Boys' lacrosse springs forward toward real season
The final scrimmage of the spring sports season did not start well for the Cape boys' lacrosse team. There was the news that starting goalie Grant Gillan was lost for the season with a broken collarbone. Gillan was hurt in the warm-up before the last scrimmage and did not play. It was thought he had a bone bruise, but a later MRI revealed a fracture, likely costing the junior his season.
“First of all, I feel absolutely terrible for Grant,” head coach Jack Lingo said after the scrimmage where a solid Stephen Decatur rocked Cape 9-5. “We are lucky to have Tony Iammatteo to step in there, but the entire team is just devastated for Grant that he won’t be able to play.”
Cape played well in spurts, and it’s hard to get a read on what the 2013 Cape team is all about.
Captain Thomas Ott said after the scrimmage, "It’s a rough go for Grant, but Tony Iammatteo is our backup guy and he’s stepping up, so we’re all going to rally behind him."
He added, "This is the hardest we’ve ever worked the first two weeks of the season. We’re ready to play. Tonight’s a little disappointing; we didn’t put it all together but we’ll get over it and be ready to go for the season.”
Cape opens the season Friday, March 22 at Milford in a 7 p.m.game, then will host Sussex Central at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 27.
The Vikings then take to the road for games at Peter and Paul Thursday, March 28, Severn School Wednesday, April 3 and Archmere Saturday, April 6.
Lingo and his staff of five assistants - three others were on the other field with the junior varsity team - had the PTSD look and thousand-yard stare coming off the field. They were not happy.
“The good news is, I don’t think we can play any worse, ” Lingo said afterward. "The bad news is we just played like that. I don’t know how to explain it; they outworked us all over the field. I just hope they got it out of their system. That’s a poor showing, and I’m very disappointed.“
A dark weather front moved over Legends Stadium as players left the locker room and headed for their cars. Lingo looked up and got the message. “Maybe we needed that. I don’t know. We’ll see Friday night.”
Milford, coached by Joey Vavala and Malik Lopez, was 5-10 last season. They would obviously like nothing better than to put a scare into the Vikings.
