The Corner Scoop: 2024 field hockey pre-season rankings

Welcome back to “The Corner Scoop”, a weekly edition covering high school field hockey in Delaware. The high school season opens up on Tuesday September 3, 2024 so we will rank the top 10 teams in Division 1 and Division 2, along with their matchups for the week. There is plenty of talent across the state but some teams will have to rebuild after graduation last year. Who will challenge the perennial powerhouse programs at Delmar and Cape Henlopen? 

Teams to watch in D-1 include Cape Henlopen, Smyrna, Milford, and Charter School of Wilmington. 

Teams to watch in D-2 include Delmar, Wilmington Friends, Newark Charter, and Sussex Academy,  

 

Division 1 Field Hockey

 

No. 1  Cape Henlopen The Vikings captured another State Title last season. Cape is a team that graduated 11 seniors (starters Grace Wiggins – Richmond, LuLu Rishko – UD, Addie Basile- Ohio University,  Carrie Clausius – Tampa, Hannah Maney – Iowa, Devon DeGregory – Salisbury, Lexi Nowakowski – Vanderbilt, and Morgan Newcomb). They will be more inexperienced this season with only 2 seniors on the roster – Lina Frederick & Macy Steinwedel.  Cape will see Queen Anne’s (MD) September 6th, Stephen Decaur September 7th in the Bi State Challenge, before seeing in state competition with Lake Forest September 10th and the rematch with Smyrna at home on September 12th.

 

No. 2 Smyrna The Eagles will look to get back in the mix for a title this season. They will need to find replacements for Dru Moffet (Michigan) and Haile Geiger (GK, Drexel), but return Bree Moffett, Ava Pierce, Addison Beamer, McKenna WIlson, and Ryann Durnall,  They begin their season with 3 teams who made a tournament appearance a season ago, but are all home games. They will face Archmere September 4th , Sussex Academy September 10th and Cape Henlopen September 12th. 

 

No. 3 Milford The Bucs ended last season 14-3, losing to Cape Henlopen in the semi finals of the tournament. The lost Erin Dunlap (Army), Carley Mackert (Alvernia), Caitlin Cromer, Julianna Brown, and Madisyn Hitchens. They will return a core group of players with  experience and leadership including Isabel Betts, Bailey and Molly Masten, Leah Metzner, and Hannah Zimmerman, to name a few.  Their home opener is September 3rd at St.s Peter & Paul (MD), then host Appoquinimink on September 7th for Youth Day. 

 

No. 4  Charter School of Wilmington  Posting an overall 11-6 record last season, losing to the Smyrna in the 2nd round of the tournament. Charter will be a team to watch after graduating 5 seniors. Ella Stack is off to Lehigh University and they will need to fill her shoes. The roster has 24 players. Coach Guenther will look to Alexa Guarnari, Adelina DiNicola, Elizabeth Terranova, Kelsey Shahan, and Jillian Villafuerte to help make another run at the tournament. The Force opens at St. George’s on September 5th, then home vs. MOT Charter September 11th. 

 

No. 5 Middletown:  The Cavaliers ended 11-5 last season and only graduated one starter. Coach Krygier said seniors Sarah Kasper, Flannery Grimm, Cara Bosco, Charlotte Gerber and Junior Layla Dukes have stepped up and are ready to lead this team back to the tournament.The Cavaliers start their season on the road September 4th  at Mount Pleasant and September 9th at William Penn. 

 

No. 6  Odessa: The Ducks are coming off a great season finishing 10-6 with a tournament loss to Cape Henlopen. The roster shows 8 seniors, 2 juniors, 6 sophomores, and 6 freshmen. They open at home September 4th  v. Newark and September 9th v. DMA. The second half of their season could prove tough as they are on the road for 5 games straight. 

 

No. 7 Polytech The Panthers also ended 9-7 last season with a loss to Milford in the tournament. They will be young, posting a roster of 9 freshmen and 11 players grade 10-12. They open on the road 9/5 at  Laurel, September 10th at St. George’s Tech. We will have to see how they respond early on. 

 

No. 8 St. George’s: The Sea Hawks finished 8-7-1 and lost to Smyrna in the opening round of the tournament last season. The roster only shows 14 players and they have some seniors to replace such as Natalie Santoleri, Eva Correa, Hailey Trent, Kaitlyn Benson, and Arianna Hairtson. Natalie Hackett and Rhyan Adams will have to step up and lead this season. 

 

No. 9  Appoquinimink : The Jags finished 7-7-1 last season, missing the tournament for the first time since 2019. They graduated 6 seniors and haven’t posted a roster for this season yet. We will have to see if the Jags can get back on track. They open at CR on September 5th and at Milford on September 7th. 

