Close is no comfort; Cape hockey separates from Polytech 5-0
A young and relentless Cape field hockey team closed out the regular season at Champions Stadium Oct. 27, beating Polytech 5-0. The Vikings finish at 14-1 with 13 shutouts.
Focus now turns to the Saturday, Nov. 5 Henlopen Conference Championship game versus Delmar at Lake Forest High School. Cape lost to the Wildcats 2-1 earlier in the season in a game played on the Bermuda grass at Delmar.
Cape dominated Polytech with a 30-1 shot advantage, but for the second game in a row, the Vikings held a slim one-goal lead with five minutes left in the third period.
Cape rolled a five spot against Caesar Rodney in the final 20 minutes of the previous game, and scored four times this time to close out Polytech.
Grace Wiggins scored twice for the Vikings, giving her a team-leading 19 goals on the season. Hannah Maney had a goal and two assists, Mackinzie Brown had a goal and an assist, and Macy Steinwedel scored the only goal of the first half.
Morgan Newcomb got credit for her 13th shutout of the season and 23rd of her career.
Jourdyn Johnson had 17 saves for the Panthers.
Blue chair quips - Cape has lost eight straight games to Delmar, the last win coming in 2016 at Champions Stadium, when the Vikings won 1-0 on a second-half goal by Amanda Sponaugle. The Wildcats (15-0) have outscored opponents 137-3 this season. Cape (14-1) has scored 83 goals while allowing just three. The game is a friendly rivalry, but both Delmar and Cape are “no tender mercies” machines; they will run an opponent into the next area code and not pay roaming charges. Caesar Rodney is 10-4 on the season with a game remaining against 4-8 Laurel. The Division II opening round tournament games begin Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Division I tournament opens Thursday, Nov. 10. First-round games are at the home of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals will be Nov. 15 and 16, and championship games will be contested Saturday, Nov. 19, at Rullo Field on the University of Delaware campus.
