Seahawks soar past Eagles 19-3 in girls’ lacrosse
After showing appreciation for teachers' positive influence on their lives, the Sussex Academy girls’ lacrosse team delighted the Seahawks faithful with a 19-3 drubbing of Smryna May 3.
“I'm really proud of our team,” Seahawks coach Taylor Gibbs said. “I think this was one of the games where we showed up for the entire game; we came ready to play. We knew we needed to come out ready and come out hard from the second we stepped on the field today.”
Sussex Academy started fast and kept the pedal to the metal throughout the 16-point win.
“We've been focusing a lot on our offensive movement and I think we really portrayed that today,” Seahawks sophomore Shea Danahy said. “During the game, we really worked together, we had a lot of chemistry during the game, and we connected very well.”
Scoring seven straight before Smyrna got on the board, Sussex Academy players showcased an ability to both create their shots and outstanding chemistry by helping others. They led 13-2 at half. Danahy scored three, while birthday girl Shelby Manlove led the team with six goals. junior Emiley Bisaha finished second with four goals. Nine of the Seahawk’s 19 goals were assisted.
“I think over the course of the last few weeks, we've really built that chemistry and learned each other's movements to be able to spot those open passes,” Gibbs said.
Bisaha and Danahy tied for the team lead with a pair of assists apiece, while senior Callie Short, juniors Rilyn Lehman and Manlove and freshmen June Hale and Liz Layton all registered a helper. Short and Layton both scored two goals, joining Ellie Merrick as the laxers with two.
Keeping the Eagles off the board, the defense kept Smyrna out of the middle of the field and away from goalie Morgan Leeper for the most part. The junior, who had five saves, thinks talking goes a long way on defense.
“I communicate a lot because I can see the whole field, but I know that our team is really good at communicating with each other,” Leeper said.
On the rare occasion Quinn Nutter, Rilyn Lehman, Savannah Montgomery and Ava Yenovkian did allow open looks, Leeper made sure the buck stopped there. Even when they conceded open-position shots, middies Manlove and Lily Bisaha were quick to close out and Leeper was quicker to stone them.
“Free-position shots are a really big part of the game, so when a goalie can step up and make those saves, it helps us out a ton,” Gibbs said. “There are a lot of goals that we could have had against us if it weren't for Morgan, so we're thankful to have her.”
Leeper said the 19-3 win felt good, as it extends their current winning streak to four and comes on the heels of a few tough losses.
“We're all feeling confident and encouraging each other to keep pushing ourselves,” Leeper said.
