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Sussex Academy’s Short sinks Cape 1-0

Freshman goalie Breanna Duncan records 27 saves
Sussex Academy goalie Breanna Duncan, right, prevents Cape’s Hannah Bieler from scoring off a corner kick. Duncan was credited with 27 saves in the game. DAN COOK PHOTOS
Dave Frederick
April 18, 2018
Cape’s Sydney Zych, right, battles for possession with Sussex Academy’s Julia Helou.
Cape’s Hannah Bieler, right, battles for possession with Seahawks midfielder Mary Garcia Barrios.
Cape’s Darby Klopp, left, battles on the sideline with Seahawks player Ariana Webb.
Cape’s Leah Marsh, right, clears the ball past Sussex Academy’s Aliyah Patel.
Cape defender Colleen Donohoe pulls a move on Seahawks forward Savannah Sistrunk.
Cape’s Brooke Hollingsworth takes a shot on goal.
Sussex Academy midfielder Delaney Smith, left, collides with Cape’s Brayden Fannin.
Sussex Academy forward Lilly Short, center, moves the ball into scoring position.
Seahawks forward Lilly Short scoots past Cape keeper Lucy Siranides and goes toward the goal.
Cape goalie Lucy Siranides just misses the save on Sussex Academy forward Lilly Short’s direct kick.
Sussex Acedemy’s Reese D'entremont, right, controls the ball from Cape’s Lindsey Swontek.
Seahawks midfielder Ariana Webb battles for a 50/50 ball with Cape senior Darby Klopp.
Cape’s Hannah Bieler, right, battles for possession with Sussex Academy midfielder Aliyah Patel.
Cape’s Brooke Hollingsworth gets off a header shot on the Seahawks’ goal.
Lindsey Swontek, left, gets the ball after Sussex Academy midfielder Delaney Smith, center, collides with Cape’s Brayden Fannin.
Seahawks goalie Breanna Duncan stops a Brooke Hollingsworth threat.
Lindsey Swontek, right, speeds to the ball.
Cape's Paige Ballance makes a leap in the Cape JV team’s 3-0 win over Sussex Academy. She scored two goals in the game.
Cape's Paige Ballance, right, celebrates her goal with Vikings player Trinity Kelly.
Cape’s Dontavia Sturgis, left, battles for possession with Sussex Academy midfielder Abigail Lindsay in the 3-0 Cape junior varsity win.
Cape’s Riley Klopp, left, battles on the sideline with Sussex Academy defender Megan Ventura.
Cape JV forward Sydney Jefferson gains possession from Sussex Academy’s Madison Holt. Jefferson tallied an assist in the game.

Soccer is a simple game, just kick a big old ball into a giant net protected by a goaltender. At Champions Stadium April 17, an athletic Cape team couldn’t solve the riddle of Sussex Academy freshman goalie Breanna Duncan, who recorded 27 saves, with most of that assaut coming in the second half.

Cape lost 1-0 in spite of a 27-7 advantage in shots on goal.  

Cape dropped to 4-2 on the season, while Sussex Academy stayed unbeaten at 4-0.

“I could feel it. Cape was coming up, really pushing, knowing they needed a goal to tie the game,” Duncan said.

The Seahawks scored midway through the first half when relentless eighth-grader Lilly Short went down to the ground in the attack zone and was awarded a direct kick. 

“I’m sure we never touched her,” said Cape coach Patrick Kilby. “She just went down – not a dive – she just fell.”

Short crashed with leg cramps several times throughout the game.

The wall was set up, the ball placed down, and before the official could back up and blow his whistle, Short sent a shot over the crossbar.

“I just wanted to kick it and not wait around,” Short said with a smile after the game.

The official replaced the ball, and Short drilled it over the wall and inside the near post for what would be the winning goal and only goal scored in 80 minutes of soccer action.

Cape’s assault on the Seahawks’ defense intensified when Brayden Fannin came over the midfield line to pressure the defense.

“We had shots but most were of the 20-yard variety,” said Cape assistant coach Gary Montalto. “We need that extra pass to move the goalie.”

Cape seemed to score the tying goal in the second half – the announcer thought so – when Madi Swontek went flat angle far side to tickle the twine.

Breanna Duncan went behind the net to retrieve the ball, a sure sign that the shot was high and over the net ... or there’s a big hole in the net.

Cape was set to play at Sussex Central at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19, then travel to Nansemond Suffolk Academy in Virginia for a Saturday, April 21 game at 10 a.m.  

Sussex Academy was to host Milford Thursday at 4 p.m.

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