Writer: Shannon Timmons
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Welcome back to “The Corner Scoop”, a weekly edition covering high school field hockey in Delaware. We are headed into the last week of the regular season. A time when teams need to be cleaning up any lingering mistakes, preparing for post season play, and being at their best physically, emotionally, and strategically. There are still several compelling matchups with division races heating up and playoff implications on the line.
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 (1) (12-1) The Eagles will complete their regular season with two Henlopen Conference games this week and then set their sight toward a Conference Title on Saturday. Their top players have been consistent:: Bree Moffett (19 goals,12 assists), McKenna Wilson (12 goals, 3 assists), and Ava Elias (13 goals, 8 assists). Their ability to mix up the offense and have multiple people score makes them dangerous offensively.
Upcoming: Oct 21 Sussex Tech at Smyrna, 4pm, (Senior Night); Oct 23 Lake Forest at Smyrna, 4pm; Oct 25 Henlopen Conference Championship Game, TBD
No. 2 Cape Henlopen (2) (13-1) The Vikings have been on a 6 game win streak and haven’t lost since they dropped an OT game to Smyrna. They will get some rest this week, playing one one game. Coach Kate Austin has to love this time to prepare for the post season. The Vikings Atia Sabbaugh leads (10 goals,13 assists), Grace Heers (9 goals, 6 assists),: E. Wells (8 goals, 3 assists), T. Baker (7 goals, 4 assist), K. McMahon, M. Rishko, and A. Miller each have 5 goals.
Upcoming: Oct 21 at Dover, 4pm.
No. 3 Odessa (4) (10-3) The Ducks have been on fire! They remain atop Flight A with two more wins this week, winning 6 of their last 7. They face their other sister school Appo this week after finally defeating Middletown last week. The Ducks are led by Olivia Orndorff (15 goals), Naomi Falletti (5 assists, 5 goals), and Caroline Perry (7 goals, 3 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 21 Appo at Odessa, 6:30pm Oct 23 Padua at Odessa (Senior night), 6:30pm
No. 4 Caesar Rodney (5) (8-4) Despite the Riders losing two against tough opponents in Smyrna and Cape Henlopen, they moved up in the rankings this week due to strength of schedule. They will end the regular season on the road this week. The Riders continue to be led by Alicia Hunter (11 goals, 3 assists), Montana Fox (10 goals, 2 assists) and Leah Brown (8 goals, 7 assists) .
Upcoming:Oct 20 at Indian River, 4 pm; Oct 21 at Polytech, 4 pm.
No. 5 Polytech (7) (8-5) The Panthers move up two spots this week and will face off against the No. 4 CR Riders. This head to head matchup coils shake up the rankings. They split last week, losing on senior day. The Panthers are led by Elizabeth Schroeder (14 goals, 3 assists), Cara Willis (7 goals, 8 assists) and Emma Carey (6 goals, 8 assists). Sabrina Siaca has 107 saves in goal.
Upcoming: Oct 21 Caesar Rodney at Polytech, 4pm; Oct 23 at Middletown, 4pm.
No. 6 Padua (8) (8-3-1) The Pandas play three games this week to round out the regular season. They have been on a roll winning 5 of their last 6 games. We will have to see if their record and strength of schedule hold up for a tournament bid. The Pandas are led by Emme Mulvena (11 goals, 3 assists), Emily Hill (4 goals), Rebekah Haney (3 goals), Avery Heist (3 goals, 4 assists), and Ava King & Audrey Kehner (3 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 20 at Archmere, 3:45pm; Oct 23 at Odessa, 6:30 pm; Oct 24 Brandywine at Chase Fieldhouse, 5:15pm, (Senior Night)
No. 7 Middletown (5) (8-4) The Cavaliers were off last week, a rare occurrence this time of year. They should be well rested and hopefully have all players healthy and ready to go for their final two games of the regular season this week. The Cavs are led by senior Layla Dukes (27 goals, 7 assists), Morgan Fink (9 goals).
Upcoming: Oct 21 at St. Andrew’s School, 3:45pm; Oct 23 Polytech at Middletown; 4pm.
