For The Dialog
FREDERICA – Fourth-seeded St Mark’s enjoyed a splendid season in girls lacrosse, going from missing the tournament in 2016 to earning its third finals appearance this season. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they ran into a buzzsaw in No. 3 Cape Henlopen, who captured their ninth straight state championship with a 19-7 win on May 30 at the Delaware Turf Sports Complex in Frederica.
The Vikings (16-2) looked like an expierenced team as they jumped on the Spartans, scoring the first five goals. Lindsay Monigle, Evelyn Shoop and Victoria Lockwood got the Vikings off to the the flying start, with Cape winning the first five faceoffs. Kendra Schweizer scored with 16:40 left in the first half to cut it to 5-1.
Cailey Thornburg, Chloe Schaeffer and Shoop then scored goals to make it 8-1. Schweizer scored again off a restart but Monigle answered quickly to give the Vikings a 9-3 advantage. It was 11-3 when St. Mark’s Megan Noonan got her first goal on a restart, but Schaffer and Lockwood scored to give the Vikings a 13-4 lead, which they took into halftime. The Vikings started the second half strong, scoring the first three goals for a 16-4 lead. Callie Freda and Schweizer scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 16-6. Cape Henlopen finished the game on a 3-1 run as the team ran on to the field to celebrate.
The Vikings used their speed and pinpoint passing to their advantage, but the Spartans played with a lot of fight. The Vikings got five goals and two assists by Shoop, while Monigle added three and an assist. The Spartans (15-3) had a great bounce-back season and only graduate four players so this team should be ready to test Cape next year. Schweizer had five goals to lead the Spartans.
