Sussex Academy hockey advances with 11-1 win over Concord
Playing in their fourth straight Division II state tournament, the Sussex Academy field hockey team hosted Concord Nov. 1 in Georgetown on a chilly autumn day.
“Coming into my freshman year, we had a lot of potential and made the tournament for the first time as a program – I contributed in that game and played well. Playing and growing with this group has been amazing,” said senior forward Callie Short.
Short recently became the first Seahawks player to reach 100 points and helped keep the party going in Sussex Academy’s 11-1 win over Concord by scoring the second and fourth goals of the game. One of Short’s goals was sandwiched between two long-range goals from junior Shelby Manlove, who scored the first and final goals of the first quarter to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead at the end of one.
Junior Rilyn Lehman kicked off the scoring in the second quarter with her first of three goals in the contest.
“Coming into this game, it’s always so exciting and so intense with the pressure of playing throughout the tournament. Being able to score three goals is always fun for me,” Lehman said.
The junior believed the key to victory was maintaining high intensity throughout the game and not giving up on plays.
“It feels good picking up a big W like that, and having everyone coming out, playing the full game; scoring that many goals is a lot of work, but it’s also very exciting,” Lehman said.
With Sussex Academy up 6-0 to open the second half, sophomore Ryan Lowe scored her first goal before Concord senior Riley Greer got the Raiders on the board to make it 7-1. Lowe responded by finding freshman Bailey Mears, who would score right before Lehman netted her second and third goals. Junior Emiley Bisaha ended the scoring in the fourth with a goal. Bisaha had an assist earlier in the game, joining Lowe, Lehman and Morgan Leeper as the Seahawks with helpers in the win.
“It's definitely a big win because we've been working all season, and things finally clicked today. Our midfield game was strong,” said coach Leah Hunsinger.
The Seahawks will travel to Delmar, Saturday, Nov. 4, to battle the second-seeded Wildcats at 11 a.m.
