The Sussex Academy girls’ soccer team is one step closer to claiming the Henlopen South title for the third season in a row after junior Deb Williams struck twice on headers off corners in the Seahawks’ 2-1 victory over Indian River.

“This game is really important because we want to run back our Henlopen South Division championship and Henlopen Conference championship, so it was great to get a win,” Williams said. 

The captain teamed up with her middle school teammate, eighth-grader Patricia Lara Nieto, late in a first half played mostly in the middle third. Finally breaking through, the Seahawks earned a corner and set the stage for the dynamic duo to cash in. Lara Nieto explained that she wishes her shots were as good as her crosses, but she is happy to help any way she can.

IR junior Allison Tucker tied things up when she charged the goal and sent a rocket toward Ella Sprucebank, finally cracking the freshman’s code. 

Knotted 1-1 to start the second half, the Seahawks went hunting for goals and tapped the reliable connection of Lara Nieto to Williams to find the winner. Just over four minutes into the final frame, another corner from the eighth-grader produced a goal for Williams and Sussex Academy.

“Maybe I have like a magnet on my head, because at this point, it's just been my go-to game,” Williams said.

Over the next 36 minutes, there were a few chances, but much of the game was played in the middle third of the field, as the Seahawks didn’t want to expose themselves to a quick counter-attack, and IR couldn’t solve Sussex Academy’s backline and central midfield.

“We don't want to force forward if we don't have to, and since they were playing so defensively in that last bit, that's just how it played out,” said senior Sienna Serpico. “I'm sure that we'll be in matches where we have a tactical move like that, but we just love to play and we want to keep the ball.”

The 2-1 victory takes IR out of the Henlopen South race and sets the stage for the division to be decided when Sussex Academy welcomes Delmar Tuesday, May 6.