Sussex Academy field hockey drops a dozen on Polytech

Sussex Academy field hockey opened its Sept. 24 home game against Polytech with a tally 36 seconds into a four-goal first-quarter. The Seahawks tripled that total to claim a 12-0 victory over the Panthers.

“I want to make sure they take the shot as soon as they get to the circle,” said Seahawks coach Caitlyn Hardy. “Send it in there; tip it on in.”

Captain Ryan Lowe obliged, scoring that first goal before helping senior exchange student Lente Werner register her first goal of the contest. Werner demanded more attention after beautifully tapping in a shot by senior Emma Campbell. Captain Shelby Manlove capped off the first-quarter explosion with a blast from distance. 

Lowe, a junior, broke the ice again in the second quarter off an assist from captain Rilyn Lehman with just under 13 minutes to go in the half. Lehman would get on the goal sheet a little over two minutes later before completing her brace with about six minutes to go in the quarter. The girls took the 7-0 lead into the half.

“I think we just went down to the basics of field hockey – using our whole width and length of the field, simple touches to get down the field, and recognizing when there are no options forward, look back,” Lehman said about the outburst.

Campbell opened up the second half by scoring on a pass from Lowe, who then completed her hat trick for the Seahawks' ninth goal of the game. Werner joined Lowe in the hat trick club to get Sussex Academy to double digits before the third quarter ended.

Junior Shea Danahy knocked in a pass from Manlove less than a minute into the fourth, and eighth-grader Mady Lehman wrapped up the scoring by fighting through some sticks and a goalie for the 12th notch. 

Sussex Academy outshot Polytech 30-0, proving it wasn’t just a party for the offense.

“Maeve Lawson got player of the game; she did a really great job transferring in the back and stepping up to the ball,” Hardy said.

“The key thing back there for defense is that you really have to look up and do stick-to-stick passing,” Lawson said.

As a freshman playing valuable minutes, Lawson’s demeanor stands out.

“You don't want to rush and just run up with the ball; you want to stay calm and kind of let the forwards come to you, and then you make your decision where you want the ball to be,” Lawson said.

The 12-0 win is the third time the 5-1 Seahawks have shut out their opponent.