Hockey in the rain under the lights at DE Turf
Playing in the rain is part of the game. Watching a game over an hour or two under a steady, straight-down rain with a warming southerly breeze is also part of the process and passage of time for parents and grandparents. It’s all fun and fulfilling.
At DE Turf Sept. 17, there were field hockey games at 6 and 7 p.m. over five fields under lights followed by an hour of practice time available afterward.
That same night, the fate of fall sports was decided by seven members of the State Board of Education. None of the athletes on the pitch at DE Turf have ever heard of these people who narrowly, by a vote of 4-3, approved the DIAA recommendation to allow fall sports to start practices Monday, Sept. 28.
Schools are fielding multiple teams at DE Turf, and it’s impossible to read too much into rosters and personnel representing each squad.
Vikings 2 (Cape) played Bucs 1 (Milford) at 6 p.m., while on a different field, Vikings 3 played Spartans 1 (Lake Forest). The Vikings 2 and 3 squads are divided evenly between athletes who are not returning varsity players.
Vikings 2 led the Bucs 1-0 in the first half on a bomb to the far post just inside the circle by junior Casey Schnaupp. Vikings goalie Anna Lopez was “unconscious” in the first half, stopping a flurry of shots just before halftime.
The Bucs continued to dominate pressured possessions in the second half, with speedy freshman Erin Dunlap scoring on a one-time, no-doubt-about-it breakaway to tie the game.
Junior Liv Muir scored the game-winner for the Bucs, poking home a goal in an unsettled situation. Melissa Mesidor excelled in goal for the Bucs.
Bucs 2 battled NC Intensity 2 (Newark Charter) in the 7 p.m. game that ended 1-1. Hannah Zimmerman scored for Milford to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead, but that was answered on a corner by an insert for Sophia Walch to Kate Ambrose.
Riley Redding and Mckenna Owens split halves in goal for NC, while the Bucs shared goaltending between sisters Taylor and Lorelai Humes.
Tuesday, Sept. 22 and Thursday, Sept. 24 will complete the two-week cycle of hockey games at DE Turf. If no monkey wrenches are thrown into the works, those teams will be practicing on their home fields beginning Sept. 28.
