Archmere and Saint Mark’s have earned spots in the DIAA girls lacrosse state tournament, while gets underway Friday and Saturday with four opening-round games. The Auks are the fourth seed, and Saint Mark’s is the ninth.
The tournament features 16 teams, but the format of the tournament has changed this season. The top four seeds have received a double-bye into the quarterfinals, while the fifth through eighth seeds received a bye into the second round. The first round will include seeds nine through 16.
Saint Mark’s will play No. 16 Indian River on Friday at 4:30 p.m. on the turf field at Hodgson Vo-Tech. The Spartans finished the regular season 10-4, with wins over tournament teams Concord and Milford. All four of their losses came against teams in the postseason.
Seniors Katie Hanich, Marcy Kappes, Chloe McCormick and Alaina Papa lead the Spartans’ offense. Allison Simione has been the principal goalie this season. Saint Mark’s has averaged more than 13 goals per game this season.
Their opponent, Indian River, finished 9-6. All five of the Indians’ in-state losses have come against tournament contenders. Their leading scorer is Chloe Harris, and Chloe McGee mans the nets.
The winner will play at Wilmington Friends, the eighth seed, on May 19 at 4:30 p.m.
Archmere will not play until May 22 at 4:30 p.m., when they will host a quarterfinal matchup. The Auks could play No. 13 Smyrna, No. 12 Concord or No. 5 Sussex Academy. Archmere went 11-4, defeating tournament teams Saint Mark’s, Caravel and Sussex Academy. They lost to the top three seeds – Cape Henlopen, Tower Hill and Caesar Rodney – along with Wilmington Friends.
Archmere’s offense features Ellie DeLuca, Maura Read and Claudia Koch, and Mia Luce has been in goal. The Auks, who score 15 goals per game, have just four seniors on the roster.
The semifinals will take place May 28 at a site and time to be determined. The championship is May 31 at noon at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden-Wyoming. Tickets for all DIAA girls lacrosse games must be purchased in advance at www.gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
