Auks down DMA, win fifth straight girls soccer match

Dialog reporter
 
CLAYMONT – The rain that pounded New Castle County on April 6, causing the postponement of dozens of high school sports events, had mostly gone away by Friday. In its place was a stiff, cold wind, and it was in that atmosphere that Delaware Military Academy’s girls soccer team traveled to Archmere for a Diamond State Athletic Conference showdown.
The Auks, ranked fourth in the state in Division II, controlled possession most of the afternoon, and they were able to sneak in a single goal in the 48^th minute to take a spirited battle with No. 5 DMA.

Archmere, with the wind mostly at its back, pressured the Seahawks throughout the first half but could not get one past keeper Julia Emerich. They kept up the offense into the second half and were finally able to break through. Karena Wursthorn sent a shot toward the net, and the ball bounced off the stomach of a Seahawks defender. Leah DaCosta was there to corral the rebound and tap it into a gaping net.
Much of the action in the second half took place in the middle of the field, but DaCosta tried her best to double the lead in the 70^th minute. She took the ball some 45 yards from the net, dribbled through five Seahawks and sent a shot toward the far post. Emerich, however, was equal to the task, diving to her right for the stop.
DaCosta had several chances in the first half as well. She tested Emerich in the sixth minute, getting a shot off a throw-in, but the keeper was there. Three minutes later, DaCosta rolled one in from the top of the 18-yard box but couldn’t score. When it wasn’t DaCosta, Nicole Witherell was taking shots from the wing. She kept Emerich busy with three shots in a nine-minute span in the first, including a diving stop on a blast from 15 yards out in the 29^th minute.
Delaware Military’s best chance to score occurred in the 15^th minute. Elizabeth Kelly caught up to a long pass near the top of the box, but Auks keeper Kyra Giakas smothered her attempt with a diving stab.
Archmere finished with 26 shots, and Emerich came up with 18 saves for the Seahawks. The Auks also had five corner kicks to one for DMA. They have won five straight after a season-opening loss and are back on the pitch Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. against St. Elizabeth at Alapocas Run State Park.
DMA managed seven shots, and Giakas stopped six for Archmere. The Seahawks (4-2) will try to end a two-match losing streak when they meet Wilmington Christian on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. at Kirkwood Soccer Club.