Prep notes: Middletown soccer surges

Appoquinimink’s Courtney Burtell (left) shows her frustration after sprawling Middletown goalkeeper Taylor Wolf made two huge saves in the Cavaliers’ 1-0 win last Wednesday.

Middletown girls soccer coach Brian Derrickson hoped an influx of young talent and a change in training methods would lead to a better record this season.

But the Cavaliers have exceeded his highest hopes.

“I would have never expected us to be 11-0-2,” Derrickson said after Middletown’s 1-0 victory over Appoquinimink last Wednesday. “I throw credit to the players, responding to whatever they’re being asked to do and the competitive nature they bring.”

The fourth-ranked Cavaliers added another win to that total Monday, clinching at least a tie for the Blue Hen Flight A title with an 8-0 victory at William Penn. Charter of Wilmington can still tie Middletown atop the conference with a win at Mount Pleasant next Monday, but the Cavaliers have taken an amazing leap from last year’s 7-7-1 season.

“Everyone is really connecting,” freshman goalkeeper Taylor Wolf said. “No matter how they play, everyone is supporting each other. Every time something happens, we’re all there for each other. That’s how we get through every game.”

The only blemishes have been a scoreless tie against St. Georges on April 22 and a 1-1 draw with Charter on April 27. But the Cavaliers lost to the Force 4-0 last season, so a tie was a major step forward. Meghan Jolikko assisted on Rachel Finelli’s goal in the 67th minute to pull Middletown even.

“We have a tight bond. We never fight,” Jolikko said. “It’s just really different this year. We’re all a huge family.”

Derrickson and assistant coaches Rob Jamieson, Pat Williams and Joseph Sesay split the team into four groups each day and work on fundamentals.

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“We’re evolving as coaches and we’re doing some different things with them,” Derrickson said. “We’re training the girls every day, different coaches with different teams, so the girls feel very involved.”

Middletown has outscored opponents 58-7. Wolf has been a big part of that, including late in the first half against Appo when the freshman stopped two golden opportunities by the Jaguars. Then Jolikko scored the game’s only goal on a 35-yard free kick in the 78th minute.

“Some games in the beginning, she would bobble it just because she was so nervous, a freshman coming in,” Jolikko said of Wolf. “But she has definitely improved in every game, and we can definitely rely on her.”

The Cavaliers will finish the regular season at Delmar on Thursday, then prepare for their first DIAA Division I tournament appearance since 2014, when they lost to Sussex Tech 2-1 in the first round.

“We’re very excited to make the tournament this year,” Jolikko said. “We just want to do the best we can for our last time together.”

Baseball changes

The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association’s plan to begin the state baseball tournament with four doubleheaders has been undone by Mother Nature.

Persistent rain over the last couple of weeks has prompted DIAA to extend the regular season to May 20. That will push the four opening-round tournament games – involving the eight lowest seeds in the expanded 20-team field – to May 23 at the home field of each higher seed. The eight second-round games will be played the following day.

The quarterfinals are now scheduled for May 26, with two games at Frawley Stadium and two at higher-seeded teams’ home fields. The semifinals will follow on May 28 and the championship will be May 31 – all at Frawley.

DIAA had planned to complete the regular season on May 18, then start the postseason on May 21 with the lowest eight seeds playing first-round games at the home fields of the four highest seeds, then following with second-round games the same day.

Rounding it up

— Four of the state’s top-five ranked softball teams will be in action against each other on Thursday. No. 4 Smyrna will play host to No. 1 Sussex Tech in a Henlopen North showdown at 4:15, and No. 5 Padua will travel to No. 2 Appoquinimink at 4:30.

— Macie Pennington totaled eight goals and an assist as Caravel (9-2-1), ranked third in Division II girls soccer, won three games last week. The junior had three goals in a 6-0 victory over St. Elizabeth, four goals in a 6-0 win over Wilmington Christian and a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory over Delaware Military Academy.

— Four-time defending state champion Padua (13-0) jumped from 11th to sixth in the latest USA Today/NSCAA Super 25 national girls soccer rankings.

— The New Castle County track and field championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Baynard Stadium. Field events will begin at 2:30 p.m. Friday, with track events starting at 3:30. On Saturday, field events will begin at 8:30 a.m. and track events will start at noon.

— The Henlopen Conference track and field championships will be held Thursday and Friday at Lake Forest, with action starting at 4 p.m. each day.

— Lake Forest’s Austin Aguilar reached 100 career goals in the Spartans’ 18-16 victory over Indian River last Wednesday, quite a feat since the school only started a boys lacrosse program last year.

— Fifth-ranked Middletown (13-3, 8-1) clinched the Blue Hen Flight A baseball title with a 4-3 win over Charter of Wilmington last Thursday.

— The first win of the season was huge for the Seaford baseball team (1-10), as the Blue Jays stunned Cape Henlopen 6-4 last Thursday. The Vikings (9-3) have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the state this season, but Seaford got six strong innings of pitching from Dylan Allen, two doubles and two RBIs from Justin Gray and RBI hits from Evan Nibblett, Noah Waldridge and Tyler Harris.

— No. 1 Tower Hill (10-0-1) edged No. 2 Salesianum 147-158 in golf last Thursday at Fieldstone. Eighth-graders Jennifer Cleary and Phoebe Brinker led the way with 1-over-par 36s for nine holes. Ty Brinker added a 37 and Matthew Cleary shot 38 for the Hillers. Reed Winkler led Sallies with a 36.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.