CLAYMONT — Maura Read scored three first-half goals, and the Archmere defense was stingy throughout, allowing just nine shots in a 6-1 victory over Delaware Military Academy in a DIAA Division II field hockey first-round state tournament game on Nov. 1.
The Auks, seeded sixth in the 12-team field, couldn’t take advantage of an early penalty corner, but they held on to the ball for most of the first six minutes of the quarter. Read got her first goal with 9:04 remaining in the first, driving in to the top of the circle and firing a shot waist-high past Seahawks goalie Ashlee Feeley.
Auks goalie Ava Hughes turned away a DMA shot shortly thereafter, but the 11th-seeded Seahawks earned three penalty corners over a 90-second span midway through the first. On the third one, the ball was loose near Hughes, and Quetzalli Lagunas-Gutierrez was able to tap it into the cage to tie the score with 6:24 left in the quarter.
Read untied the game off a corner opportunity just two minutes later, with Katie Schaller getting the assist, and she nearly had a first-quarter hat trick, but Feeley stopped her attempt in the final seconds.
The Seahawks began the second by stopping another Read attempt, this time with a defensive save, but the next attempt extended the lead to 3-1. This time, Feeley made an initial save off Carly Polsky, but Cecilia Patiño was stationed at the left post and deposited the loose change at the 11:40 mark.
The Auks kept the pressure on, and Read got her third goal with three minutes left in the half. Her first attempt rang off the left post, and she was able to grab the rebound and make a turnaround shot.
Archmere kept the pressure on in the second half, with Polsky scoring once in each quarter for the final margin. Schaller got her second assist, and Sarah Dahms was credited with the helper on the final goal.
Defensively, Hughes stopped everything sent her way after that lone goal. DMA had three penalty corners in the final three minutes of the third, but the Auks’ defense was stout. The Seahawks had two solid chances in the fourth. On another corner, Hughes made two stops, and Madeleine Cowan added a defensive save. Then, with 11 seconds left, a Delaware Military penalty stroke missed just wide.
The Auks outshot the Seahawks, 14-9, although DMA earned 10 penalty corners to Archmere’s 8. The Auks (10-6) advance to a quarterfinal at No. 3 Caravel on Saturday at 11 a.m. Caravel defeated the Auks, 3-2, on Sept. 26.
Delaware Military finished with a record of 9-6.
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All photos by Jason Winchell.
