Delmar vs Cape Henlopen field hockey game, courtesy of Ben Fulton
It’s hard to believe we are entering the last week of regular season play already. What a season of field hockey it has been. Smyrna continues to dominate, remaining undefeated all season. Cape and Smyrna knocked off Delmar and D1 teams that have been a pleasant surprise are Milford and Odessa. I hope Odessa has enough strength of schedule to get the young Ducks into the tournament. Despite losses to D1 teams, Delmar is still a favorite for tournament time. Caravel and Newark Charter have made a name for themselves this season too. After watching them play and tracking their progress this season I believe Caravel has one of the best defenses in hockey and Newark Charter has one of the best offensive fronts. But they will have to contend with Delmar in the D2 tournament.
Games of the Week:
D2 St. Mark’s at Sussex Academy Oct. 23
D1 Polytech at Milford Oct. 26
**Oct. 28 Henlopen Conference Championship Smyrna at Delmar 10:30 am.
Here is the current Top 10 for Delaware Live-302 Sports
Division 1 Field Hockey
No. 1 Smyrna 12-0 The Eagles will round out their regular season with two games this week before going to Delmar on October 28 to play for the Henlopen Conference Title. Oct. 24 at Polytech and Oct. 26 Senior Night vs. Dover at home. Congrats on capturing the Henlopen North Division Title.
No. 2 Cape Henlopen 12-1 Cape is coming off a big win over Delmar and will have two home games this week. They see Sussex Tech Oct. 24 and Sussex Central Oct. 26.
No. 3 Milford 11-2 The Bucs picked up a forfeit win against Laurel at the Turf Bowl and will now travel to CR on Oct. 24 and finish up at home for Senior Night Oct. 10/26 vs Polytech. What an exciting season for the Bucs who will look to make some noise come tourney time.
No. 4 MIddletown 10-3 They look to cap off a great season with Senior Night Oct. 23 vs DMA and then travel to Newark Oct. 24. We will see the Cavs in the tournament this year.
No. 5 Polytech 9-4 The Panthers have been on the move late in the season but have their work cut out for them this week facing No. 1 Smyrna Oct. 24 and No. 3 Milford Oct. 26.
No. 6 Odessa 9-4 There are so many good things to say about the Ducks. The 4 losses they have are all but just 1 goal. I’ll be interested to see how they fare this week as we head to tournament time. They go on the road Oct. 25 to Brandywine and Oct. 30 to DMA.
No. 7 Charter School of Wilmington 7-5 The Force has struggled as of late with a three game losing streak. They will try to rebound with three home games this week: Oct. 23 vs Ursuline Oct. 25 vs Appoquinimink, and Oct. 26 vs DMA.
No. 8 Appoquinimink 7-5-1 The Jags tied St. George’s in the Turf Bowl this weekend prevented them from climbing up a spot in this week’s top 10.
No. 9 St. George’s 6-6-1 The Hawks tied Appo in the Turf Bowl this weekend but they grabbed the 9 spot anyway. They will finish up their season with two games: Oct. 25 vs. William Penn and Oct. 27 vs. Brandywine.
No. 10 William Penn 5-6-1 The Colonials will only have one regular season game left on Oct. 25 vs. St. George’s for Senior Recognition Day.
Division 2 Field Hockey
No 1. Delmar 11-2 Despite their two losses to D1 opponents, strength of schedule keeps Delmar in the No. 1 spot and a favorite going into the tournament. The Wildcats play two at home this week to finish the regular season facing Laurel Oct. 24 and Seaford Oct. 26. Then they will play Smyrna at home for the Henlopen Conference Championship Oct. 28 @ 10:30 am. Congrats on capturing the Henlopen South Division Title.
No 2. Newark Charter 13-1 The Patriots finally moved up into the No. 2 spot this week. They will have one game this week to finish up the regular season at home against Sanford. Despite losing to Caravel in their head to head matchup, they have scored more goals and given up less goals than the Bucs. They should get a good seed into the tournament.
No 3. Caravel 12-2 The Bucs had a tough one in the Turf Bowl with out-of -state Episcopal Academy of PA losing 6-1. They are just behind Newark Charter in goals scored vs goals given up, dropping them to the three spot this week. They will finish up the regular season with Woodbridge on Oct. 24.
No 4. St. Mark’s 11-2 The Spartans will close out their regular season with home games against Sussex Academy Oct. 23 and Padua Oct. 24.
No.5 Wilmington Friends 10-3 This week they will face Sanford at home Oct. 26 and travel to Brandywine Oct. 30 to accommodate DIAA change in tournament dates.
No 6 Tower Hill 9-4 The Hillers move up from No.9 this week as they have put a run of wins together in the past week. Out of those 4 wins were two over other top 10 teams, Tatnall and Wilmington Friends. They will finish up this week with a game at Archmere Oct. 24 and have their Senior Day at home against St. Andrews Oct. 26
No.7 Sussex Academy 8-5 the Seahawks have a big week ahead playing at St. Mark’s Oct. 23 and home vs. Appoquinimink Oct. 25 for their Senior Day. They will need wins to stay in the mix and a good seed come tournament time.
No 8. Lake Forest 8-5 The Spartans have two games left and will need to win to stay in the tournament hunt. They have Delmarva Christian at home Oct. 24, then travel to Indian River Oct. 24 to conclude their regular season.
No 9 Indian River 7-6 The Indians hit a 3 game lodging streak, but considering those losses came to the top three teams in D1(Smyrna, Cape, Milford) they hold onto the No. 9 spot in this week’s top 10. They go to Seaford Oct. 24 and back home Oct. 26 vs. Lake Forest this week.
No. 10 Concord 9-5 /DMA 8-4 Concord finished their season a week earlier than most teams. They end with a 9-5 record and we will have to see if that’s enough to hang onto a bid into the tournament. DMA still has three games left. They will face off against Middletown Oct. 23, Charter School of Wilmington Oct. 26, and Odessa Oct. 30 to finish up.
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