MILLTOWN – Saint Mark’s field hockey team absorbed punch after punch from Tatnall when the teams met Oct. 30 in a first-round DIAA Division II tournament game, but in the end, the Spartans needed just one opportunity to deliver a knockout blow. It was the first postseason win for the Spartans in 13 years, when they won twice on the way to the semifinals when Delaware had just one division in the sport.
Katie Hanich (St. John’s-Holy Angels Parish), one of 10 seniors playing the final home game of their high school career, scored on a penalty corner with no time remaining in the first half. Saint Mark’s made that stand up and will meet No. 2 Delmar on Saturday in one quarterfinal matchup.
Before Hanich’s goal, the Hornets had controlled the pace through most of the first half. The Spartans earned a penalty corner that resulted in a defensive save less than two minutes in, but Tatnall quickly asserted itself.
The Hornets rang a shot off the post to the left of Spartans goalie Cate Jones on their first penalty corner, and they just kept coming. They spent several minutes in their offensive zone, sending pass after pass into the scoring circle, but they were unable to beat Jones (St. Margaret of Scotland Parish). A few shots went wide, and Jones stopped several others.
That momentum continued into the second quarter, with a few more shots not missing by much. Finally, about halfway through, the Spartans were able to even things out a bit, generating two corners in the process.
Jones said keeping their composure was key for the Spartans in the face of the Hornets’ pressure.
“Making sure we stayed steady on the plays really helped us,” she said. “And the defense really worked well off of each other, helping each other out if someone got beat. There was always another person behind them to back them up.”
The final penalty corner came as the clock neared zeroes and was carried out after time had expired. Senior Marcy Kappes sent the inbounds pass directly to Hanich, who moved inside the top of the circle and shot. The ball stayed low and went just to the right of goalie Sophia Sirotinin-Remmel.
“I think as soon as the ball crossed the line, pure joy and excitement. We looked up at the clock and realized this game’s in our hands,” Hanich said.
Aside from a three-minute stretch dominated by the Hornets in the third quarter, Saint Mark’s was in control in the second half. Alaina Papa (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) and Mackenzie Fanning were among the Spartans who helped keep Tatnall at bay. Saint Mark’s had three more corners in the third but could not add to their lead.
Jones stopped two Hornets shots early in the fourth, and the Spartans turned away a Tatnall penalty corner, but they didn’t allow much pressure other than that.
Saint Mark’s had its own chances to add to its lead, but three penalty corners in a two-minute span were not successful. Coach Alexis Esbitt called a timeout with 5:08 remaining, giving her players a breather on the warm fall afternoon along with lots of encouragement and instruction.
The counsel paid off. The Spartans kept the Hornets on defense for virtually all of that time, and Tatnall was unable to get its offense going.
“We kept that ball on our stick, and we did not let Tatnall take it. We kept our cool, kept steady and just kept pushing to give everything we had until we saw that clock hit zero,” Hanich said.
Final statistics were not available early Thursday morning. Saint Mark’s improved to 12-4. Their opponent on Saturday, Delmar, has won all seven Division II state championships since the sport split into two divisions in 2017, and they won the final title with one division. Jones said the Spartans know how good the Wildcats are, but they’ll be ready to go.
“We’re really excited,” Jones said. “We’ve never gotten to play them before. I know I’m excited to see some high-level shots and hoping to walk off with a win.”
The game begins at 11 a.m. at Delmar. Tickets are available at gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
Photos by Mike Lang.
