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Bitter Pill for Cape Hockey
The Sunday on which Delaware's state field hockey tournament pairings are announced is usually a fun and expectant time for Cape Henlopen's players.
But this year it was neither, as the Vikings were absent from the 16-team field that was unveiled Nov. 8, 1998. For a team that had three Henlopen Conference titles, a state championship and an appearance in the state semifinals to its credit the previous three years, the snub was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Sunday night was a depressing moment to tell them," Cape coach Mike Eisenhour said last week. "We're disappointed but we'll bounce back."
In a two-week span near the end of the season, the Vikings went from contending for the conference title to a fourth-place finish in the Northern Division. Their 7-5-4 overall record wasn't enough to earn them a spot in the postseason.
"I was surprised. I was not happy about it but I understood how it occurred," Eisenhour said. "I really felt that the kids had earned a spot."
Two teams, Tatnall and Archmere, received tournament berths despite having losing records and winning percentages that were lower than Cape's. But a formula that also takes into account the winning percentages of a team's opponents put them into the tournament ahead of Cape.
Eisenhour noted certain upstate teams have smaller conference commitments and therefore have the luxury of scheduling games against tough nonconference opponents. Even if they lose those games, they still receive credit for opponent's winning percentage in the postseason formula.
With 13 conference games, Cape had little room on its schedule for nonconference contests. But Eisenhour noted the competition in the Henlopen Conference is as tough as any in the state.
"You cannot even expect to have a day off in the conference," he said.
A.I. DuPont, a team Cape defeated in the season finale, was also left out of the tournament despite a 9-6-1 record.
Hurting Cape's cause where losses to Sussex Central, Dover, Woodbridge and Wilmington Christian in the season's final three week's. Until that point, the Vikings where one of five teams in contention for the conference title.
Cape struggled offensively all season, being shut out or held to just one goal seven times. The Vikings also played seven overtime games.
"There was just a mental stumbling block that didn't let us get over the hump," Eisenhour said. "I was not able to get the right button to push."
The turning point came Oct. 17 when Cape lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Wilmington Christian at home. The Vikings were 5-1-4 entering that game but the loss triggered a season-ending stretch in which they went just 2-4.
"We did not entirely recover from that probably the rest of the season," Eisenhour said.
But Eisenhour had nothing but praise for his players, who tried valiantly all season to break out of the slump.
"We worked our tails off. We struggled all year," he said. "We tried hard. I can't fault my kids."
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