Writer: Shannon Timmons
Welcome back to “The Corner Scoop”, a weekly edition covering high school field hockey in Delaware.There have been some big matchups, highly anticipated games, and there are no longer any undefeated teams in D1 while Newark Charter and Wilmington Friends remain perfect in D2. This week the annual Turf Bowl will take place at the University of Delaware at Rullo Stadium. The wet astroturf is my favorite hockey surface and it’s fast and furious. We should be in for some exciting games!
Let’s rank the top 10 teams in Division 1 and Division 2, and their matchups for the week.
Division 1 Field Hockey
No. 1 Smyrna (8-1) It took an out-of-state opponent in the Episcopal Academy, PA (11-1) to give the Eagles their first loss of the season. Their coach is Paul Zelenak, a Concord HS grad, Drexel grad (Lax) and former field hockey coach at Padua. Hockey runs deep in his family as his mom, Denise, is the head coach at Drexel. Circle around to the Moffett connection through Delaware Sharks club field hockey. The Eagles have a long week with 3 games. Bree Moffett leads with 11 goals, 5 assists, McKenna Wilson and Ava Elias have chipped in 7 goals each.
Upcoming: Oct. 7th Delmar at SHS, 4pm; Oct. 9th at Sussex Central, 4pm; Oct 10th CR at UD Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl, 8:30pm
No. 2 Cape Henlopen (9-1) The Vikings bounced back off the loss to Smyrna, as expected. However, they only beat Indian River 1-0, while Austin played the depth of her roster. I’m looking for big things from IR in D2. Cape has 2 games this week, one will be an exciting Henlopen North matchup with Milford at UD. The pace of the turf lends itself to Cape’s style of play and ball patterns, and passing. Atia Sabbaugh leads the offense with 8 goals & 8 assists, Emily Wells, Teagan Baker, and Grace Heers have 6 goals a piece.
Upcoming: Oct. 7th at Sussex Academy, 6pm (Breast Cancer Awareness Game), Oct 11th Milford at UD Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl, 5:00pm.
No. 3 Milford (5-3) Milford hasn’t lost a game since Sept.18th, and they have their work cut out for them this week facing 3 strong programs. It’s their time to step up and show us what they’re made of. The offense is led by freshman Bria Leyanna (7 goals) and Katelyn Joseph (6 goals, 5 assists).
Upcoming: Oct. 7th Lake Forest at Milford, 4pm; Oct 9th Middletown at Milford, 4pm; Oct 11th Cape Henlopen, at UD Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl, 5:00 pm.
No. 4 Middletown (8-2) The Cavs fell to Newark Charter but picked a win over Hodgson, and this moved them up to the No. 4 spot this week. They will battle the Ducks of Odessa, their sister school, which could upset the rankings next week. The Cavs are led by senior Layla Dukes (27 goals, 7 assists) and Morgan Fink with 8 goals.
Upcoming: Oct 6th Odessa at Odessa 6:30 pm; Oct 9th Milford at Milford, 4pm.
No. 5 Odessa (7-3) The test this week will be getting past the Cavs of Middletown, a feat they have yet to tackle. If they do, they will upset the rankings next week. They had a good week with a tough loss to a formidable Indian River team and defeated CR to cap the week. The Ducks are led by Olivia Orndorff with 12 goals and Bailey Hennessy with 4 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 6th Middletown at Odessa, 6pm.
