Newark Charter field hockey celebrates after scoring a goal to advance to the DIAA Division II state championship, photo courtesy of Newark Charter Instagram
The Division 2 DIAA Tournament Semifinals did not disappoint after a great night of field hockey the night before in the Division 1 Semifinals where Smyrna and Cape Henlopen advanced to Saturday’s Finals. Jodi Hollamon and her Delmar Wildcats will play for what could be their eighth championship and Newark Charter under head coach Stacey Spiker is in the finals for the first time.
I want to extend congratulations to both Caravel and Wilmington Friends for their seasons and making it to the semi finals of the tournament. We are excited to watch your programs continue to grow.
No. 2 Delmar vs. No. 3 Caravel
As we had seen the night before teams were slow to settle into their style of play and that was true tonight as well. Caravel, as expected, played well on defense in the first quarter making Delmar work for every possession and shot. In the first 15 minutes of play, Delmar only forced four penalty corners, took five shots and scored once at the 10:30 mark on a reverse stick shot by Jordyn Hollamon. Goalkeeper Addison Van Rensler (Caravel) had Hollamon’s goal just squeak between her feet to go in. Caravel’s strategy to mark Hollamon man to man kept her at bay for a while.
Three minutes into the second quarter, Hollamon would strike again for her second goal of the night on an assist by Emily Bitter who inserted the ball to the top of the circle on a penalty corner. At 10:36 Delmar would score again to go up three to zero and start to pull away as Rylin Nichols was assisted by Laela Brown. Delaney Brunner from Caravel would thwart two more offensive attacks and make defensive saves to hold Delmar off.
Coming out of half time, Delmar looked relaxed and settled in with the 3-0 lead and at 13:39 Hollamon from Bitters would score again to put the Wildcats up 4-0. The Bucs did not stop playing and adjusting. That hard work would pay off at 7:48 when Katie Cole would find the back of the cage off an assist by Delaney Brunner on a penalty corner, 4-1 Delmar headed to the fourth quarter.
RELATED STORY: Smyrna and Cape Henlopen advance
Caravel gave it their all and left everything on the field trying to climb back into the game. Peyton Rice had two defensive stops but Delmar would force Caravel’s defense into five penalty corners, one of which would result in another Bitters to Hollamon goal. Give Jordyn Hollamon four goals on the night as she led her team to win and advance.
Caravel players Peyton Rice, Delaney Brunner, Haliey Haynes, Katelyn Judy, and Karie Cole are to be congratulated on a great game. Unfortunately, the Bucs just couldn’t string together enough offensive runs to create scoring opportunities.
Caravel goals were scored/assisted by:
Cole/Brunner 7:48 (Q3)
Delmar goals were scored/assisted by:
Hollamon/unassisted 10:30 (Q1)
Hollamon/Bitters 12:00 (Q2)
Nichols/Brown 10:36 (Q2)
Hollamon/Bitters 13:39 (Q3)
Hollamon/Bitters 13:50 (Q4)
Congratulations to Sarah Broehl, her coaching staff, and the Buccaneers on a great season and congratulations to Jodi Hollamon, her coaching staff, and the Wildcats on winning and advancing to the finals.
No. 1 Newark Charter vs. No. 5 Wilmington Friends
Both teams started out slow and the game was played in the midfield for the whole first quarter. Actually, a credit to their offensive attackers and midfielders who executed jabs and block tackles to trade possessions over and over. It took almost half of the second quarter before we saw Newark Charter get on the board at the 7:40 mark on a goal by #10 Audrey Nelson, assisted by # 9 Amanda Rattay.Nelson and Rattay would combine and play off each other all night for the Patriots. Sawyer Roland, Molly Dolan, Sara Clothier, and Cora Lohkamp would be the combination to move the ball for the Quakers.
The third quarter was evenly matched with each team having a penalty corner, one shot, and one save. We would all question whether or not the one goal for Newark Charter would hold up for a win?
The fourth quarter would prove to be the most exciting of the night. Wilmington Friends would take over on offense earning four penalty corners and five shots but could not convert. The Quakers defense would give Newark Charter’s offense two real scoring opportunities by giving up a penalty corner and a penalty stroke. The stroke came at 10:50 left in the game but the shot was weak and GK Ella Morton made the save. # 9 for Newark Charter ran the midfield this quarter connecting with Nelson, trying to kick start their offense and get an insurance goal. She would not be successful, but was impressive and stood out all night.
With 30 seconds left, Wilmington Friends earned the last penalty corner and as time ran out, so did their hopes of advancing to the finals as they could not find the cage.
Newark Charter goal was scored by Audrey Nelson, assisted by Amanda Rattay.
Congratulations to Scott Clothier, his coaching staff, and the Quakers on a great season and congratulations to Stacey Spiker, her coaching staff, and the Patriots on winning and advancing to the finals.
DIAA Tournament Finals – Rullo Stadium on the campus of the University of Delaware
Division 2:
No. 1 Newark Charter vs. No. 2 Delmar at 12:00 pm
Division 1:
No. 1 Smyrna Eagles vs. No. 2 Cape Henlopen 2:00 pm
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