Cape hockey grinds out 2-1 semifinal win over Tower Hill

Cape field hockey coach Kate Austin just shook her head and sighed after her Vikings grinded out a comeback 2-1 semifinal victory over Tower Hill Nov. 18 at Delaware’s Rullo Stadium to advance to Saturday’s championship game versus Delmar.

The Cape versus Delmar game will mark the fourth time in the last five years those rivals have met on championship Saturday.

“I’ve never seen us play a game where so many of our players played so badly at the same time,” Austin said after the game. "We did not deserve to win that game. I knew Tower Hill was good; we were prepared for that, but we were just off for much of the game.”

Tower Hill’s only corner and only shot of the game came at 13:17 of the first half, when an opportunistic Kiva Walsh, a senior field hockey/lacrosse player, sent home a rebounded shot in an unsettled situation for a 1-0 lead for the Hillers.

Cape played hard and went into slow grind mode, following the philosophy of captain Erin Coverdale. “We play 60 minutes; we are not afraid to be in a close game. We’ve been in a lot of them.”

Trailing 1-0 early in the second half, Coverdale pushed the ball to Tess Bernheimer down deep on the right side, and the 2014 Player of the Year sent a “heard not seen” screamer through a sea of feet that hit the boards behind goalie Ellie Wakefield at 36:50, and the Vikings were back to even at 1-1.

Tower Hill’s best chance of the second half came on a fast-break opportunity and pass across the goal mouth that had Cape goalie Riley Shields horizontal, but no Hiller was there on the far post to knock home the dangerous opportunity.

Corners were hard to come by throughout the game, but the Vikings got their final one of four at 57:03 of the 60-minute game.

Goalie Wakefield came out to her left to cut off the angle of Coverdale, who passed the ball to the top of the circle to Lizzie Frederick, who calmly sent a backhanded shot toward the goal. The ball found the stick of Bernheimer, who tipped it home for the game-winner and her second goal of the game, requiring slow-motion replay to see it.

The corner was kept alive by Sydney Ostroski, who saved a ball from going over the end line, sending it back to Coverdale.

“I have worked with Lizzie when playing up top on corners to just get the ball on the cage; it doesn’t matter what kind of shot, just send it in,” said Cape assistant Carrie Lingo. ‘I’m so proud of how she took advantage of that moment tonight.”

“I have no idea how that ball got through and found Tess’ stick,” Frederick said. “I just know we’re going to another championship game.”

Delmar jumped Wilmington Christian in the other semifinal, scoring three goals in the first half and bringing it home for a 4-1 victory. The Wildcats outshot the Warriors 8-4 with a 10-2 advantage in penalty corners. Perton Kemp and Paige Twilley-Webster each scored two goals in the win.

Jennifer Kurlej scored for the Warriors, who closed out the season 16-2.