The Corner Scoop – DIAA State Tournament preview 

We have reached the end of the 2023 regular season in field hockey. Saturday, October 28th,  Delmar was crowned the Henlopen Conference Champions as they defeated Smyrna 6-0 on their home field. A great win for the Delmar community who has suffered the loss of Carter Figgs, a 16 year old football player and wrestler. This game was a rematch of the regular season game between the top D1 and top D2 teams where Smyrna edged Delmar 3-2 and broke the 120 game win streak the Wildcats had. Again, that is a record I don’t think we will soon see again, if ever. Congratulations to Delmar and head Coach Jodi Hollamon for that incredible accomplishment and to all the players who had a part in those 120 wins. 

 

For the first time Delmar and Cape will not be the number one seeds in each of their respective brackets. Here are the seeds and a preview of what should be the most competitive tournament in the past few seasons. 

 

The tournament committee has seeded the Division 1 and Division 2 tournament brackets. Eight teams will play in the Division 1 playoffs and twelve teams will play in the Division 2 playoffs. What you will see by all these teams is an unselfish style of play. Many of these players lead in goals but the assists are consistent too. Some teams have up to ten and eleven players with goals on the season. Field Hockey is truly an unselfish sport and these teams are the best at demonstrating that. Credit to all the coaches who spent countless hours prepping their squads for the opportunity to compete in the DIAA tournament and be the best team on any given game day. That’s all it takes to be called Champion. Best of luck to all coaches and players! 

 

Good Luck to All! 

 

Games of the Week:                                                                                                                    Division 2   Wednesday November 1, 1st Round & Saturday November 4, Quarterfinals                                                                                                                                  Division 1   Thursday November 2 Quarterfinals 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Here is the tournament seeding for Delaware Live-302 Sports

Division 2 Field Hockey

Bye Round 1:  No 1. Newark Charter 14-1 The Patriots, under head coach Stacey Spiker have made a name for themselves this season. Upsetting the traditional rankings and having one of the strongest offensive attacks I’ve seen, they are the top seed in D2 and have a first round bye. Charter is led by Amanda Rattay (33 goals, 16 assists), Audrey Nelson (16 goals, 13 assists), and Sophia Orlando (9 goals, 8 assists). 

 

Bye Round 1 : No 2. Delmar 13-2 The Wildcats are always a tournament favorite this time of year and I don’t think a two seed will stop Jodi Hollamon and her crew from being ready to face anyone on gameday. Congrats to the Henlopen Conference Champs. 

 

Bye Round 1:  No 3. Caravel 13-2 The Bucs under head coach Sarah Broehl have a strong three seed and a first round bye. Caraval’s midfield and defense are top notch. They will need to figure out how to put up goals in order to win and advance. Caravel is led by Delaney Brunner, Katie Cole, Carson Pearce and goalkeeper Addison Van Rensler. 

 

Bye Round 1 : No 4. St. Mark’s 13-2 The Spartans are led by their young head coach from the University of Delaware Alexis Esbitt. They have run out their schedule and won five games in a row,  which they will hope to carry over into tournament play. Kieran Haywood (17 goals, 12 assists), Katherine Hanich (17 goals, 7 assists) and goalkeeper Catherine Jones (25 saves) will lead the way. 

 

Wednesday October 1 at Tower Hill, 2 pm 

No.8  Tower Hill 10-5 The Hillers won five of their last six games to help garner the eight seed and stayed in my Top 10 almost all season. They will be led by Elle Krikelis (8 goals), Charlotte Vanni (4 goals, 5 assists) and goalkeeper Therese Lucian with 48 saves..

VS.

No. 9 Lake Forest 10-5 The Spartans had a tough start with tough competition early but persevered and bounded back to finish strong with four wins. A streak head coach Michele Tucker has to be pleased with. Their offense will be led by Roxanne Troutman (16 goals), Emma Massey  (14 goals), Lacey Hutson and Brynn Sting each with 10. Goalkeeper Madison Lawson has seen plenty of action with 46 saves. 

