Cape girls’ lax downs CR 12-9 to finish regular season unbeaten
A balmy drizzle with low clouds blanket the field, creating a peaceful, easy feeling belying the heat of the moment May 13, as unbeaten Cape held off once-beaten Caesar Rodney 12-9 on the Riders’ home field.
A Delaware public school has never beaten Cape Henlopen, which earlier in the week was ranked the No. 8 public school in the nation by USA Lacrosse Magazine.
“If the teams play again, it will be in the state finals, and we hope that happens," said Riders coach Gina Voss, a former Cape goalie. “Our goal for this program is to level up with the best teams in the state and stay there.”
The Riders squeezed Cape in the first half, pushing back from a 6-2 deficit to close to 6-4 at halftime.
“Abbey [Schaeffer], our goalie, was locked in with six saves and making good clears, and I felt our one-on-one defense was really good,” said Cape coach Lindsey Underwood. “It turned into a wire-to-wire game, which is good for both teams going into the tournament.”
Cape scored the first four goals to start the third quarter to lead 10-4 with 4:11 left in the period. The Riders responded with three goals in a row to enter the fourth quarter trailing 10-7.
Cape’s Haley Gamuciello found the cage on a free-position opportunity to extend the lead to 11-7.
The Riders responded by winning a pair of draws followed by goals, cutting the deficit to 11-9 with under four minutes remaining.
Ally Diehl won a crucial draw, then Lina Frederick buried a one-timer with 3:27 on the clock to pad the tight lead for Cape. Diehl won the next draw, allowing the Vikings to go spread yellow to run out the clock.
Scoring for Cape were Gamuciello with four goals, Macy Steinwedel with three goals, and Makenzie Todd, Claire Lopez, Regan Best, Diehl and Frederick with one each. Recording assists were Lopez with three, and Steinwedel, Amara Fruchtman and Maired Rishko with one apiece.
CR goals came from Ella Brown with three, and Ellie Fuchs, Logan Fuchs and Brooke Roberts each with two. Tallying assists were Delaney Miklus with three and Ellie Roberts with one.
Goalie Ava Brown was credited with six saves.
Cape’s JV team beat the Riders 18-2, closing out the season 12-2. The JV lost to Broadneck 15-2 and avenged an opening-season loss at Queen Anne’s 5-4 with a 9-4 win at Cape April 30.
Brackets for the DIAA state tournament will be announced Wednesday, May 14.
