Statistics obscure the storyline of an up-and-down field hockey game played Oct. 26 at Champions Stadium between defending state champions Delmar and Cape Henlopen for the Henlopen Conference Championship. 

Delmar won the game 2-1, with all goals scored within five minutes of each other in the third period. 

Oddly enough, Cape beat the Wildcats in the 2023 season at Champions Stadium 2-1. Delmar beat Cape in 2021 by a 2-1 score in a regular-season game, then again 2-1 in the Henlopen Conference Championship. 

In 2022, Delmar won over Cape 2-1, then again in the Henlopen Conference Championship game 3-2 in overtime. 

“It was such a great game – lots of composure,” said Delmar coach Jody Hollamon. “Each team had a plan and did their best to execute it. Anytime we can play a game like this, it gives us confidence going into the tournament. Let's hope we don’t forget this feeling with a week off.”

Cape coach Kate Austin reflected on the game: “I think it was a good way to prepare for the tournament. The game could have gone either way, but we saw really strong play in the first half and just couldn’t get the ball in the goal. But now we focus on three more wins.”

The state tournament committee will meet Monday, Oct. 28, to seed both the Division I and Division II tournaments.

Each team managed eight shots on goal, while Cape had an 11-6 advantage in penalty  corners.

Cape missed a penalty stroke late in the first half when a lifted left shot by Atia Sabbagh hit the post and careened away from the goal cage.

Cape finally cracked the code versus Marleigh Wells when Alysa McCarthy pushed home a score on a scramble in front of the goal cage at 10:02 of the third quarter.

The Vikings’ lead was short-lived, as Jordyn Hollamon, the state's leading scorer, got loose inside the circle and backhanded home the tying goal at 8:21.

Cadence Campbell, a Delmar freshman, found Kadence Melvin on the far post for the go-ahead goal at 5:09, which proved to be the game winner. 

Notes: The top four teams in Division II are Newark Charter (15-0), Delmar (14-1), Wilmington Friends (12-1) and Sussex Academy (12-3). The top four teams in Division I are Cape (14-1), Middletown (14-1), Smyrna (12-2) and Odessa (11-3). Oct. 28 is the last day for regular-season competition.