For The Dialog
BEAR – Salesianum scored early and often in its state tournament lacrosse match June 1 vs. Archmere, taking a 20-10 win and earning another trip to the championship game. It is the Sals’ 10th consecutive appearance in the final; they have won six of those and seven state titles overall.
The top-seeded Sals will meet No. 6 Appoquinimink on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Caravel Academy, the same site as Thursday’s semifinals. Tickets are $7 and available at diaa.ticketleap.com. The final will be streamed for a fee at www.nfhsnetwork.com.
In the semifinal, Michael Drake and Taylor Witherell combined for 12 goals and five assists to lead the Sals, but it was Archmere freshman Cole Bauer who scored first, tallying 48 seconds into the contest and energizing the Auks’ student section. The lead didn’t last long, however, as 52 seconds later Drake buried his first, starting a 10-goal streak for Salesianum.
Drake scored three more times and dished out an assist as the Sals took a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. He said it was important to get the early goals.
“We knew they were a good team, and I had a couple of great looks,” he said.
Salesianum scored the first four goals of the second quarter, two by Witherell and two by Patrick Drake, before fifth-seeded Archmere fought back. The pesky Auks got a goal from Ben Revak with 6:50 left in the half to end a nearly 18-minute scoring drought. Revak scored again 20 seconds later.
After a Witherell goal, the Auks tallied the next three, one by Robert Baxter and another from Revak during a man-up situation. Trailing, 11-6, Archmere had a chance to cut into the lead further but couldn’t take advantage of a two-man advantage that carried into the second half.
Mitchell Moyer finally brought the Auks to within 11-7, but the Sals responded with two man-up goals, including another by Michael Drake and two more for Witherell. They scored three more before the end of the third and led, 16-9, heading into the final quarter.
“We knew they were going to come at us,” Salesianum coach Bob Healy said. “They cut it to four, and we responded well.”
The Sals put it away in the fourth quarter, which included a spectacular behind-the-back goal by Luke Bianchino.
Healy said Appoquinimink will present a challenge in the final. “They are quick and athletic like Archmere, and they can score, too.”
Salesianum has been in this position before, a heavy favorite that came up short in the championship game.
“We lost the championship game in 2014 to Cape, and I was part of that, and we don’t want to experience that again,” Michael Drake said. “We will be ready for them.”
Revak had four goals for Archmere, which finished the season 13-5.
