NEWARK — Padua knew the challenge that lay ahead in its DIAA Division I field hockey semifinal against Cape Henlopen on Nov. 3. The Vikings, seeded third in the tournament, are perennial state championship contenders, and they entered the game against the Pandas having allowed just three goals all season. All of those came in an overtime loss to the top seed, Smyrna.
Cape did have possession of the ball more often than not, but the Pandas’ defense was stout. The game was scoreless well into the third quarter before the Vikings finally solved Padua and scored on the way to a 3-0 victory at Rullo Stadium at the University of Delaware.
The Pandas did a good job keeping the ball away from goalie Mollie Murphy (St. Patrick Parish, Kennett Square, Pa.) for most of the opening quarter. The Vikings increased the pressure as the period progressed, and they earned their first three penalty corners late. Only one resulted in a shot, and that went wide of the net.
Murphy picked up a save in the opening minute of the second after the Vikings intercepted a Padua pass. Cape generated four penalty corners in a two-minute span in the middle of the quarter, but Murphy came up with saves on two of them to preserve the scoreless tie. The Vikings thought they had scored in the final two minutes, but that goal was waved off by the referee for a violation.
The relentless pressure continued into the second half. The Vikings fired two shots wide in the opening minutes, and they had two more corners that did not produce a goal. The Pandas had a rare offensive opportunity late in the third when Emme Mulvena (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) went in on a breakaway late in the quarter, but she was unable to get a shot away before the Vikings’ defense recovered.
After the Mulvena chance, the Vikings countered, and the result was another corner. This time, they were able to get a shot tipped by Atia Sabbagh high into the cage with 1:53 to go.
Cape kept the heat coming throughout the fourth, but Padua did its job defensively to obstruct passing lanes and disrupt shot attempts. Sabbagh, however, got her stick on another shot emanating with a penalty corner, scoring her second at the 7:28 mark. Grace Heers added the final goal with 3:57 to go, again off a corner. She stationed herself at the left post and scored when a teammate found her to Murphy’s right.
Cape outshot the Pandas, 13-0, and had a 15-0 edge on penalty corners. The Vikings improved to 16-1 and will meet No. 1 Smyrna on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Rullo for the Division I state championship. This will be the fourth consecutive meeting between the two teams for the title.
Murphy, a freshman, made nine saves, and the Pandas also had a defensive save. Padua finished the season 12-4-1 after consecutive 4-11 seasons.
Photos by Mike Lang.
