"We were told they were a better team than this," said the Viking's Steve Conlon. "Not that they were a bad team, just that they would be tougher than they were."
  It couldn't have been said better. Salesianum brought a 10-4 record into their game against the top ranked Cape Henlopen Vikings. The Vikings (12-3) were undefeated in the state only losing three times to top 20 Maryland teams.
  Cape reeled off nine straight goals in a 12-3 victory. Joe DeGhetto stopped the scoring streak when he took advantage of an empty net left behind by Viking goalie Chris Keller as he tried to make a play too far out of the crease.
  Beau Malatesta added two cosmetic goals in the third and fourth quarters for the Sals who were playing against the second string midway through the fourth.
  The game was played in the Sals end for over 3/4 of the game. The Vikings were clearly the more aggressive team chasing down more groundballs and relentlessly persuing each Sal who tried to make an advance downfield.
  The Vikings made few turnovers and forced five times as many while spreading out their offense on the other end. Steve Conlon scored three times, Steve Welsh scored twice,  Joe Vavala scored twice, and Joe Cahill scored twice. Also scoring for Cape was John Marriman, Eddie Savarese, and Patrick Massey.
  Head coach Mark D'Ambrogi was smiling after the game, but it was a hesistant smile. "I dont think we played a full 48 minutes out there today."
  In the stands, Cape fans thought a recent loss to a Maryland team helped the Viking game. The quality of stick checking was apparently on a higher level and matched that of the out-of-state game. D'Ambrogi said they like to schedule those games. "Even if we have to take our lumps, we will if it will help make us a better team."
  The Vikings last won the state championship in 1998 against Tatnall. They recently beat the Hornets, who are ranked number two, 11-9. Tatnall has been to the finals and lost the past two years, losing to Caesar Rodney last year. Tatnall and Cape are on a collision course to meet in the finals again this year, and if the Vikings continue to improve and play that full 48 minutes as the coach needs them to play, the Hornets could be in for a third straight disappointing state final.

All pictures from the Delaware Sports Video Files