No. 6 Caesar Rodney (6-3) The Riders will need their stamina this week as they have 3 games to play, ending the week with a tough matchup at UD against Smyrna. What a difference from a season ago – congrats to the Riders. The Riders are led by Montana Fox with 8 goals and Leah Brown with 4 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 7th Woodbridge at CR Legacy Field; Oct 9th Dover at CR Legacy Field (Senior night); Oct 10th Smyrna at UD Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl, 8:30pm
No. 7 Polytech (5-4) The Panthers stayed above .500, despite a tough loss to Cape they bounced back to defeat Seaford. They will play twice this week as they look to improve heading into the last stretch of the season. The Panthers are led by Elizabeth Schroeder with 7 goals and Emma Carey with 7 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 7th Laurel at Polytech (Pink Day), 4pm; Oct 9th at Sussex Tech, 4pm
No. 8 Padua (5-2-1) The Pandas had a great week picking up two wins. This week will prove interesting as they face St. Mark’s, whom they tied 2-2 back on Sept. 23rd. They will also see Ursuline again and that game was decided by a goal in favor of Padua 3-2 on Sept 3rd. It’s always hard to beat a team twice and we’d like to see a clear winner in the St. Mark’s rematch. The Pandas are led by Emme Mulvena with 10 goals and Audrey Kehner with 3 goals.
Upcoming: Oct 7th St. Mark’s at Chase Fieldhouse, 3:30pm; Oct 9th at Ursuline (Serviam Field), 3:45pm; Oct 11th DMA at UD Rullo Stadium, 11:00am.
No. 9 St. George’s (6-4) The SeaHawks move up a spot this week after ripping off 5 straight wins. They will have the standard two game week ahead and will need to stay the course to keep improving. They face tough D2 opponents Concord and Sanford, both are teams to watch. The SeaHawks are led by Robyn Clark with 7 goals and Samarah Jennings with 6 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 6th at Concord 3:30pm; Oct. 9th at Sanford 4:00pm.
No. 10 Appoquinimink (4-5) The Jags had a tough week, dropping two games. They will need to bounce back this week to stay in the top ten and be a tournament contender. They have plenty of time to regroup as they only have one game this week; whereas, most teams play three. The Jags are led by Elise Hastings (9 goals, 5 assists) and Alyson Hackett with 4 goals.
Upcoming: Oct 8th Christiana at Appoquinimink, 4pm.
Division 2 Field Hockey
No 1. Newark Charter (8-0) The Patriots take over the top spot this week with convincing wins. They will be tested this week when they play No. 3 Caravel as this is traditionally a great matchup. While it’s a week out (Oct 14th) I’m excited to see they have D1 powerhouse Cape Henlopen on the schedule this season. Senior Audrey Nelson leads with 18 goals, Genevieve Walch leads with 6 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 7th at Caravel Academy, 6:00pm; Oct 9th Concord at Newark Charter, 3:45pm.
No 2. Wilmington Friends (7-0) The Quakers are hot! Molly Dolan, Lila Rubano, Sara Clothier, and 8th grader Peyton Galbraith are leading this team day in and day out. Let’s remember they make a tournament run every year and run to the semis and finals the last 3 seasons. Keep your eyes on Scott Clothier’s Quakers.
Upcoming: Oct 7th Wilmington Christian at Friends 4pm; Oct 9th Tatnall at Friends, 4pm; Oct 11th Archmere Academy at UD Rullo Stadium, 12:00pm.
No 3. Caravel (9-1) The Bucs drop to No. 3 this week just because the top 2 are undefeated and I know how hard that is to maintain heading into the second half of the season. They also face No. 1 Newark Charter this week so they could upset my top ten next week. Hailey HAynes leads the Bucs (12 goals, 7 assists) and Carly Milhorn has 7 goals.
Upcoming: Oct 7th Newark Charter at Caravel, 6:15pm; Oct 9th Archmere Academy at Caravel, 6:15pm.
No 4. Indian River (7-2) The Indians continue to impress. Despite a loss to Cape, they only gave up 1 goal and kept things close and interesting throughout the game. Again, this is a team to watch. I’m excited to see where Coach Torrie Huk leads her team in the second half of the season. She gets a homecoming of sorts as they visit Sussex Tech where Huk played her high school career. Baylie Williamson leads with 18 goals and 8 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 7th at Sussex Tech, 4pm; Oct 9th Laurel at IR, 4pm.
