WILMINGTON – St. Mark’s girls lacrosse team fell behind Ursuline early in their DIAA state tournament semifinal on the afternoon of May 23, but the Spartans didn’t panic. They got within three goals by halftime, then turned up the heat in the second half and left with a 15-13 win and a second straight berth in the championship game.
St. Mark’s, the second seed, kept their record unbeaten at 17-0 and will meet the top seed, Cape Henlopen, for the title. The Vikings, who are the nine-time defending state champion, defeated No. 4 Archmere on Wednesday night, 19-4, at DE Turf in Frederica.
The No. 3 Raiders came out strong and held an 8-5 lead at the break. But the Spartans were in control early in the second. It took just a few minutes for them to score three goals, tying the game on a shot by Gabrielle O’Neal. They would score the next two as well, going ahead, 10-8.
Ursuline’s Jane Lyons tied the game at 10 with 16 minutes remaining, and the Raiders regained the lead by one. Meg Noonan knotted the score at 11 when she sent a left-handed shot into the net. The Raiders would take one more lead, 13-12, but the final several minutes belonged to the Spartans.
Kendra Schweizer scored her game-high sixth goal with just over five minutes to go. A minute later, Sadie Leonard hit paydirt on a free-position shot, and Clare Estes closed out the scoring shortly thereafter after grabbing a ground ball in front of the Raiders’ net and bouncing one home.
Noonan had a hat trick for the Spartans, while Paige Megargee added a pair. Goalkeeper Jackie Stofa had four saves. St. Mark’s will attempt to avenge last year’s championship defeat against Cape Henlopen on Tuesday. The site and time of the game will be announced.
For Ursuline, Jane Lyons tallied five times. Maxine String and Moira Carroll each added three. Brigid Monahan registered eight saves. The Raiders finished the season 14-3.
