(May 8, 2015) The Stephen Decatur Seahawks were chomping at the bit for a rematch with Kent Island after falling to the Buccaneers 10-9 on March 30.
The Decatur boys’ lacrosse team finally got that opportunity Tuesday night as the two squads went head-to-head for the Bayside Conference championship at Wicomico County Stadium in Salisbury.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they struggled against the defending 3A/2A state champs and lost the battle 13-5.
“We didn’t play well enough to beat them. We just couldn’t get our game started,” Decatur Coach Scott Lathroum said. “Normally we’re aggressive and we weren’t, we didn’t execute … and they were getting too many shots on Will [Hastings].”
Kent Island scored three goals before Decatur senior captain Corey Gwin put his team on the board with a minute and a half left in the first quarter. The Buccaneers went ahead 4-1, but senior Jackson Mumford answered to cut the lead to two. At halftime, Kent Island led 5-2.
“It was 5-2 at the half and we didn’t play well at all and we were still in the game,” Lathroum said.
Senior captain Matt LeCompte scored about 40 seconds into the third quarter and Decatur trailed 5-3. After that, Lathroum said, “we fell apart there for a while” as Kent Island went on a six-goal run to pull ahead 11-3.
“I just don’t know what happened to them,” he said.
Sophomore Steve Alther scored to make it 11-4 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Buccaneers netted two shots before Gwin tallied his second of the game with less than three minutes on the clock.
Hastings, a senior captain, finished the game with nine saves.
Lathroum said he plans to break down the game film to prepare for the possible next meeting with Kent Island.
Decatur (10-3) will first have to face the James M. Bennett Clippers in order to see its rival again.
The Seahawks received the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in Section I of the 3A East Regional tournament bracket. Bennett, the No. 3 seed, is scheduled to come to Berlin today, Friday, for a 6 p.m. game against Decatur.
When the two teams competed on April 29, Decatur won 11-3.
“We just need to play like we have been playing all season,” Lathroum said. “We’ll be ready. We always play with a lot of hype at home and after you get your butt kicked, you want to come out and kick a little butt.”
If Decatur wins and Kent Island, the No. 1 seed, defeats fourth-seeded Parkside, the two teams will meet for the third time this season on Monday on the Buccaneers’ field.
“We have to come out in full force and play for 48 minutes,” Lathroum said. “We can’t have any letdowns. We have to take care of the ball on offense and work to get good shots and, if we turn the ball over, we have to play good defense.”
