CLAYMONT — Archmere scored five unanswered first-period goals and never looked back in a 17-5 win over Smyrna in first-round DIAA tournament action on May 14 in Claymont. The Auks, seeded eighth in the 12-team bracket, will meet No. 1 Cape Henlopen on Saturday in Lewes.
The Auks wasted no time getting their offense going. After controlling the opening draw, Archmere worked the ball behind the net to Lucy Oliver. She hit a cutting Ciara Knapp, whose high shot beat Eagles goalie Addison Beamer just 41 seconds into the contest.
Ninth-seeded Smyrna’s Evelyn Melesio tied the game at the 7:29 mark, but the Auks responded. A ground ball win by Marley Brown quickly got to Claudia Koch, who found a lane down the middle and scored a mere 12 seconds after the Eagles had equalized.
Ellie DeLuca got on the score sheet next with a bouncer, and the Auks kept possession after controlling the ensuing draw. That possession ended when Koch crossed in front of Beamer at the top of the 8-meter circle and found the net to make it 4-1.
Oliver and Koch added goals a minute apart late in the first before Smyrna’s Dru Moffett connected with 24 seconds left in the quarter, ending the Auks’ run.
The Auks stretched the lead to six midway through the second quarter, and Auks goalie Ellie DiCarlo helped keep it that way with a few quality saves. At the other end, Beamer kept busy by stopping several Archmere shots. The Eagles scored two goals in a 38-second span late in the second to get back within four at 8-4, but Knapp connected on a turnaround shot with just 23 seconds to go in the half, and DiCarlo turned away an Eagles attempt four seconds before the horn.
Archmere’s defense was tough in the first half, but nearly impenetrable in the second. The Auks held the Eagles scoreless in the third while adding another six goals themselves. Oliver and Knapp closed out the Auks’ scoring early in the fourth, extending the team’s scoring run to nine goals, before the Eagles’ Ava Pierce added the final goal of the game with six minutes remaining.
Koch had five goals to lead the Auks, with three players —Brown, Oliver and Knapp — adding hat tricks. DeLuca had a goal and a team-leading three assists, while DiCarlo had eight saves. Archmere and Cape Henlopen will play at noon Saturday. The Vikings defeated the Auks on May 10 in the regular-season finale.
Alexis Hutchison had two goals for the Eagles, who finished the season 12-4.
Photos by Mike Lang.
