CAMDEN – When Salesianum traveled to Cape Henlopen on April 28 for a regular-season lacrosse matchup, the Vikings controlled the play early and led at halftime. The Sals owned the second half and took an 11-4 victory. At the rematch on May 30 at Caesar Rodney High School, with the state championship on the line, Salesianum left no doubt.
The Sals scored the first three goals, kept that margin at halftime, then outscored Cape, 8-1, in the second half, clinching a 15-5 victory and capturing their sixth straight state championship, all against the Vikings. It was the 13th for Salesianum in the past 15 seasons.
Salesianum scored two quick goals to begin the game, then lost a third goal because of a crease violation. It didn’t take them long to recover, however. Jake Getty did the honors, scoring into a wide-open net with Andrew Althouse getting the assist.
The Vikings got on the board with 3:40 left in the quarter. They had missed on two opportunities, but Braddock Smith snuck a ball past Sals goalie Jake Garrity (St. Joseph, Aston, Pa.) to make it 3-1. Salesianum, however, tallied twice in the final minute. A quick counter ended with a goal from Rocco Pompeii, and after a turnover caused by one of many crushing Salesianum checks, Zach Strohmaier (Holy Angels Parish) ripped a shot high on the short side of Vikings goalie Mason Trench to extend the lead to 5-1.
Cape scored early in the second, but Getty got that one back at the 8:45 mark, shooting while being knocked to the turf. Next up was Drew Motta (Holy Angels Parish), who added an extra-man goal after a big save from Garrity. Cape scored in the final minute of the half, once again trimming the Sals’ lead to three.
Motta put his skills on display in the second half. He managed the first goal of the third quarter, taking a pass from Pompeii and deking around a Vikings defender for the goal. Cape Henlopen, trailing by four, had a great opportunity when Salesianum was called for simultaneous penalties midway through, but the could not capitalize. Instead, a Sallies steal led to another goal for Strohmaier.
A length-of-the-field pass for the Sals resulted in a goal at the buzzer for the Sals. Brennan Nurry (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) caught the pass, turned and dodged, with his shot crossing the line just before the horn.
The Sals burned as much clock as they could in the fourth quarter, and they outscored the Vikings in the process, 4-1. Motta had the prettiest goal of the afternoon during that stretch, going behind his back with a shot that found the top of the net.
Final statistics were not available. Salesianum finished the season 15-4, while Cape ended with a record of 14-5.
Photos by Mike Lang.