 

No. 10 Caesar Rodney: The Riders finished 7-8 last season, missing the tournament. They have a roster of 25 and will need Elle Roberts, Ella Brown, Alicia Hunter, and Addison Plews to lead them throughout the season. It would be exciting to see the Riders get back to their winning ways. They open on 9/5 as they host Appoquinimink and then go to Woodbridge on September 10th.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Division 2 Field Hockey

 

No 1. Delmar With 8 consecutive state D-2 championships Delmar sits atop D2. They lost 5 impact players to graduation:  Baylie Phillips (App State), Emily Bitters (Shippensburg), Regan Wells (VA Wesleyan), Jordyn Bunting (Wingate U), and Abygail Jamison (TCNJ), and will have to regroup in new positions.  Their season opener will be at home against Indian RIver 9/5,  Wilmington Friends at DE Turf on September 10th. They will play in the Bi State Challenge at Cape Henlopen against Stephen Decatur September 12th  and Queen Anne’s (MD) September 13th.

 

No 2.  Newark Charter The young Patriots squad fell in the finals to Delmar but posted a season record of 16-2. They lost Lea Salinski, Sophia Orlando, Cassidy Lawhorn, Samira Morgan, Hailey Gray, and Addison Nelson. With their experience and leadership they should be a force to be reckoned with. The first three games of 2024 are on the road against September 7th v. Padua, September 10th  St. Mark’s, and DMA in the Turf Bowl on September 13th. 

 

No 3. Caravel: The Bucs had a great run last year losing to Delmar in the semi’s and only losing two seniors (Delany Brunner – Salisbury and Isabela Brown) they should be a contender again this season. They will be tough on defense with Peyton Rice and Addison Van Rensler in goal, and look to Carson Peace, Katie Cole, Kaitlyn Judy to be in the mix. The Bucs open at home 9/6 v Dover and September 11th v Appoquinimink. 

 

 No 4. Wilmington Friends The Quakers 14-4 for the second season in a row losing in the quarterfinals for the second season in a row. Coach Scott Clothier and his roster of 32 hope to get past that point this year. Players like Sawyer Roland and Ella Morton will lead this team as they realize each season is a new one;  Clothier said they will need more GRIT. The Quakers open at home September 6th v Archmere and travel to DE Turf September 10th for an early season test against Delmar. 

 

No 5.  St. Mark’s: The Spartans were 13-3 last season with a quarter final apprearance in the tournament. They lose Kieran Haywood, Catherine Kaminski, Morgan Hall, and Brianna Nichols to graduation. No roster is posted yet but Katherine Hanich and Alaina Papa will need to step up to lead the way. Their season stars on September 4th  v Ursuline and September 10th at home v. Newark Charter. 

 

No.6 Sussex Academy: The Seahawks ended 2023 10-7, losing to Delmar in the quarterfinal round. They only lost one senior, offensive powerhouse  Callie Short (Lynchburg). This team will have a lot of experience and will look to Rilyn Lehman to pick up where Short left off with leadership. They want to get back to the tournament by pushing themselves to their max and playing with GRIT, said Coach Hardy. The Seahawks start a week later than most teams with Smyrna on September 10th  and Laurel on September 12th. 

 

No 7. Archmere: The Auks will hope to build on a strong season from a year ago when they finished 10-7, losing to Caravel Academy in the semifinals. They will need a Goalkeeper as Ava Hughes graduated along with Bella Hughes, Kathlees Schaller, and Ellie DiCarlo. They open the season on the road with two tough teams –  September 4th at Smyrna and September 6th at Wilmington Friends.

 

No 8. Lake Forest: The Spartans were 11-6 and exited the tournament at the hands of Newark Charter. They lost 11 experienced seniors last season including GK Madison Lawson (Salisbury), Emma Massey (Hood), and Kyria Moyer (Arcadia).  Brynn String and Carmella Gannon will need to lead and this team will need to learn to play together and do the little things according to Coach Tucker. They jump right into the season at Milford September 7th and at Cape Henlopen September 12th.

 

No 9. Tower Hill: The Hillers finished 10-6, losing to Lake Forest in round 1 of the tournament last season. They lost Elle Krikelis, Therese Lucian ( Denison), Izze McIntosh, Zoe Heifetz, and Karina Munshi to graduation but this year’s senior class is an experienced group and are ready to step up and lead. They are adjusting to a new coach (Lindsey Goeller) and her new style of coaching but are excited to get into action on September 8th v. Woodbridge. 

 

No. 10  Tatnall: The Hornets finished 8-8 last season but will claim the 10th spot over Concord due to strength of schedule. Another team that loses a bunch to graduation; Devon Chipman  (Tufts Lacrosse), Reese Dolinger (Thomas Jefferson Golf), Ava Mitchell, Kate O’Neal, Ivy Qualls, Grace Hill, Sarah Kramer, Riley Greene. Coach Martin said “Carolyn Walker – Senior Defender, Sia Tsatsaronis – Sophomore Forward, Emily Sullivan – Junior Mid, and Charlotte Wilkinson – Senior Mid. have stepped up to lead the team this season. This is a talented group ready to compete in the conference and for a State Title.” That journey will begin September 4th v. Padua and September 10th  v. Sanford.  

 

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