Cape soccer falls to Padua 5-0
The eighth-seeded Cape Henlopen girls’ soccer team hung tough for the first 40 minutes of the May 23 quarterfinal match with top-seeded Padua, going into the halftime break in a scoreless tie. But the Pandas’ depth prevailed in the second half as they took a 5-0 victory.
They will face Middletown Wednesday, May 30, in the semifinal round of the DIAA state tournament. The Pandas have won the DIAA championship three of the last four years.
Cape sophomore goalkeeper Madison Nichols made 12 saves in the contest. She was pressed into service after the injury of starting keeper Lucy Siranides in the May 15 game with Caesar Rodney. The last time Nichols was in goal was four years ago when she was 12. She turned 16 on game day.
“I was a little nervous at first,” said Nichols. “Then the ball started to come to me and I was like, I really don’t have a choice at this point and I’ve got to do it for the team and do my best.”
Cape took three shots in the game, while Padua had 19. Pandas goalkeeper Katie Szczerba made three saves.
“In the first half, we were really organized,” said head coach Patrick Kilby. “We did a really good job of marking their runs. They threw lots of numbers at us trying to break through our back line and we held tight and we were very organized. We communicated well. It was a really good first half.”
Nichols was hurt early in the second half when she collided with Padua’s striker, causing a knee injury. Kilby substituted Madalyn Swontek for the remainder of the game.
“I wanted to keep the integrity of our back line stable, so I was looking for someone that was athletic and could read the game well,” Kilby said. “So I picked Madi Swontek. She did a good job for us.”
It was the first time in goal for the freshman midfielder.
“I was thinking – my defense has got me,” said Swontek, who was credited with two saves. ”I had fun in goal. This is a fun team.”
“We definitely played more defensively in the first half,” said senior defender Colleen Donohoe. “We knew we had to protect our goal at all cost. They came out so much harder than we were ready for in the second half.”
“I think this team and the season it had could help set the standard for future teams,” said Kilby. “Our group of seniors have created a bridge between future teams where we now know the level of competitiveness needed to find success at the state tournament level. The seniors have really set the tone for the future of the program.”
