NEWARK – The trophy case at Delmar High School is going to have a newcomer soon.
The Wildcats’ field hockey team took the 94-mile ride to the University of Delaware’s Rullo Stadium on Saturday and returned home with exactly what they wanted – a sixth straight DIAA Division II tournament championship.
Top-seeded Delmar took control early and never looked back en route to a 7-1 victory over No. 2 Archmere. The Wildcats have won every D-II title since the field hockey tournament split into two divisions in 2017, and seven straight crowns overall.
“It feels amazing, especially with it coming in my senior year, winning seven in a row,” said Delmar’s Maci Bradford, who had two goals and three assists. “It was a great game with high intensity. We just played and worked as a team to get another one.”
The Wildcats (19-0), ranked fourth nationally by maxfieldhockey.com, haven’t lost since a 1-0 setback at Cape Henlopen on Oct. 22, 2016. Saturday’s victory stretched their streak to 115 games.
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Bradford set up the Wildcats’ first goal when her pass found the stick of Josie Hollamon, who scored from the top of the circle 9:07 into the game. Bradford made it 2-0 on a penalty shot with 4:04 left in the first quarter.
Archmere (15-3) got on the board with 1:10 left in the first when Bella Dell’Oso scored on a backhand shot. But Delmar responded just 39 seconds later when Laela Brown deposited a Bradford pass into the net to make it 3-1.
After Jordyn Hollamon early in the second quarter, Brown scored again to give the Wildcats a 5-1 lead with 9:55 remaining in the first half.
The sophomore scored both of her goals in a similar manner.
“When I got the ball, I knew I had to be on pad,” Brown said. “So as soon as the ball popped up, I had to get it into the goal. As soon as I hit it, it felt great.
“It was the same thing on the second one. I know I have to be there so we can finish.”
Bradford and Emma Price scored in the second half to secure the victory.
Delmar coach Jodi Hollamon cited the collective effort required to reach seven straight state titles.
“It means that there are a lot of people involved in making this program successful, from the players to the coaches to the community,” Jodi Hollamon said. “It means everything. Every one is different.”