No 5. Archmere (6-2) The Auks had a great week, picking up two wins to improve to 6-2. Looking at the two losses, they are to the D1 and D2 number one teams, Smyrna and Newark Charter. That speaks volumes for the Auks level of play so far this season.Bernadette Patino (8 goals, 7 assists) and Juliet Polsky (5 goals, 3 assists) lead the Auks.
Upcoming: Oct 7th at Conrad (Breast Cancer Awareness), 4pm; Oct 9th at Caravel, 6:15pm; Oct 11th Wilmington Friends at Archmere Academy (Homecoming game), 12:00pm.
No. 6 Lake Forest (6-3) The Spartans picked up two more wins to move to 6-3 on the season. They have what should be a great game, with Henlopen rival Milford this week and a struggling Delmar team. Senior Rylin McCloskey leads with 11 goals, 3 assists, followed by Savannah Messick with 10 goals.
Upcoming: Oct 7th at Milford, 4pm; Oct 9th Delmar at Lake Forest, 4 pm.
No 7. DMA (4-4) The SeaHawks had a tough week as they hit a tough part of the schedule, dropping two games but hanging in there at .500. They have some time to prepare this week as they don’t play until Thursday. Let’s see if they can rebound behind the efforts of Elena Sheets with 7 goals and Madelynn Ray with 4.
Upcoming: Oct 9th Wilmington Charter at DMA, 3:30pm; Oct 11th Padua at UD Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl, 11:00 am.
No 8. Sussex Academy (4-4): The Seahawks have been a team to watch rise in the hockey ranks over the years and lost talent to graduation. They are a little more inconsistent than I thought they would be this season but their strength of schedule is unmatched. Coach Caitlyn Hardy will certainly have them tested over and over by tournament time. Leading the way are Shea Danahy with 6 goals, 2 assists and Ryan Lowe 5 goals, 3 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 7th Cape Henlopen at Sussex Academy (Breast Cancer Awareness), 6:00pm; Oct 9 Seaford at Sussex Academy, 5:30pm; Oct 11th Wilmington Charter at UD, Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl 2:00pm.
No 9. Tower Hill (4-4:) The Hillers are another .500 team this week after splitting their games last week. They’ve been a little inconsistent this season but seem to find a way to stay in the mix. They have what I think will be a challenging week ahead and I’m excited to see how the Vanni’s respond. Charlotte leads with 6 goals, 5 assists, followed by Ella with 4 goals. Goalkeeper Joie Quinlan has done the work in the cage with 65 saves.
Upcoming: Oct 7th Sanford at Tower Hill, 3:45pm; Oct 9th at St. Andrew’s School, 3:45pm.
No. 10 Concord (6-3): The Raiders had a great week with 2 wins, but will face two top ten teams this week. They have their work cut out for them for sure. Sophomore Brynn Ellis is their workhorse with 9 goals, 6 assists, Victoria Romeo follows with 5 goals, and Ciara Mullenix has 5 assists.
Upcoming: Oct 6th St. George’s at Concord, 3:30pm; Oct 9th at Newark Charter, 3:45pm; Oct 10th William Penn at UD Rullo Stadium, Turf Bowl, 5:00pm.
One to Watch: This time of year the top ten can be so hard to pick as teams compete so closely and strength of schedule is a factor. I often add a one to watch, someone who could crack the top ten… and this week it’s the Sanford Warriors.
Sanford (5-4) They certainly have lived up to their name and been warriors to this point of the season. After a slow start, they are on a three game win streak behind the likes of Julia Caldwell (11 goals), Siena Cadungag (3 goals, 6 assists), and Naomi Friedemann (2 goals). They face some strong competition in the coming weeks, but this is a team to watch.
Upcoming: Oct 7th at Tower Hill, 3:45pm; Oct 9th` St. George’s at Sanford, 4:00pm.
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