The Sussex Academy field hockey team had some early lows to begin its season, but after a 2-0 victory over Stephen Decatur Oct. 14, the Seahawks are flying high at the right time.

Defense was the star of the show in the battle of Seahawks, as neither team could crack the other’s code through the first three quarters. 

“I have so much faith in my defense behind me, and I know that if I go out and I can't make that save that Liz [Layton] will swoop in right behind me and get it like she did,” said senior goalkeeper Kacie Rawlings.

Decatur generated more chances early on, including the shots Layton stopped at the goal line twice, but Sussex Academy applied pressure at the opportune moment – late in the game.

“They were definitely getting a lot of breakaways, which, as a goalie, that can be a stressful situation,” Rawlings said. “I was getting nervous that I wasn't gonna have my girls’ backs, but most of the time, they did come back and were able to make it back.” 

Less than 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, junior Bailey Mears broke the ice to put Sussex Academy ahead 1-0. She followed that tally with the insurance goal to close out the scoring in the 2-0 victory.

“It was very high intensity the whole game,” said Mears. “We talked at halftime about coming out with a lot more intensity because we knew they were going to come out with a lot of fire. We just had to prove we could be better than them, and when it didn't work in the third quarter, we knew we had to persevere and come out harder in the fourth quarter. It worked, especially at the end of the fourth quarter when you saw us kind of get more corners, get the ball down there way more, and I think it was a great improvement from the first half compared to the second half.”

Mears knocked home the only two goals of the contest and noted that the first one gave her more of an adrenaline rush.

“Definitely breaking the ice because I felt a lot of tension the whole game, and it always feels good to score,” Mears said.

With the 2-0 victory, Sussex Academy has now won its last three games by a combined score of 20-0, and the Seahawks have only allowed one goal in six wins. Combined with the girls' 8-0 win over Charter School of Wilmington in the Turf Bowl, it was also the first time they had won consecutive away games this year.

“We don't really come this way that often, so it was good coming out here and getting our first really good away game win,” Mears said.

“I think we met our match down here,” said coach Caitlyn Hardy. “They're a very good team, but I'm glad we came out with the win.”

Hardy thinks her team is starting to find its groove following the battle with Cape Oct. 7.

“I think we can go back and play Smyrna, Newark Charter and all those teams again and play better because of the space that we used and the transfers in the back,” Hardy said. “We used to play a lot up the middle, feeding it to Ryan [Lowe], and now we've pulled it to the outsides, and I think it works a lot better.” 

Sussex Academy played Indian River at home, potentially for the Henlopen South title, after the Cape Gazette deadline Oct. 16.