By Andy Walter

CAMDEN — It wasn’t like the season got away from them right from the start.

Seven games into last season’s schedule, the Caesar Rodney High girls’ soccer team was a respectable 4-1-2.

But the Riders won just two of their last eight games, finished only 6-7-2 and failed to make the DIAA state tournament.

CR hadn’t had a season like that since at least before 2009 — if ever. Coach Dwayne Lavender said the Riders were hurt by a couple key injuries.

“We just kind of wrote it off as one of those years and what could have been,” he said. “And let’s make next season a not-what-could-have-been season.”

So far, so good. The Riders have bounced back by going 5-1 in the first half of this season.

CR takes a 2-0 Henlopen North record into today’s 5:30 p.m. home game with Polytech (1-0-1 North, 3-1-2 overall).

Last year’s losing campaign certainly got the Riders’ attention.

“It was definitely not what CR soccer is known for,” said senior co-captain Kate Benson. “It was definitely a big motivator to really push this season and take each game one at a time and not take anything for granted.”

“That’s not normal for us,” junior co-captain Alexandra LeNoir said about missing the state tourney. “That’s our main goal this year.”

CR is still young this season with only six seniors on the roster. But what the Riders lack in experience they make up for in energy.

Lavender, who has five freshmen and six sophomores on the squad, said he’s started as many as eight underclassmen in a game this spring.

The nice thing, he said, is that CR doesn’t rely on just one or two players to carry the team.

“It’s a very coachable group,” said Lavender. “There’s a lot of energy. We’re a high-press team where everybody plays for everybody this year.

“I tell coaches we’re a hard team to even scout because you can’t key in on one girl. It’s a deep team.”

Lillian Wood of the Spartans blocks CR’s Kate Benson from the ball in first half of match played Thursday at Lake Forest. SPECIAL TO THE DAILY …

A season ago, the Riders lost three one-goal games to go along with a pair of scoreless ties.

This spring CR has allowed just two goals while scoring 23 so far. Only Cape Henlopen, with 24, has netted more goals in the Henlopen North.

The Riders edged Indian River, 2-1, on Thursday when LeNoir scored twice in the first half.

“This year we’re a little more focused on game by game,” said LeNoir. “We work hard every game to secure a win. Every game we try to do better and fix our mistakes.”

“We’re definitely motivated,” said Benson. “We’re hoping to get into the tournament by taking each game at a time.”

The Riders still have their work cut out for them. They finish the regular season with six of their last eight games on the road.

CR goes to Wilmington to face Padua on May 14 in its last scheduled game.

This season, the Riders are hoping there’s a state tournament berth waiting for them after that contest.

Lavender, though, knows it won’t be easy.

“I think the level of soccer in middle to lower Delaware has gotten stronger as a whole,” he said. “As a soccer guy, it’s nice to see. Obviously it makes for more tight games for everyone.

“There’s a couple good games in the near future that will hopefully springboard us forward.”

Extra points

•Sussex Academy’s 4-0 win over Polytech on Thursday made the Seahawks 3-0 against Henlopen North teams. They’re also going to face Sussex Tech and Caesar Rodney.

Senior Tayler Flaherty had four goals and four assists in Sussex Academy’s two wins last week.

•Middletown is the highest-scoring team in the state with 43 goals in six games for an average of 7.2 per contest.

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