The News Journal
6/4/00
St. Mark's ends Tigers' title streak
Dilworth scrores in last minute to clinch comeback
by Buddy Hurlock - Staff Reporter
NEWARK -- In her four years of playing soccer at St. Mark's High, Ashley Dilworth has earned a reputation for being a finisher.
Saturday, Dilworth gave the Spartans the best finish possible.
Her goal in the final minute lifted St. Mark's to a 3-2 victory over Alexis I. duPont in the championship of the Delaware High School Girls Soccer Tournament played at Newark High.
A.I., the four time defending champ, lost to a Delaware opponent for the first time since 1996, a span of 87 games. The game was a rematch of last year's final, with the Tigers again the top seed and the Spartans second.
The Spartans became the first to win boys and girls soccer titles in the same school year. Tom DeMatteis coached both squads.
Dilworth's winner was a rocket from 28 yards out. It smashed the crossbar and deflected just inside the goal line, capping a determined comeback for St. Mark's (19-1).
A.I. (18-2) grabbed a 2-0 lead before the game was 3 1/2 minutes old.
But St. Mark's grit was too much.
Dilworth cut the Tigers lead to 2-1 in the 20th minute, when she also deflected the ball off the crossbar. Scoring from 20 yards out, Michelle Huynh-Ba assisted.
St. Mark's tied the game in the 73rd minute, off Huynh-Ba's header from Shannon Bradbury's corner kick.
"[Bradbury] crossed a great ball," said Huyhn-Ba, a sophomore forward. "This win was so exhilarating, we never gave up on the field. It took us a while to get into the game, but we did it."
In the second half, both teams played strong defense, especially against opposing set plays.
"We hadn't played particularly well, up to that finish," said DeMatteis. "It would have been disappointing with some of the little mistakes we made. But the girls never stopped working and pulled it off."
Just over a minute into the game, A.I. took a 1-0 lead when Kristin Goldrick scored unassisted. Kristin Hanna flicked the ball into St. Mark's net in the fourth minute, assisted by Tracey Withrow.
"I would've bet my home that we would have come out ready," DeMatteis said. "We were able to regroup."
Dilworth ended her high school career with 109 varsity goals.
Despite the Tigers' quick start, she was confident the Spartan's passion wouldn't wane.
"We'd had given everything we had if we were losing 1-0 or 10-0," said Dilworth. "We knew we weren't walking off this field without the No. 1 trophy."
They didn't.