Cape hockey to face Smyrna in state finals
Cape hockey rolled over Milford at Rullo Stadium Nov. 7 in the semifinals of the Division I state tournament, shutting out the Bucs 6-0 behind a dominant 19-1 advantage in shots and a 14-0 advantage in penalty corners.
Milford closed the season at 14-3, while Cape improved to 16-1 and will face Smyrna in the state championship game at 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11, at Rullo Stadium on the University of Delaware campus in Newark.
Smyrna eliminated Charter 6-1 in the other semifinal game and is now 17-1, having lost the Henlopen Conference Championship game to Delmar.
“Milford is an athletic and dangerous team, especially straight down the middle,” said Cape coach Kate Austin, who won her 200th game Nov. 7. "We played really well in the middle part of the game, but not so great on the edges.”
Milford’s Hannah Zimmerman had a great shot attempt along the end line early in the game, forcing Morgan Newcomb to make her one save of the game.
Cape finally cracked the code of the Milford vault at 13:11 in the first quarter, as Grace Wiggins scored on an assist from Hannah Maney.
“It felt good for us to score first,” said Wiggins after notching a hat trick. “We like this fast field because it suits the style of our team.”
Cape rolls deep using 15 players and multiple forward lines. Over four periods, that wears opponents down.
Milford goalie Madison Stahl, a sophomore, had 13 saves in the game.
Cape scored twice off corners in the second period, the first by Devon DeGregory at 23:28 on a Maney assist and the second by Wiggins at 29:29 on an assist from Atia Sabbagh.
The halftime score was 3-0.
The Vikings jacked it up, then shut it down in the third period with goals by Wiggins at 31:50, Avary Miller from Addy Basile at 34:05 and DeGregory at 36:29. Compressing the time and goals scored, that’s four goals in about seven minutes of game play.
“No pressure, just play,” said Wiggins after the game.
Maney, who signed with University of Iowa for field hockey, had two assists in the game. She smiled at the notion she was an unsung hero. With postgame sweat beaded on her face, she said, “I have to get going or I’ll be late for practice.” Hannah plays travel for the elite WC Eagles team from Spring City, Pa.
Corner chatter - Smyrna is the only Delaware team to have beaten Cape and Delmar in the same season. The Eagles beat Cape in last year's state final 2-1 on a golden goal in overtime by senior Kirsten Johnson. Cape has outscored two state tournament opponents, Odessa and Milford, by a combined score of 18-0. Smyrna has outscored St. Georges and Charter by a combined score of 16-1.
