Cape soccer falls to St. Elizabeth's 2-1 in opening round of state tournament
Werewolf weather wafted across the pitch on a windless, still night at Dover High Nov. 9, as Cape fell 2-1 to St. Elizabeth's in the opening round of the state tournament. The game was shrouded in a rolling fog, the turf too slick for sudden stops and the sound atmospherically amplified, giving the game a slow motion look about it.
The last action that resulted in scoring occurred with 8:26 left in the first half and the game tied 1-1, when Brandon Crystal ripped a shot from a flat angle that went low to high catching the underside of the crossbar and spinning into the goal.
“Before the game our coach said the first corner we're going to run it short, so we got it out there quick,” Crystal said. "My teammate, Ryan Kask, passed it to me then I played a terrible ball to him, but he made up to it and passed it right back and I just ripped it. I think I was at the corner of the six. I was looking for a pass and the ball actually went in.”
The Vikings of St. E's scored first with 26:35 left in the first half on a set piece when Ryan Kask - two crucial assists in the game - lofted a perfect ball from 30 yards out that found the top of Brandon Crystal's head and “boink” it was in the back of the net.
"In tournament play, things come down to small details like restarts and playing clean in the first third of the field,” Cape coach Gary Montalto said after the game. "We played clean in the first third of the field, but the two restarts bit us in the back end.”
Miguel Marino-Sanchez - Cape football's extra point kicker - scored Cape's lone goal at the 19:51 mark of the first half when he sprinted down the right side received a perfect pass from David Cespedes and blasted the ball into the cage.
Cespedes, Cape's leading scorer and ball handler, was marked up tightly the entire game.
"They were marking him so tight we moved him back a little bit, then we moved him up front, then in a retracted position; we had him all over the place just to see if we could relieve some pressure," Montato said. "He cramped up so tight because of all his hard work that in the last four minutes he couldn't even move.”
Montalto stopped to exchange hugs with his senior players as they left the field.
”We made baby steps this year," he said. "In order to get to the top, you have to keep making small steps. I think we made a number of them to get us part way up the ladder and now we have to keep going. I love these guys, they worked hard.”
Each team had 12 shots in the game. Steven Lukas was credited with 10 saves for St. E's, while Griffin Kammerer recorded five saves.
Notes: Six Henlopen Conference teams entered the 16-team tournament with only Indian River advancing to the quarterfinal round of eight. The Indians (13-2-1) will face St. Mark's (14-2) Saturday, Nov. 12. St. E's had 12 shots on goal, but Kammerer was only credited with five saves, so what happened to those seven “shots' not saved?
