Sussex Academy soccer rises with 2-1 win over IR
The boys’ soccer contest between Sussex Academy and Indian River was a matchup of two premier teams from the Henlopen South. A win would propel the victor to the top of the division. The game didn't disappoint.
When the final horn sounded, the Seahawks remained atop the South with the 2-1 victory.
The Indians controlled play with their technical skills for the first three minutes, but the Seahawks got their mojo working when Chase Ballinger took a lead pass from George Sapna and buried it past goalie Kai Kelley to earn a 1-0 lead.
The Seahawks went into the halftime break up 1-0.
IR junior forward Nathaniel Mahaffey put the Indians on the board 20 minutes into the second half, when he took a pass from Leondardo Chester and beat C.J. Norton through a crowd to tie the game.
"We knew we had to beat this team to take control of the South," said Ballinger. "They have very good technical players. Every year we play them, we have a great game. It just came down to who wanted it the most. We just want to keep it rolling. After they scored, we knew we had to keep clawing our way through it."
With two minutes left in the game, the ball was booted upfield by Aiden Villar and headed toward the end line for what looked to be an IR goal kick, but junior Jesse Jean-Louis sped to the ball and popped it back to Ballinger, who headed it past Kelley for the score.
"It's a big win for us," said Jean-Louis. "I saw Aiden bringing the ball up the side and it was headed for the end line, so I just sprinted to it and kicked it in front for Chase to head it in.”
“Jesse has worked so hard during the season, and it’s great to see the product of his work pay off,” said said Sussex Academy coach RJ Dina. “Most players would have let that ball go over the end line, but Jesse never gave up and got the ball to Chase in front.”
As defending Division II state champs, Dina believes the Seahawks have a target on their backs.
“Every time we show up for a game, the other team is focused and ready for us,” he said. “We kind of changed up how we start off. We don’t go at teams right away. We absorb some of their possession and their style of play, and really read it. We know we can play and compete, and it can be a dogfight. We need to get to a point where we see how they play and their weak areas. We evaluate, then we go.”
Indian River outshot the Seahawks 5-4. Norton made four saves for the Seahawks, while Kelley stopped two for the Indians.
The 8-1 Seahawks will host Cape (5-3-1) Tuesday, Oct. 8.
