Seahawks excited to defend Henlopen Conference crown in 2026

After taking the Henlopen South and Henlopen Conference titles the last couple of years, the Sussex Academy girls’ soccer team is hoping its foundation can take the girls to skyscraper heights.

“The biggest thing is always building off the previous year,” coach Chase Humphrey said. “We implemented a solid foundation of an identity about how we want to play.”

The Seahawks were young last year, but this year the average age is down a tick further with 16 of the 19 varsity players in 10th grade or below.

“We're really challenging our returning players to elevate those newer players early on so we can just start building that foundation even more,” Humphrey said.

Despite their youth, the fledgling Seahawks will be expected to remain poised as some endure their first taste of varsity soccer. Humphrey is hoping his girls are able to recognize the type of style that will lead to the optimal result in each contest.

“We're an extension of the classroom, so we take a very high-IQ approach to how we want to play, and at times, it leads to more possession,” Humphrey said. “The fact of the matter is, if we have the ball, the other team can't score.”

The two seniors tasked with leading Sussex Academy are Yuvia Velasquez-Juarez and Debora Williams.

“We did lose a lot of valuable players, but we also did gain players, and we’re a strong team,” Velasquez-Juarez said. “We have a good bond, and I'm just excited to see what the season has in store for us.”

“The young girls definitely bring new energy, and I don't even think it's necessarily like a lack of skill – they're technically even with us,” Williams said. “It's just a matter of trying to figure out where they go position-wise, how they play in their style.”

As a southern team, the Seahawks take great pride in their ability to compete with the strong northern teams with access to more resources.

“We represent a team down here that doesn't necessarily have as many players as them, but we're still able to pretty much play on the same field,” Williams said.

Sussex Academy’s belief has them focused on the highest team honor.

“I'm just excited for that state championship final,” Velasquez-Juarez said. “I'm excited to hopefully win because I don't look for anything less than that.”

“We've won the Henlopen South for the past three years, we've won the Henlopen, obviously, that's a goal, but that's not anything that's guaranteed,” Williams said. “Like Yuvia said, genuinely, I'm only looking forward to states. That’s kind of all that matters, and it's one step at a time.”