Cape hockey beats Charter 5-0 to open tournament
Five different players scored a goal in the final 17 minutes of the first half Nov. 7 at Champions Stadium, as Cape beat Charter 5-0 in the opening round of the Division I field hockey state tournament.
The second half was running Vikings with a running clock.
Cape outshot the visiting Force 22-1, with a 23-2 advantage in penalty corners.
“We must play at the same intensity level we did against Delmar [in the Henlopen Conference Championship] and in the first half tonight,” said Cape coach Kate Austin. “We lost intensity tonight after the first half. If you want to be an elite team and win a state championship, you have to play full out every second you are on the field.”
Cami Smith rang the bell first, scoring off an assist from Anna Stancofski with 16:47 left in the first half. Stancofski then scored off a corner assist from Reagan Ciabattoni at 13:30. That was followed by a goal from Abby Kane (Smith) at 8:25, Sierra Manifold (Smith) at 4:21 and Haley Craig, who squeezed a goal inside the near post in the final five seconds of the half.
Julie Heffernan and Marlee Geppert split halves in goal to share in the shutout.
Cape will play Polytech in the semifinals Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the University of Delaware’s Rullo Stadium. Poly beat Mount Pleasant in the quarterfinals 1-0, scoring on a corner with 3:56 left in overtime. The goal came from Jennah Morris on an assist from Jazmine Winfield.
The other Division I semifinal matchup features Dover versus Padua. Dover beat Concord 2-1 in double overtime on a goal by Alayna Gigliotti, while Padua topped Smyrna by a score of 3-1.
The quarterfinals of the Division II tournament are Saturday, Nov. 9, with Delmar playing Wilmington Friends at 11 a.m. and Indian River versus Newark Charter at 1 p.m., both games at Sussex Academy in Georgetown.
Sanford will host Tatnall while Lake Forest hosts Tower Hill in the other D2 quarterfinal games. The semifinal round in the D2 tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the University of Delaware.
