Lions roar past Sussex Academy 16-8 in girls’ lacrosse

After opening the season with six straight wins, scoring in double figures without allowing their opponents to do so, the Sussex Academy girls’ lacrosse team has lost three in a reverse of that trend. The girls’ third loss, 16-8, came April 22 against Queen Anne’s County April 22.

“It was definitely a tough loss,” Seahawks’ coach Taylor Gibbs said. “We're coming off some really big and tough games, and I think the momentum of our game is something that we're struggling with a little bit right now.”

Queen Anne’s jumped out to an early lead, but the Seahawks remained within striking distance, 6-3, following a first filled with momentum shifts. A 4-3 Lions’ second made it 10-6 at half. All six of Sussex Academy’s first-half goals were scored by Shelby Manlove. The junior's drives often resulted in goals or free-position shots that led to goals. Freshman Liz Layton had the helper on Manlove’s lone assisted goal.

“Shelby Manlove really hustled; you could tell that she wanted it this game,” Gibbs said. “She tried to go for every ball at every opportunity she could.”

Seahawks goalie Morgan Leeper saw 14 shots in the opening two quarters, collecting a few saves on free-position shots to keep Sussex Academy in the game. 

The Seahawks had 14 shots all game.

“I think we had our ups and downs; both teams did,” Gibbs said. “The momentum would go our way for some of the game and then once we started to lose that momentum, we had to work really hard to try and get that back.”

Manlove scored her game-high seventh goal and found sophomore Lily Bisaha in the third quarter to wrap up the scoring for the Seahawks and give the junior eight points. Queen Anne’s, on the other hand, netted six more in the final half to cruise to a 16-8 victory.

Lions goalie Maddie George stopped 11 shots. Madi Brown led Queen Anne’s with five goals. RJ Ensor scored foru, while Kaitlyn Horney collected three.

Gibbs believes her squad needs to play with more cohesiveness to quell the production of top players.

“We have to be willing to work as a team and play as a team,” Gibbs said. “Even if our opponent has a few strong players, I think it still takes a team effort to pull out a strong game.”