Friday night lights did not disappoint the soccer crowd at Legends Stadium Oct. 3, although the home team may feel it left a few points on the field.

A promising 8-0 start to the season wasn’t sweet enough to overcome the bitter taste of defeat for the Cape boys’ soccer team as it dropped to 8-1 via a 2-1 loss to Brandywine Oct. 3. But coach Patrick Kilby said it was leadership that led to the Vikings’ hot start and leadership that will allow them to bounce back.

“We rely heavily on Brenner Short, Lawson Whaley and Lee Levis as our leaders because we have a lot of youth on this team,” Kilby said. “We cultivate that youth, we build that youth, and even though we've got a bunch of freshmen on this team, they're not looked at as freshmen. They're looked at as if you're here, you're gonna compete, and you're gonna contribute.”

Cape honored the middle school teams from Beacon, Mariner and Fred Thomas before the game, and generated a few looks on frame, or thereabout, in the first half. The Bulldogs refused to back down, though, and both squads remained off the board in the first 40 minutes. 

Brandywine cracked the code early in the first half for the first goal, then doubled the lead to put the undefeated Vikings on the brink of their first loss. However, Cape kept asking questions of the Bulldogs’ backline and keeper, proving to be a tough out.

Junior Austin Tyndall just missed getting a touch for a header on frame, but sophomore Carter Matarazzi stuck with the play to slice Brandywine’s lead in half. The Vikings continued to force the issue, and following a red card, they made believers of anyone watching that a chance for a win still remained.

“You can never, ever question their heart and their effort,” Kilby said. “Could a team outplay us? Yeah. Could a team outwork us or out-heart us? Probably not.”

Giving themselves chances until the final whistle, blown just before a Cape free kick deep in Brandywine territory, Kilby believes his team proved his belief in the 2-1 defeat.

Cape will welcome 7-1 Sussex Academy for a rematch of the 2024 Henlopen Conference Championship at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7.