Cape hockey holds back hard-charging Smyrna 4-1
Smyrna’s London Bebout scored off an assist from Dru Moffit at 8:01 of the third period Sept. 30 at Champions Stadium to tighten the tension in a fast and physical field hockey game, cutting Cape’s lead in half. The Vikings led 2-1, and the Eagles showed no signs of backing down.
Cape led 2-0 at the half on a Regan Rocket (Ciabattoni) from dead center circle at 8:29 and a second goal in the second quarter when defender Emma Duffield, who comes up on corners, poked home a goal on an assist from Noelle Sabbagh at 8:01.
Top guns Sabbagh and Ciabattoni scored in the second half to propel Cape to a 4-1 win. The game also highlighted a fast, aggressive Smyrna team under first-year head coach Loveita Moffett that will be a player in the Division I postseason tournament.
Cape outshot the Eagles 19-7 with a 10-4 advantage in penalty corners.
Morgan Newcomb had three saves in goal for Cape, while Halle Geiger of Smyrna had 10 saves.
Moffett is a former head coach at William Penn and longtime club team coach who works as a guidance counselor at Smyrna. She said, “I enjoy coaching against talented teams. In our club setting, we actively seek these opportunities out so we can promote growth. We learned a lot about ourselves last night, and we are appreciative of that going into the middle third of our season.”
Coach Kate Austin said, “Definitely the game was a good challenge and they caught us on our heel in the first half. We made some mental mistakes but pulled it together in the second half.”
Cape will play on the Bermuda field at Polytech Tuesday, Oct. 5, before hosting Delmar Thursday, Oct. 7, in a battle of the titans. Delmar is currently 7-0, outscoring opponents 75-0.
