Brown’s first-half hat trick seals the deal for Cape soccer against Dover
A hungry Vikings attack combined with a defense that denied everything spelled doom for the Dover Senators April 8 in Cape’s 3-0 victory over their Henlopen North division foe.
“We wanted to step out onto the field and create a mindset that if we can win these two games this week, we'll be 3-3, and then it's a brand-new season win nine games to go,” said Cape coach Patrick Kilby.
Ava Brown started the scoring early when a penalty was awarded in the third minute following quite a few balls played into Dover’s 18. Brown said the space allotted to her and her teammates made for easy run-ons to the passes.
“The key to beating Dover was not playing down to their level,” Brown said. “We played higher and how we know to play.”
The offensive pressure became fruitful in the 24th minute when senior Emily Cook gifted Brown with a pass just outside Dover’s box. As the Senators swarmed her, Brown unleashed a crank with enough purchase to buy another goal. Just 14 minutes later, after receiving a pass from Nevaeh Landis, Brown scored that goal she put on layaway to complete her first-half hat trick in the 38th minute.
“AB [Ava Brown] is a special player,” Kilby said. “She was an all-state player as a freshman, and coming into her sophomore year, there aren't very many teams that can contain her. I think she proved that tonight. Having a weapon and a high-level level, talented player like Ava Brown is certainly something special for our team. One of the best things about her is that she's team first. She'll be getting accolades throughout her high school career, but she's a humble, smart and kind kid.”
While the offense dazzled in the first half, the defense kept up its intensity all game long to pick up Cape’s second clean sheet of the season.
“Sara Kilby keeps us very organized in the back third,” Kilby said. “She's got great communication skills. Whereas Kiersten Smith is our physical presence there, Sara is our organizational piece. She's calm, cool and collected on the ball.”
Implementing a defensive delay tactic in training leading up to the Dover game, the Vikings were able to challenge aggressively for 50/50 balls, knowing they had backup behind either hip. The Senators rarely possessed the ball in Cape’s defensive third, and any dangerous balls were quickly scooped up by either goalie Bri Burrell or one of the Vikings defenders. On Dover’s final free kick of the match, Smith delighted the crowd with a 60-yard run from Cape’s 18.
“The whole field was wide open, so I did a little stepover trick and I just kept on going,” Smith said.
