MILLTOWN — Saint Mark’s field hockey team got a great effort from its defense and goalie Cate Jones, but the Spartans couldn’t overcome Sussex Academy, falling, 2-1, Oct. 23.
The team honored its five seniors before the game, played on a sunny but chilly afternoon. The Seahawks, champions of the Henlopen South Conference, came out pressuring the Saint Mark’s defense from the get-go, earning five penalty corners in three and a half minutes early in the first. Jones was up to the task, getting saves on three of them.
Jones continued to turn away everything Sussex Academy could throw at her, but the Seahawks got on the board after a restart with five minutes left in the first. A crossing pass was tapped in to make it 1-0.
That was all of the scoring for the first half. Jones had several stops in the second quarter to keep the Spartans’ deficit at one.
Emersyn O’Leary evened the score for Saint Mark’s a few minutes into the second half with a superb individual effort. She intercepted a pass near midfield, drove all the way into the scoring circle as she crossed the field. She had some space near the top of the circle to the left of SAS goalie Kacie Rawlings, and her slap shot zipped past the goalie and into the cage.
The tie lasted four minutes. The Seahawks had three penalty corners in that time, and on the third, Saint Mark’s was called for an infraction that resulted in a penalty stroke. Ryan Lowe lined up to take the shot, and she found room on the far left side of the cage to put her team on top.
Jones and the Spartans did not allow any other scoring despite several opportunities for Sussex Academy. Offensively, Saint Mark’s had some chances, including their lone penalty corner a minute into the fourth quarter.
Saint Mark’s (6-7-1) wraps up the regular season on Friday at home at 3:45 p.m. against William Penn. Sussex Academy (9-6) will host Smyrna on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Henlopen Conference championship game.
Photos by Mike Lang.
