Poltyech vs Delmar Field Hockey game, photo courtesy of Ben Fulton
Pink socks, pink turf shoes, pink hair ribbons, pink shirts; we will see a lot of pink in uniforms starting this week and throughout this month as many field hockey teams will wear pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Some schools will play night games under the lights and charge for entrance to their games as a fundraiser for a good cause. I encourage everyone to go out and see great hockey and support these student-athletes in their support of a great cause. We often forget, in the competitive moments, that playing sports is not just about wins and losses, but as coaches we try to teach our student-athletes larger life lessons through sport. The odds of a girl playing college field hockey at any level is 10:1. So teaching life lessons is a vital part of their high school athletic career.
All three Appoquinimink School District field hockey teams land in the Top 10 this week. Odessa continues to impress, improving to 7-1 .Despite what some could argue is an easier schedule there is something to be said for a young program collecting wins – Congrats to the Ducks! Middletown is holding their own jumping one spot to claim No. 6 this week, and Appo keeps fighting for their spot.
Smyrna continues to dominate in D1 along with Delmar and Caravel in D2. It was nice to chat with the Smyrna team live last Wednesday night at B-Dubs in Dover. Thanks to Coach Moffett, Dru and Bree Moffett and Hallie Geiger. St. Mark’s is another team to keep an eye on as we head into the second half of the season. The Spartans have won 7 straight!
Games of the Week:
St. Mark’s at Milford Tuesday Oct. 10 at 4 pm.
Lake Forest at Sussex Academy Oct. 10 at 4 pm.
Here is the current Top 10 for Delaware Live-302 Sports
Division 1 Field Hockey
No. 1 Smyrna 8-0 I had the chance to interview three players for the 302 Sports weekly show on Wednesday and they are a fun group, focused on family, food, and team goals. The Eagles just keep winning, defeating a top D2 school, Caravel. The Eagles are the ONLY undefeated team left in the State. They will face two Henlopen teams this week, playing at Lake Forest 10/10 and home against Sussex Tech 1Oct. 12.
No. 2 Cape Henlopen 8-1 The Vikings have been steady since the loss to Smyrna. They are on the road all week at SAAS Oct. 10, Dover Oct. 12, and Indian River Oct. 13.
No. 3 Charter School of Wilmington 6-2 The Force continue their winning ways and improve this week and are riding a four game win streak. Moving up one spot this week to No.3 based on goals scored and goals against. Their stats are just a tick better than Milford. Just one upcoming game away at Sanford on Wednesday Oct. 11.
No. 4 Milford 6-2 They took a tough 3-0 loss to Smyrna this past week. The Bucs Need to rebound at home against St. Mark’sOct. 10 and Sussex Central Oct. 8. Their game against St. Mark’s will also be Teacher Appreciation Day.
No. 5 Polytech 6-3 The Panthers had a tough game against Delmar and will need to rebound at IR Tuesday Oct. 10 at home CR Oct. 12 to stay in the top 5. This week will be must wins for the Panthers as Middletown and Odessa are on the prowl for the No. 5 spot.
No. 6/No. 7 Odessa 7-1 and Middletown 5-2 This tie breaker will happen Monday Oct. 9 as the sister schools face each other. Odessa’s season has been impressive and the wins are hard to deny. After Odessa plays Middletown, the Ducks face William Penn Oct. 11.
The Cavaliers have two of three games this week against their sister schools. What’s impressive for the Cavs is how few goals they have given up to their opponents. They fit in just behind the top three teams in points given up. We see them face off at Odessa Oct. 9, at Christiana Oct. 11 and at home vs. Appo Oct. 13.
No. 8 CR 4-4 The Riders had a tough week with IR and Cape. Delmar Monday 10/9 has been postponed. So the Riders will travel to Seaford Oct. 10, and to neighboring Polytech Oct. 12. They need to win both this week to hold their place here in the top 10.
No. 9 Appoquinimink 5-4 The Jags continue to improve. They have a rough second half of the season with some competitive, high quality teams. They need to win the rest of their Flight A games (Delcastle, Middletown, Odessa, St. George’s) to head into the state tournament and get the best seed possible.
No. 10 St. George’s Tech 4-5 We welcome the Hawks to the top 10 this week. Their strength of schedule puts them just ahead of Delcastle who is 5-3 as of this week. Those two will see each other but not until Oct. 18. This week they will see DMA Oct. 9 and Newark Oct. 11.
Division 2 Field Hockey
No 1. Delmar 9-1 The Wildcats have rebounded, as expected, after losing to D1 Smyrna. Their game Monday Oct. 9 has been postponed. This leaves them playing just once this week at Dover Oct. 10 or their Pink Game in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
No 2. Caravel 9-1 The Bucs solidified their No. 2 spot after defeating Newark Charter in a defensive battle that went to overtime. After talking with their coach and players, they are focused on improvement, their team is a family and they will defend it. Their first loss came Friday night to D1 reigning state champs Smyrna but they know they will rebound and improve moving forward. Just one game this week at Tower Hill Oct. 10.
No 3. Newark Charter 8-1 Newark Charter fell to Caravel but don’t count this team out. Their passing was on point, they have great communication, they step to the ball well and will look to stay in the hunt come tourney time. Coach Spiker will have them ready. This week they see Wilmington Christian on Oct. 10 for their Pink Game at Chase Fieldhouse, and play Archmere at home Thursday Oct. 12.
No 4. St. Mark’s 8-1 The Spartans equal the Patriots record of Newark Charter but lost to them in head to head competition back in September. They have won 7 straight games and look to continue their streak this week Oct. 10 at Milford and Oct. 12 at Brandywine.
No.5 Indian River 6-2 The Indians have a nice long home stand starting this week and will need to win at home. They face off against Polytech Oct. 10, Woodbridge Oct. 12 and will be tested Friday Oct. 13 when the Vikings of Cape Henlopen roll into town.
No 6 Wilmington Friends 6-2 The Quakers move up 2 spots this week and are on a six game winning streak. They have a busy week ahead with three games against teams who keep lingering around in the top 10 week to week. Home games Oct. 10 and Oct. 12 against Concord and Tatnall respectively and Saturday Oct. 14 they will go to Tower Hill. These will be must win games for Friends to keep advancing as they approach tournament time.
No.7 Lake Forest 6-3 The Spartans have come back after a tough start to their season. But I fear they will run into a wall this week with games against Smyrna Oct. 10 and Sussex Academy Oct. 12. I think they have played well enough to this point, but need to find wins headed to tournament time for seeding.
No 8. Sussex Academy 5-3 The Seahawks have been a little inconsistent and as teams begin to separate themselves this time of year, they need to find their consistency. That said, they have a tough week hosting Cape Henlopen 10/10 for their PINK OUT game, and Lake Forest Oct. 12.
No 9 Tatnall 4-2 Still awaiting a score from Oct. 5 against Sanford keeps the Hornets at 4-2. With just one game this week, the Hornets go to Wilmington Friends. Oct. 12.
No. 10 Tower Hill 5-3 The Hillers have a tough week facing two other top ten teams hosting Caravel Oct. 10 and Saturday Oct. 10 they will host Wilmington Friends.
https://scholarshipstats.com/fieldhockey
Share this Post