Lady Indians’ soccer short-lived on the post-season pitch
The Lady Indians’ soccer team sat atop the Henlopen South Conference entering the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) tournament, and they were able to seize a 3-2 win over Smyrna last Wednesday in the opening round. And, fueled by a hat trick from sophomore Caitlin Forte, Indian River was able to snap the first-round upset it had succumbed to for the past two years of the state tourney.
Coastal Point • FILE PHOTO
IR Sophomore mid Morgan Warrington, right, jostles with a Caesar Rodney opponent in a game earlier this season. Warrington was one of four Lady Indians selected for First-Team All-Conference this year. Five others made Second-Team All-Conference.Caravel and A.I. DuPont had spent the first round of the tournament making short work of the Lady Indians in the years past, despite IR’s higher seed. But though they broke that unwanted streak, it was just a matter of time before it all came crashing down, just days later, for the Lady Indians, when the underdogs from Ursuline continued their own streak of upsets.
The 15-seeded Lady Raiders finished their regular season 6-5-5, narrowly catching a spot in the bracket at all, but they made their presence known when they surprised northern rivals from St. Mark’s with a first-round upset last week. Ursuline maintained their momentum, powering past the Lady Indians last Saturday at Dover High, thanks to three goals from junior co-captain Mariah Henley that moved past IR goalkeeper Sarah Long in the first half.
The Lady Raiders finished the day 5-0, denying the nine shots from the powerhouse of sophomores that the Lady Indians have brought to the field all year. IR found themselves outshot, almost 3:1, something their defense had not faced all season.
Despite another short-lived post-season, the 15-5 Lady Indians have plenty to be proud of. Nine of the team’s stars made the All-Conference team, with sophomore Delaney Davis earning honorable mention – the most all-conference honors out of any school in the division.
Senior co-captain Sarah Purdam accompanied sophomores Forte, and Miranda and Morgan Warrington, as members of the First-Team All-Conference, while senior co-captains Courtney Lake and Kaitlin Binstead joined sophomores Long and Emma Cannon, as well as junior Alex Roenke as members of the Second-Team All-Conference.
The state tournament will continue this weekend, pending the results of Wednesday’s semifinal doubleheader. Following their win over IR, the Lady Raiders took on Charter, with the winner facing the victor of A.I. DuPont vs. Padua.
