By D. Matt Dale
MaxPreps.com
Boys Lacrosse: Cape Captures Finals Birth
Cape Henlopen defeated Brandywine in the quarterfinals last Tuesday (May 20) in a close 7-6 contest. No. 11 seeded Wilmington Friends stunned Tatnall the same day with an 8-7 overtime victory to lift Friends over the Hornets. Cape and Friends faced off in the semifinals on Thursday.
Cape (17-1) was led to a 12-7 victory behind hat tricks from Ian Stewart and Mark Tappan. Stewart also added three assists. Chris Woodruff helped ensure Cape’s victory as he added two goals and two assists.
Eric Kelley led Friends with three goals, while teammate Wesley Carr added two goals of his own. Bobby DeWees contributed one goal and two assists.
Cape’s defense limited Friends to 19 shots throughout the game, making goalie Franc Cook’s job that much easier. Cook made eight saves, good enough to advance Cape to the finals.
Cape will try to knock off undefeated Salesianum and claim the schools fifth championship in the finals on Saturday. If Cape can finish on top, the Vikings will have more boys’ lacrosse championships than any other school in the state.
Boys Lacrosse: Salesianum Stays Stellar
Salesianum defeated St. Andrews 12-2 on Tuesday May 20 to advance to the semifinal round of the state tournament where the Sal’s faced fifth seeded Wilmington Charter. The Force had just come off an impressive 11-8 victory over four seed Tower Hill in the quarterfinals and was looking to keep the upset trend going against the top seed and defending state champs.
Dan Tyron had four goals as the Sals cruised past Charter 15-6. Three Salesianum players recorded hat tricks, with Kevin Kilpatrick, Brandon Groux, and Mike Adkins scoring three goals a piece. Groux and Tyron each added two assists while Mark Manos (Drexel) made 18 saves, allowing six goals on 27 shots.
Salesianum outscored Charter in all four quarters, while their defense allowed only one Charter player to score more than one goal; Andrew Michalowski (two).
Charter’s season ends at 15-4, the loss to Salesianum ended its season along with a nine-game winning streak.
The undefeated Sals (17-0) will look to repeat as state champions in the finals Saturday at Dover High School.
Girls Lacrosse: St. Andrew’s and Tower Hill Reach the Finals
Fourth seeded Tower Hill advanced to the finals after a semifinal upset of top seed St. Mark’s on Wednesday. The Hillers will face St. Andrew’s who beat Cape Henlopen May 28.
St. Andrew’s was down 4-1 against Cape in the second half. The Saints tied the game thanks to goals from Kaity Moore, Amanda Johnston, and Lucinda Caldwell. Cape managed to take the lead once again, but Moore answered with another goal to tie things at 5-5. Corrine Armistead laced the winning goal for St. Andrew’s as the Saints beat the Vikings 6-5 and advance to the state finals for the ninth time.
Moore finished the day with three goals, while Armistead added an assist on top of her game winner.
Tower Hill also made a comeback to earn their place in the finals. The Hillers were trailing St. Mark’s 6-1 at halftime, but managed an 11-8 victory.
Five players from Tower Hill scored multiple goals, with Meghan Lyons, Lexie Saunders, Mary Hobbs, Van Sickle, and Holliday each scoring two goals apiece. Hobbs tied the game at 8-8 in the second half and Lyons gave the Hillers the lead for good soon after.
The Hillers will try to win their third strait championship as they take on St. Andrew’s on Friday at Archmere.