By Kevin Eickman
Milford Field Hockey fell to Cape Henlopen
There was no doubt about it, this was a tough loss for the Buccaneer field hockey team. In a game in which they played a quality sixty minutes, two things are now abundantly clear, Milford has closed the gap between themselves and their rivals from the south, and while it may have been a loss they never let the game go beyond themselves.
This past Thursday on a cloudy afternoon, the Buccaneers gave it all they had against the perennial powerhouse Vikings. Even after surrendering an early goal just a minute and a half into the game, they played a solid game. They were strong in the defensive circle all game and with just a little bit of luck the results could have been easily different. Milford had their chances on the offensive circle, with strong runs by senior Bailey Masten as Cape made it their mission to smother fellow Buccaneer senior Hannah Zimmerman,
After gaining the early advantage, the visiting Vikings looked as if they might make quick work of the Buccaneers. Pressing on the offensive end, the Milford defense, with junior goalkeeper Madison Stahl making some crucial saves, including one on a penalty stroke, the Buccaneers began to find their footing
“I was really proud of how we responded to the early adversity today. When you get down against a very good team like Cape, it’s easy for the game to get away from you. However, we responded and played well enough to get our scoring chances.” Coach Andrea McPike said.
Part of what thwarted the Milford scoring opportunities was the goalkeeping of Cape senior Isabella Mekulski, who turned in 5 saves, all of them in big moments
“We had some very good chances today and their defense is very good. So, when their keeper comes up big, it does hurt a bit. You have to applaud how well their defense played today in crucial moments.” McPike said.
With Cape pressing, Milford had some opportunities on longer passes, which were so close that they could have easily changed the course of the game. On multiple occasions however, either a Cape defender or a pass just off the mark would thwart the Milford attack
“We were very close on a couple of breaks, but just missed ever so slightly. These are things we have been working on and are getting back, we will continue to improve as the year goes on.” McPike said.
Midway through the third quarter Cape would score the second and final goal of the game. Milford would never quit, but simply could not find their footing although they battled valiantly to get back into the game.
While it would be easy to look it as just another loss to Cape, there is cause for optimism going forward to Milford, who gave up six goals in a pair of games last season to the Vikings. They are getting closer to their level and still have room for improvement
“Obviously we want to win, but I loved the heart our team played with today. Nobody got down and most importantly we played strong for the full 60 minutes. That is the type of effort it takes to beat a team like Cape. We can build on this in a positive way and hopefully we can get another game against them this year.” McPike said.
Sitting at 5-2, it doesn’t get any easier for Milford as they head up to face a very strong Smyrna team this Thursday. When asked about the challenge, McPike was quick to responded “We are always willing to embrace a challenge, we know we are going to face another strong team. We also know that these are the teams we want to beat, we want to measure ourselves against the best.”
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