Seahawks fly past Ravens in final preseason game
The Sussex Academy Seahawks ended their 2023 preseason with a 7-1 victory over Route 9 rival Sussex Tech Aug. 31.
Coach R.J. Dina believes his players have matured and are more comfortable in the system.
“We’ve focused a lot this year on our play in the final third and how to be more successful to create more chances to increase the number of goals we can score,” Dina said.
When the Seahawks enter their final third and lose possession, they become quite menacing as they press the back line and goalkeeper while constantly communicating with one another. Dina said his players not only hunt for goals in the final third, but also take back possession of the ball.
“We looked at statistics concerning who is most likely to win the ball back after an offensive turnover, and it’s the one that lost the ball. As soon as that ball is lost, [the player] has to turn around, re-engage and win the ball back as quickly as possible,” Dina said.
He encourages his players to become even more active following a turnover as opposed to dwelling on the mistake. He calls the sequence hunting season.
Senior Andree Mendoza-Martinez capitalized on hunting season early in the match and netted another goal during the scrimmage.
“It felt pretty good because I wanted to get into the season, so starting to feel how it is going to be was fun,” Mendoza-Martinez said.
In addition to scoring two goals, the senior was involved in a few physical battles for 50/50 balls, an aspect of the game he enjoys. He said he also noticed the differences between this year and last year during the scrimmage.
“This year, we had a lot more energy and came more focused on the game. We knew what we were going to do today because we had a good preseason,” Mendoza-Martinez said.
He noted it is a lot of the same team as last year, resulting in better chemistry. Two new additions to the team, Nathan Falcone and Bodhi Williams, got their first taste of what a regular-season game would be like in the scrimmage. Despite being two of the younger players, neither was afraid of contact, and both were productive in the final third for the Seahawks.
“We make sure these guys know that they’re competing every single minute of the [practice] session and that translates to the game,” Dina said. “Our younger guys are in the mix during those sessions, and my older guys aren’t backing down from tackles. They’re playing at a physical level.”
The Seahawks will kick off the regular season at home against Appoquinimink Thursday, Sept. 7. In an attempt to start a new tradition at Sussex Academy, there will be a pregame tailgate in the parking lot. Athletic Director Taylor Gibbs said festivities will begin right after school, with various yard/tailgate games to play.
