Cape Henlopen closes near-perfect season with state field hockey title

FREDERICA – There was an inevitability surrounding Cape Henlopen as it stepped onto the field at DE Turf in the DIAA Field Hockey Tournament finals.

The Vikings had scored this season with ruthless persistence.

As a result, they won games in dominant, consistent fashion.

The Division I championship game was no different on Nov. 13.

Cape Henlopen scored two first-period goals, immediately making its intent clear in what became a 7-0 victory over Milford.

The Vikings had entered the game carrying a confidence born from a stellar season, but also a determination to finish it right after losing an overtime heartbreaker to Smyrna in the 2025 final.

“I think everybody knows in the hockey world right now anything can happen, anyone can win,” said senior Atia Sabbagh afterward.

 “So staying humble, playing our game, and sticking to our game plan is what we try to do the most. We are out practicing every day, and we just try to make the most of it every single time we're on the field.”

Top-seeded Cape (19-0) outscored opponents 124-1 this year. The seven title-game goals were one shy of the tournament record eight scored by Delmar in the 2021 Division II final.

“While playing at a high level, I haven't seen anything like it before, and it's just impressive,” Cape coach Kate Austin said of her team’s persistent superiority and goal-scoring ability.

 “And to be able to play at a high level while having fun and while enjoying what you're doing, that's what we preached before we went out on the field tonight. Have fun, enjoy every moment of it.”

Cape fulfilled that mission while playing in its 15^th state final in the last 16 years.

The Vikings won their 13^th state championship in that span to join the school’s two previous titles in 1979 and 1995.

“I never wanted to feel what I did when we lost last year, and that was our motivation this year,” said senior Emily Wells. “And playing in the semis [a 4-0 win over Smyrna], was really hard and we knew that this team was still going to bring a lot to us.

“So we just played our hearts out. My last game with my best friends and I just left it all on the field.”

Milford was playing in just the second state field hockey final in the tournament’s 54-year history, as the Buccaneers had been 1996 state champs.

The No. 6-seeded Bucs (10-8) had upended higher seeds Padua 4-3 and Caesar Rodney 4-0 to reach the final.

But they were overmatched from the start in the rematch of an Oct. 8 loss to Cape 3-0.

Cape began the onslaught less than six minutes into the game when Teagan Baker finished off a pass from Sabbagh. Kailey McMahon’s goal on a ball sent toward the cage by Brynn Evick made it 2-0. Another McMahon goal off Emily Wells’ delivery sent Cape into halftime up 3-0.

Goals by Mairead Rishko, Wells and Baker gave Cape a 6-0 cushion entering the final period, when Wells scored the final Cape goal.

Austin suggested her team’s focus was appropriate while trying to live up to its lofty reputation. The Vikings knew they had to do the work to earn their title.

“You never know how hockey is going to play out,” she said. “It's typically a low-scoring game, so we just rely on our game plan, and I think that was really important against Smyrna.

“We saw a pretty similar team tonight in their physicality and in their speed. It was just important that we stuck to our plan because we knew how we could be successful against them.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Cape Henlopen closes near-perfect season with state field hockey title