Cape boys’ lax swats the Hornets 11-3 in semis
On a night the weather was more suited for a duck, the Cape boys’ lacrosse team braved the wind and driving rain to move into the DIAA state championship game with an 11-3 victory over Tatnall May 28 at Delaware Military Academy’s Fusco Memorial Stadium.
The Vikings will face Salesianum at 3 p.m., Saturday, May 31, at Caesar Rodney’s Rider Stadium. Sallies defeated CR 19-5 in the other semifinal.
Junior Braddock Smith led the Vikings with five goals in the game.
“We started off slow,” said Smith. “It took a little to get used to the conditions, but as the game went on, we cleaned up our play a little. We played tough as a team, but here at the end of the season, we are at where we need to be.”
Grant Conway hit the twine for two goals. Brenner Short, Evan Burris, AJ Grapski and Ryan Morgan each scored a goal.
Grapski was credited with two assists, while Morgan had a helper.
The Vikings jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first quarter, but the Hornets buzzed back to tie the game at 3-3 in the second. Cape went into halftime ahead 5-3, and the defense never let in another score, shutting out the No. 3 seed in the second half.
“We are excited to get back to the finals,” said senior long pole Jake Hutchison. “We just got to get back to work and play our game the way we know we can play. We have to do what we’ve been doing for the past few months.”
“Tatnall’s a good team,” said Cape coach Geoff Shupard. “They are building that team back up and have a lot to be proud of. I’m very proud of the way our guys were able to overcome the weather and some injuries tonight. It was truly a next-man-up mentality, and I thought we played very tough and aggressive. We are looking forward to getting back to work. Mason [Trench] had stellar performance in the cage, especially with the rain. Our clears were great, and we worked well in transition. Channing [Smith] did a fantastic job at the face-off X. He came in when Mason [Jack] got hurt and won like 10 draws. We are looking forward to play in the finals again.”
The Vikings held a 13-4 advantage on face-offs. Trench made six saves in the cage.
