Sussex Academy soccer runs past Cape 3-2
Sussex Academy girls’ soccer came into the March 23 match against Cape like a wrecking ball and held on to garner the first win of the 2021 season with a 3-2 victory in Lewes.
Tayler Flaherty kicked off the scoring on an unassisted goal at the 15-minute mark, when she put a right-footer past the outstretched foot of Cape keeper Julie Heffernan. Katherine Portillo hit the back of the twine at the 51st minute unassisted and scored again to seal the victory at the 64-minute mark.
Cape’s Giselle Garcia scored off a pass from Lily Ashby at the 60-minute mark and they flipped the script at the 66 mark, as Ashby scored from Garcia.
“We started slow,” said Cape head coach Patrick Kilby. “They found the gaps between our center back and outside back pretty well, and they exposed us with their speed early. We were able to fix it by stopping their penetrating ball from the central midfield. We expected a tough match. Sussex Academy is now distinguishing themselves as one of our top rivals. They are well coached, and we will be better prepared next time we are matched up.”
The Seahawks outshot the Vikings 12-9, while the Vikings held a 7-2 edge in corners.
Vikings goalkeeper Julie Heffernan made nine saves, while Sussex Academy keeper Emma Westbrook stopped seven scoring attempts.
“We have a lot to work on,” Kilby said. “We lacked fluidity, and that stemmed from an inability to find feet through transition and winning 50/50 balls. We were subpar on set pieces, and we need to work on the communication between our goalkeeper and back line. As I told the girls, it is not a time to panic; rather this is our starting point, not our ending point. We will get better and we will find success.”
“We have a ton of young talent up front and some great speed going forward,” said Sussex Academy head coach R.J. Dina. “We really wanted to utilize the speed we have in the attack. They did a really nice job of it going forward with purpose in our attack. We had some quality finishes, which always helps. Really proud of this group in their first game in over a year. The win was great, but we are looking onward from here.”
Cape travels to Caesar Rodney Thursday, March 25, to face the Riders.
