Hillers have chance for 4th straight title

11/13/2008

NEWARK -- Mary Hobbs and Meghan Lyons always wondered what it would be like to win four consecutive Delaware High School Field Hockey Tournament championships.

Tower Hill School's dynamic duo will now have that rare chance on Saturday.

Hobbs scored one goal and assisted on Lyons' goal as the top-seeded Hillers defeated 12th-seeded Caravel 2-0 in the semifinals Wednesday at the University of Delaware's Rullo Stadium. Tower Hill will face No. 2 seed Brandywine (18-1) in Saturday's final.

"It's been a dream of ours to win four straight," Lyons said. "It's finally coming true with one more. It's amazing. We talk about it a lot. We've talked about it through the tournament. We've taken it one game at a time. We have one more to go. It's just amazing to think about."

Hobbs gave the Hillers (17-2) a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal less than six minutes into the game.

Lyons soon had a chance to extend Tower Hill's lead with a penalty stroke. But Caravel goalie Sarah Werkheiser stopped the shot to keep the lead at one goal.

The Buccaneers controlled the tempo for a good portion of the second half but couldn't get a shot past Tower Hill goalie Alexis Aurigemma.

Then with 5:59 remaining, Hobbs sent a clean pass to Lyons, who scored the much-needed insurance goal.

"I needed to make up for the penalty stroke," Lyons said. "We needed another goal."

Hobbs had multiple opportunities to score in both halves as she deftly maneuvered the ball up and down the field.

"We knew one wasn't enough," Hobbs said. "We had to keep it up. One goal wasn't going to do it. We had to keep pushing and pushing and keep trying to score to seal the deal."

Advancing to the final is something Hobbs has never taken for granted.

"Every finals is amazing because every finals is different," Hobbs said. "Each year's team has a whole different story. It just feels really good."

Caravel (12-5-2) was hoping for another upset after ousting No. 5 St. Thomas More and No. 4 seed Red Lion Christian in the previous rounds.

"They came a long way from the beginning of the season," Caravel coach Kyle Bianco said. "They stepped it up and worked hard."

That's especially true for Werkheiser, a junior who was playing her first season in goal. Werkheiser stopped 13 shots and thwarted a couple of chances with sprawling saves in the first half.

"It was her first year playing goalie and she was consistent all year long," Bianco said.