By Andy Walter

DOVER — Cape Henlopen High still had a fairly comfortable lead.

But it’s not every day the Vikings give up four straight goals, like they did against Tatnall on Thursday evening.

Cape coach Lindsey Underwood called timeout to make that point to her players.

“We just said, ‘This isn’t Cape lacrosse,’” said Underwood. “‘Settle down, play Cape lacrosse and relax.’ ... We were just like, ‘Everybody just breathe.’”

The Vikings then went back out and did what they always do — capture another state title.

Second-seeded Cape netted three of the contest’s final four goals to put away a 17-10 victory over top-seeded Tatnall to give the program its 12th straight DIAA crown at Dover High on Thursday.

The Vikings (17-1) never trailed after tallying the night’s first five goals. They led 13-3 early in the second half before the Hornets (18-1) closed to within 14-9 with 12:30 still remaining.

“Our coach kind of warned us,” said Cape senior goalie Destiny Kusen, who made seven saves. “She was like, ‘They’re not going to give up.’ But we were planning on not giving up either. ... We had a lot on the line.”

A goal from Ella Rishko with 8:33 left gave Cape more breathing room. When the junior scored again, two minutes later, the Vikings were back in control, 16-9.

“After they started coming back, we knew we just had to focus, come together and we would do what we had to do,” said senior Lindsay Rambo, who scored twice.

Four different players scored goals in Cape’s game-opening 5-0 run. Junior Kelly Bragg had two of the first three as the Vikings quickly asserted themselves.

As usual, a lot of different players scored for Cape. Ten Vikings had goals, led by Bragg with three.

Rishko (3 assists), Louise Rishko, Emily Monigle (2 assists), Rambo and Carrie Clausius all scored twice. Riley Keen, Molly Mendes, Alexi Nowakowski and Haley Craig added the Vikings’ other goals.

Cape out-shot Tatnall, 29-17.

The Hornets, who were playing in the state finals for the first time, got four goals from sophomore Lydia Colasante and three from Teryn Singer.

While Thursday’s state title was the latest in a long line of championships for Cape, this season was definitely different for the Vikings.

Because last season was canceled due to the pandemic, Cape had only five players who had been in a state tournament game before this season. The Vikings also had seven freshmen on the roster.

“I think we were hungry to come back out and get another one,” said Rambo. “Everyone was really excited. We worked hard all season. We had some ups and downs but we all came together.

“This is a completely new team — very young. But they all worked really well together and it was exciting to see.”

“I tell you what, everything just made it different,” said Underwood, who has been the coach for Cape’s last four state titles.

“Having a year off, the girls didn’t play together. We were coming back with just a couple girls who played in the state championship before. It was really a brand-new team and we had to work through that.”

The Vikings have seven seniors who were celebrating the third state title of their high school lacrosse careers.

Cape players always say there’s a certain amount of pressure with trying to keep the Vikings’ streak going. But it provides plenty of motivation, too.

“I think it’s way more meaningful to be a senior and win a state championship — just because you know it’s your last year,” said Monigle. “You want to go out with a win.

“We came out this year young and I think we did a great job stepping up to the plate. I think at practice every day we all worked very hard. We became a team together throughout the season. We got way better throughout the season.”