No. 8 Milford (3) (6-6-1) The Bucs have had a tough week and a half. That said, they have played 3 of the perennial powerhouse programs in the state – Cape, Smyrna, Delmar. While Delmar isn’t having a normal season by Delmar standards you can’t deny the overall success of their program. Regardless, this is a team you can never count out. Coach McPike plays a tough schedule to prepare her team and build her program. The offense is led by Katelyn Joseph (8 goals, 5 assists), freshman Bria Leyanna (7 goals, 3 assists) and Isabel Betts, Mooly Masten with 5 goals each.
Upcoming: Oct 21 Sussex Central at Milford, 4:00 pm; Oct 23 at Indian River, 5:00pm.
No. 9 St. George’s (9) (7-7) The Hawks have hit a bit of a skid losing 3 of the last 4 games. They remain .500 and head into the last week of the season with one game left. They will take on a local rival in the Middletown Cavaliers. The Hawks are led by Robyn Clark (7 goals, 2 assists), Kassidy Hale (5 goals, 4 assists), and Samarah Jennings (3 goals, 6 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 20 at Middletown, 6:15pm
No. 10 Appoquinimink(10) (7-5) The Jags are on a three game win streak but have three more to go to finish the regular season. They round out the top ten and keep all three Appoquinimink district teams in the mix. The Jags are led by Elise Hastings (12 goals, 9 assists), Alyson Hackett (5 goals, 2 assists), Jenna Czerwinski (5 goals, 3 assists), and Madeline Parajon (8 goals, 9 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 18 at Tatnall, 10:00 am; Oct 21 at Odessa, 6:30pm; Oct 22 at Wilmington Charter, 6:30 pm (Senior Game)
Division 2 Field Hockey
No 1. Wilmington Friends (1) (12-0) Scott Clothier’s Quakers remain perfect heading into the final week of the regular season. They finish with 3 games on the road, which can be tough on a team. This team has been on the rise for the past few seasons and the seniors are making a statement this season. Molly Dolan (18 goals, 9 assists), Ella Fontanazza (13 goals, 1 assist), Peyton Galbraith (11 goals, 9 assists), Lila Rubano (9 goals 8 assists), Sara Clothier (5 goals, 9 assists), and Keeley Galbraith (3 goals, 7 assists) are the reason Wilmington Friends sits atop Division 2..
Upcoming: Oct 21 at Delmar, 4:00 pm; Oct 22 at Concord, 3:30pm; Oct 25 at Tower Hill, 1:00 am.
No 2. Caravel (2) (12-2) The Bucs stay at No. 2 this week and are another Delaware team that could not figure out Episcopal Academy from PA. They only have one game this week and Coach Sarah Broehl can start fine tuning their level of play for the tournament. Hailey Haynes leads the team (13 goals, 10 assists), Carly Milhorn (10 goals, 2 assists), Rogue Nordin (5 goals, 4 assists), and Sydney Holley (6 goals, 4 assists) keep the Bucs in the running.
Upcoming: Oct 21 at Wilmington Charter, 3:30pm
No 3. Newark Charter (3) (10-2) The Patriots are still in the mix and what I know about Stacey Spiker and the Patriots is despite the flip flopping of wins and losses of late, they can dial up the intensity in tournament play. They have been challenged by tough competition and come up on the losing end; however, I’m sure they’ve learned some lessons that will carry them into the post season. Three games this week will round out the regular season for them and senior Audrey Nelson (20 goals, 3 assists) still leads the offense. Alexandra Horning (6 goals, 4 assists), Mia Lang (6 goals, 1 assist), and Genevieve Walch (4 goals, 8 assists) are the supporting cast.
Upcoming:Oct 20 Wilmington Charter at Newark Charter, 3:30pm; Oct 22 Tatnall at Newark Charter, 6:30 pm; Oct Conrad at Newark Charter, 11:00 am.
No 4. Indian River (4) (9-3) The Indians are an exciting team to watch. They are another team that has just been getting better each season and have found their place and are making their mark. They will finish the season with three home games, which plays to their favor as 2 of their 3 losses have come on the road. Baylie Williamson (22 goals, 8 assists) is their workhorse, Ella Peterson (9 goals, 9 assists), Kacie Kirchner & Brynn Knight (6 goals each) and freshman Caroline Williamson helps out too (1 goal, 6 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 20 Caesar Rodney at IR, 4:00 pm; Oct 21 Woodbridge at IR, 4:00 pm; Oct 23 Milford at IR, 5:00 pm.
