Donnie White, gave up a single to Dan Eby, and hit Baeder with a pitch to load the bases. The stage was set for Jamie Treml who scored three off a hit into left centerfield.
Treml was named the tournament’s most valuable player as his game-winning hit resulted in Hodgson’s fourth consecutive Stenta Cup championship.
Girls Soccer: St. Mark’s Cruising
St. Mark’s met Padua in a battle between two undefeated teams on Friday. Senior Marisa Muller scored two goals, including the game winner in overtime, to lift the Spartans over Padua 3-2.
The victory ended Padua’s 33 game win streak, and improved the Spartan’s record to 9-0.
Despite two goals from star junior Morgan Morrow (verbal commitment to USC), Padua walked away with a disappointing loss. Stout play from St. Mark’s defenders Tori Strengari, Emily Jobst, and Meg Lazorick limited Padua’s attack and allowed the Spartans to pull off a tremendous upset victory.
St. Mark’s continued its success in a 9-0 shellacking of St. Elizabeth on Monday. The visiting Vikings did not stand a chance against a Spartan team riding a wave of momentum.
Junior Caitlin Myers and sophomore Brittany Niggebrugge scored two goals a piece while Chelsea Ganc contributed two assists against their Catholic League rivals. The win marks the Spartan’s seventh shutout victory of the season.
St. Mark’s has outscored its opponents 50-5 this season, and is sitting pretty with a perfect 10-0 record.
Fans should mark their calendars as Padua will look for revenge against St. Mark’s in a rematch May 8 in the final game of the regular season.
