Prep Report: Panthers stun Seahawks
Cape Coral High soccer coach Aldo Nardiello figured it would take some time for the Seahawks to rebuild their defense after losing several key players to graduation.
Their 4-3 loss to Cypress Lake Monday night at Dave Warkentin Stadium proved the Seahawks have a ways to go.
The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead early in the second half, then saw the Panthers score four unanswered goals for the come-from-behind win.
“It was a defensive collapse,” Nardiello said. “It’s what we expected with a young team. We knew we would be vulnerable to such lapses.”
The Seahawks appeared on their way to a third straight victory to open the season. Andrew Torres, Guillermo Duque and Jordan Germain each scored goals. Shane Pacheco, Mario Montes and Pedro Perez picked up assists.
Despite the comeback by the Panthers, goalkeeper Rush Manterola still managed 14 saves.
The Seahawks (2-1) host Lehigh Tuesday.
Girls Soccer
Cypress Lake 3, Cape Coral 1: Cape senior Carly Boscarino buried a free kick in the second half, but the Seahawks lost at Cypress Lake.
The host Panthers scored in the first half and added two goals in the second 40 minutes.
Cape senior goalkeeper Shelby Rowe made 18 saves.
The Seahawks (1-2-1) play at Lehigh Tuesday.
Girls Basketball
Cape Coral 46, Fort Myers 29: Senior point guard Jardin McCarthy scored a game-high 19 points to lead host Cape Coral to a season-opening victory over Fort Myers.
Trailing 19-18 at the break, the Seahawks turned up the defensive pressure in the second half.
The Seahawks were dealt a blow, though, when last year’s leading scorer, senior Alexiss Griffin, left the game with an ankle injury. Griffin signed a scholarship with Kennesaw State earlier Monday.
Senior Christina Gaywood contributed to the victory with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Fort Myers 7 12 3 7 — 29
Cape Coral 9 9 16 12 — 46
Fort Myers (29) — Baker 3, Minisce 6, Mitchell 1, Reid 3, Jessup 7, Idlette 3, Lewis 2, Cornell 2, Atkinson 2. Scoring: 6-5 29. 3-point goals — Minisce 2, Jessup 1, Reid 1.
Cape Coral (46) — McCarthy 19, Griffin 5, Vasquez 2, Bunch 2, Gaywood 11, Dotson 7. Scoring: 13-18 46. 3-point goals — McCarthy 1, Dotson 1.
Cross Country
Cape Coral’s Blake Behr was among the area cross country runners to qualify (top 15) for Friday’s Class 3A finals at the Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City.
Behr finished 13th at last Friday’s regional meet at the Estero Community Park. Behr was timed in 18:09. He was inadvertently left out of the regional meet report in the Saturday Breeze.
Boys Golf
At Port St. Lucie: Mariner High senior Grant Burgess tied for eighth place in the boys’ 14-18 year-old division over the weekend in a South Florida PGA Junior Tour Championship at the PGA Golf Club.
Burgess turned in rounds of 72 and 79 to finish at 7 over par (151), five strokes behind overall winner Kevin Britton (146) of Palm City.
Ryan Celano, 13, a seventh grader at Community School of Naples, was the only player to break 70 in two days on the Ryder course. He shot 5-under 67 Sunday to win the boys’ 12-13 division by six strokes.