Winner plays Newark Charter Saturday Nov. 4 at Charter, 11 am

 

Wednesday October 1 at Wilmington Friends, 2 pm

 

No.5 Wilmington Friends 11-3 The Quakers only losses are to Delmar, Tower Hill and Tatnall. An impressive season to say the least. Molly Dolan leads their offense (13 goals, 8 assists) Rowland Sawyer (10 goals, 12 assists) and Ella Fontanazza with 10 goals. Goalkeeper Ella Morton has 66 saves on the season. 

VS.

 

No. 12 Tatnall The Hornets, an Independent Conference team, dialed up the intensity in their schedule with tough teams like Smyrna, Caravel, and Newark Charter. They face a tough Wilmington Friends squad in the first round and will be led by Reese Dolinger (7 goals, 7 assists), Tessa Colasante (5 goals), Paige Hiller (5 goals 4 assists). Goalkeeper Grace Hill has 52 saves on the season. 

 

WInner plays St. Mark’s Saturday Nov 4 at St.Mark’s, 11 am 

 

Wednesday October 1 at Sussex Academy, 2 pm

No.7 Sussex Academy 9-6 The Seahawks have put together a few nice little runs of wins and will look to continue that in the tournament. Callie Short leads the way for head coach Leah Hunsinger with 17 goals, 7 assists and is their spark. Rilyn Lehman has 8 goals,  Emma Campbell and Shea Danahy each have 4.Sophomore goalkeeper Kacie Rawlings has a remarkable 125 saves on the season and is a big reason they have the number seven seed. 

VS.

No. 10 Concord 9-5 The Raiders won the last four games of the season to stay in the tournament hunt. Their challenge will be a long ride to Sussex Academy and winning to advance. Riley Greer leads the way with 11 goals, Gabrielle Gray with 10, and Madden Cole with 7. In total, 10 players have scored for the Raiders this season. Senior goalkeepers Sarah McDowell (23 saves) and Rachel Waslyn (10 saves) will need to fend off the offensive attack of the Seahawks. 

WInner plays Delmar Saturday Nov 4 at Delmar, 11 am

 

Wednesday October 1 at Archmere, 2 pm

 

No 6 Archmere 9-6 The Auks struggled early in the season with big name teams but have found their stride winning the last five games of the season. Head coach Heidi Dell’oso hopes this young team peaks at the right time and can win and advance. Their offense will be led by Maura Read (19 goals, 9 assists)  Kathleeen Schaller (10 goals, 3 assists)  and Carly Polsky (7 goals, 3 assists). Senior goalkeeper Ava Hughes has 63 saves on the season. 

 

VS.

 

No. 11 DMA 8-5 The SeaHawks are led by Syndey Ziegler with 17 goals and 16 assists but have 14 different players who have scored for them this season They have bounced around and in and out of my Top 10’s this season but land in the eleven spot for the tournament. Their goalkeeper, Ashlee Feely, has 115 saves on the season. 

 

Winner plays Caravel Saturday Nov 4 at Caravel, 11 am

 

Division 1 Field Hockey

Thursday November 2 at Smyrna, 2 pm 

No. 1 Smyrna 15-0 The Henlopen North Champions will claim the number one seed in the Division 1 side of the tournament. The only loss they have is to Delmar for the Henlopen Conference Championship and Delmar sits in Division 2 and won’t be a factor for Smyrna in the tournament. Coach Loveita Moffett has her Eagles believing they can take it all. They have bought into her style of play and have a family atmosphere. When we interviewed them on the 302 Sports weekly show a few weeks ago, they are all in as a family and that shows in how they play. Senior Goalie Haile Geiger (Drexel) has had a stellar season with 61 saves, allowing 4 goals until the HC championship, in the cage and opponents will have to get through her to capture a title. The Moffett sisters account for 54 of their goals (Bree 30, Dru24).

