Cape boys’ lax rides fourth-quarter surge to 15-7 win at Archmere

Upside down state tournament seeding for boys’ lacrosse had a venturesome and powerful Cape team slotted at No. 7. The bad news for second-seeded Archmere was Cape was in the same bracket and paid them a quarterfinal visit May 27. 

The contest had Cape ahead 8-6 entering the final quarter, when the Vikings outscored the Auks 7-1 to win 15-7. The seven fourth-quarter goals were the most scored in the final frame for Cape all season. 

Senior Luke Burton scored Cape’s final goal and his fourth of the game, hitting the personal milestone of 100 career goals. 

Also scoring for Cape were C.J. Fritchman, a face-off specialist, with a career-high four; Joe Coveleski, Jack Schell and Burke Healy each with two; and Jayden Cannon with one.

Archmere scorers were Drew Duncan and Vincent Scibello each with two, and single goals from Dan Kupiec, Aidan Mahoney and Liam Danner. 

The Vikings outshot the Auks 35-23. Mason Trench had 11 saves for Cape. Gianni Bifferato had 11 saves for Archmere. 

Cape will play Caesar Rodney at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 31, at Dover High School. The Riders defeated previously unbeaten Middletown to reach the semifinals. Wilmington Friends beat Tatnall 13-1 to reach the semifinals, where the Quakers will face top-seeded Salesianum at Abessinio Stadium at 7 p.m., Wednesday. Salesianum defeated Tower Hill 19-3 to reach the semifinals.

Coach Jeff Shupard: “Brody [Smith], Mack [Leonhardtt] and Jake [Hutchison] have really come together as a unit and played a great game. Our D middies also played very tough. After a bit of a shaky start, Mason [Trench] really settled in and made some great saves for us. C.J. [Fritchman] was on fire and played a great game. He is a huge asset to us. We are very proud of Luke [Burton] for scoring his 100th goal. He has worked hard his entire career, and it’s been fun watching him develop as a player.”