Delmarva Christian field hockey can’t ground Eagles on home turf

A young Delmarva Christian field hockey team was undone by an experienced Holly Grove squad 12-1 at home Oct. 8. 

Coming into the game, the Royals had hoped for a closer game after losing their away game 3-1 against the Eagles Oct. 2. Senior goalie Bella Marinelli had 29 saves in that contest and piled up 19 more in the Oct. 8 loss while defending 10 penalty corners throughout the match.

Holly Grove jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first and added a couple more before the halftime whistle blew to take a 6-0 advantage into the half. A big reason the Royals struggled to generate offense was the discipline and communication from the Eagles’ back line. Quick to swarm the ball once it crossed midfield, Holly Grove forced Delmarva Christian to rely on long drives as opposed to a series of passes to advance. 

Tallying four more in the third quarter, the Eagles opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 lead and quickly added two more to take a commanding 12-0 lead. The Royals avoided the shutout when Emily Obertubbesing streaked down the middle of the field with a trail of Eagles in her wake. Obertubbesing had only the goalie to beat and selflessly drew Rebekah Lankford toward her, passing it to freshman Braelyn Hellens just before Lankford collided with the junior.

Hellens got the shot off before any Holly Grove defenders could recover, resulting in the 12-1 final score.

A positive for the Royals coming out of the loss is Marinelli is three saves away from 200 career stops and 22 rejections shy of 200 saves for the season.

Delmarva Christian travels to Tome School Friday, Oct. 11, before playing Sussex Central on a quick turnaround at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 12.