No 5. Lake Forest (6) (9-4) The Spartans are the second Henlopen South team in the top tenThey have their work cut out for them in the last week of the regular season with two top programs in Sussex Academy and Smyrna, an unkind schedule to finish the regular season. But anything can happen and as they say in sports – that’s why you show up and play the game. Senior Rylin McCloskey still leads the offense (14 goals, 3 assists), Savannah Messick (12 goals, 1 assist), Rowan McCloskey (10 goals, 3 assists), and Ashley Robbins (8 goals, 3 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 21 Sussex Academy at Lake Forest, 5:30 pm; Oct 23 at Smyrna, 4:00 pm.
No.6 Archmere (6) (8-4) The Auks got back on track this week defeating Concord 1-0. They will round out their schedule with three more games, two of which will be at home. This program usually secures double digit wins on the season and I’m sure Coach Dell’oso expects the same this season. Leading the Auks this season: Bernadette Patino (11 goals, 11 assists) and Juliet Polsky (10 goals, 4 assists), Cecilia Patino and Lauren Wenger (5 goals each), Sarah Dahms (4 goals, 7 assists).
Upcoming: Oct 20 Padua at Archmere, 3:45 pm; Oct 22 DMA at Archmere, 3:30 pm; Oct 25 at Tatnall, 11:00 am.
No 7. Sussex Academy (8) (8-5): The Seahawks came up with a convincing win over Indian River this week for their 4th win in a row. They will finish up on the road with two games this week. There are 3 Seahawks with 9 goals (Bailey Mears, Mady Lehman, Ryan Lowe) and Shea Danahy trails with 8 to lead the offense.
Upcoming: Oct 21 at Lake Forest, 5:30 pm; Oct 23 at St. Mark’s, 3:45.
No 8. Sanford (7) (8-5) The Warriors flip a spot with an equal record based on strength of schedule. They have two games this week and split the home and away schedule. Julia Caldwell (13 goals, 3 assists), Naomi Friedemann (4 goals), freshman Siena Cadungog (4 goals, 6 assists) lead the way for the Warriors.
Upcoming: Oct 21 Tatnall at Sanford, 4:00 pm; Oct 23 at St. Andrew’s, 3:45 pm.
No 9 Ursuline (NR) (8-4) The Raiders were my “one to watch” a week ago they jumped right in at No. 9 this week. They have won 6 straight and have three games this week to finish their regular season. All games are home, which I always think is an advantage. The last game is a rescheduled game from the Turf Bowl against Brandywine. Keep an eye on this team. Kendall Gulli leads the offense (6 goals, 6 assists), Katherine Layton (3 goals, 2 assists), and the following each have 2 goals a piece: Samantha Weinert, Caroline Lober, and Molly Anderson.
Upcoming: Oct 21 Wilm Christian at Ursuline, 4:00 pm; Oct 23 Hodgson at Ursuline, 4:00 pm (Senior Game); Oct 25 Brandywine, 10:00 am.
No. 10 Concord (10) (9-5): The Raiders have just one game left in the regular season but it’s a tough one against the No. 1 Wilmington Friends Quakers. This will be the biggest test the Raiders have had this season. The good news is their losses this season are to the top teams in the state and for the most part they have handled business as usual along the way. Sophomore Brynn Ellis (13 goals, 10 assists), Victoria Romeo (7 goals, 1 assist), Ciara Mullenix (5 goals, 6 assists), lead the Raiders on offense.
Upcoming: Oct 22 Wilmington Friends at Concord, 3:30 pm.
One to Watch: Tower Hill (9) (6-6) The HIllers are a good team year in and year out. Field Hockey history at Tower is unrivaled. 2021 is the last season we didn’t have a Hiller team in the tourney and 2008 was their last championship. At 6-6 I would suspect their schedule is strong enough to keep them in the mix for a tourney bid. Remember D2 pulls a field of 12 for the bracket. They will have 3 chances to improve that record this week. Keep an eye on the Hillers to see where they finish the regular season.
Upcoming: Oct 21 St. Mark’s at Tower Hill, 3:45 pm (Pink Out & Senior Game); Oct 23 at Wilmington Christian, 4:00 pm; Oct 25 Wilmington Friends at Tower Hill, 11:00 am.
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