 

 

No. 8 St. George’s 8-6-1. The SeaHawks put together a great run at the end of their season to grab the 8 seed. They have bounced in and out of the Top 10 this season Kailtlyn Benson leads the team with 10 goals and 10 assists, followed by Emily Sulivan with 7 goals. Goalkeeper Eva Correa has 48 saves on the season. Head Coach Jessica Bloch will have to prepare her team to see the defending state champ, Smyrna Eagles. 

 

Thursday November 2 at Middletown, 2 pm 

No. 4 MIddletown 11-4  Coach Stefany Krygier has led her Cavaliers to a 4 seed by winning early and often. Home field advantage is definitely important heading into the tournament run. Layla Dukes leads the offense with 19 goals, followed by Flannery Grimm with 18. Both have 9 assists on the season. Goalkeeper Charlotte Gerber has been battle tested with 89 saves on the season. She can expect to see some action from The Force as they scored 59 goals on the season. 

 

VS.

 

No. 5 Charter School of Wilmington 10-5 Michelle Guenther leads her Force into the tournament behind leading scorers Alexa Guarneri with 14 goals and Kelsey Shahan with 12. Ella Stack has provided 1 assists and goalkeeper Larysa Pohorlyo has 43 saves. 

 

Thursday November 2 at Cape Henlopen, 2 pm 

No. 2 Cape Henlopen 14-1 The Cape Henlopen Vikings have the most experience as a program playing in big games. Their only loss of the season was to the No.1 seed Smyrna Eagles. Coach Kate Austin knows what it takes to get her teams to the finals and have the opportunity to bring a championship back to Lewes. Senior goalie Morgan Newcomb has only allowed 5 goals all season with 25 saves. The defense with Devon DeGregory (Sailsbury) in front of her at center back, stops most teams attacks and the ball doesn’t even get to Newcomb. Cape’s defense is a tough combination for their opponents to get past. Cape has 15 different players that have scored goals and four of them are in the double digits (Basile 15, Sabbaugh 13, Wiggins 12, DeGregory 11).                                                                                                      

1. VS.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

No. 7 Odessa 10-5 What a year for the Ducks! Head Coach Maria Collier has kept them in the mix all season and here they are with the number seven seed. They have spread the wealth with 12 players scoring goals throughout the season led by Amelia Orndorff, Grace Barnett, and Caroline Perry. While their wins and losses are scattered, it’s impressive to see a young program continue to work and bounce back to earn a spot in the tournament.

Thursday November 2 at Milford, 2 pm 

No. 3 Milford 13-2 Congrats to Andrea McPike who has her Buccaneers in the hunt. They have won their last seven games to earn the three seed. Their only losses are to the one and two seeds Smyrna and Cape Henlopen. They just played Polytech as the last game of the season and won 8-0 but we all know how hard it is to turn around and beat a team twice in a week. Hannah Zimmerman (24 goals, 11 assist) and Bailey Masten run the field and are two of the fastest in the game. Isabel Betts gets in the mix and has 13 goals of her own. Carley Mackert is a force to be reckoned with in the center back position and she helps sophomore goalkeeper Madison Stahl who has 68 saves on the season.                                                                           

No. 6 Polytech 9-6 The Panthers were inconsistent most of the season flipping wins and losses game by game. Playing in the Henlopen North is a tough Division where only the strong survive.  Judy Rippert will have to have her Panthers ready for the fast attack of Milford. Kylee LaVere leads with 18 goals, 9 assists  and Rachel Carey has 7 goals, 6 assists. Goalkeeper Inex

Winners face off Tuesday Nov 7 at University of Delaware, 4 pm

 

How to Watch

 

Both semifinal games and the championship games will be streamed live through the NFHS Network – powered by 302 Sports.

 

Attending Games in Person: 

 

• Tickets: Tickets for DIAA state tournament events can be found by visiting

https://gofan.co/app/school/DIAA

• Fans MUST have a smartphone, tablet, or mobile device to show and redeem purchased tickets for entry into DIAA Championship events. Tickets printed onto paper will not be accepted.
• Ticket Prices:Student (grades K-12) and adult admission will be $5 for 1st round, 2nd round, and quarterfinal games; $10 for semifinal and final games.