Field Hockey: Middletown uses Century blowout to push themselves to playoff rematch

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

 

By all accounts, the Middletown High School Knights field hockey team’s loss to the Century High School Knights on September 23^rd was not a pretty one.

Middletown would be taken down by Century in a blowout, 5-1, dropping their record to 2-3 while casting doubt that the Middletown team could compete with some of the powerhouses on their schedule.

Since then, Middletown has taken the doubt that carried over into that game and used it to their advantage, going on a hot streak as they head back to Sykesville to take on Century on October 27^th, during the sectional final round of the 2014 Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (M.P.S.S.A.A) 2A Field Hockey championship.

The game between Middletown and Century will no doubt be a chippy affair, as the history between the two teams going back multiple years with a host of playoff match-ups the reason for the hostility between the two teams.

Middletown and Century have played in the same region and section for playoffs for the past four years and with only eight teams in a section, Middletown and Century have seen a good bit of each other.

Just last year, Middletown would fall to the hands of Century in the sectional semifinal round of the 2013 edition of the 2A state championship. The story was the same in 2011, as Middletown would be knocked off in the regional semifinal round (now the sectional final) as Middletown could not find a way to top their enemies with the same nickname.

The feeling has rung true up until recently for Middletown, as Middletown was one of the best teams in the county but could just not get the better of their regional opponents from Carroll and Montgomery Counties.

Something would change for Middletown after the Century game as the 5-1 defeat seemed to shake them and wake them up from a slumber which had lasted over the start of their season.

Middletown junior forward Emily Delauter could notice the changes as could other members of the team.

“I think it was because we were not expecting to lose 5-1,” said Delauter, whose speed up front has been one of the main offensive tools for the Knights. “We really had to step up our game and I think that game really put us back into reality.”

Middletown would play county powers Urbana and Linganore and while losing two games by just two goals and one goal, respectively, there was a shared feeling from Middletown that the wins would eventually come and come fast for Middletown.

That feeling was right.

Middletown would not lose a game in their next six contests, winning five and tying one.

Those wins included two 2-1 victories over the Oakdale High School Bears, one coming in the regular season with 11 seconds left and another one coming in the sectional semifinal round of the playoffs in the second overtime.

Middletown knows they will need to play a perfect game against a Century team that has dominated almost everyone over the past seven years.

Since 2007, Century has made the state semifinals or state finals round of the 2A field hockey state championship, six times missing out only once in 2008. Even more impressive is the fact that Century’s success has increased more recently in that span.

Century made it to the state finals in 2010, while falling short of that mark in 2011 and 2012 ending up in the state semifinals before bowing out. Century though would finally do what they had waited seven years to do: win a state championship.

Century would take down the Hereford High School Bulls by a score of 2-0, giving them their first state championship in school history.

It has been more of the same for Century this season as they have rolled through a difficult county and placed themselves in a good position to make an attack on the title.

After a loss on opening day to Archbishop Spalding and a tie in their next game to Kent Island would win 12 out of their next 13 heading into the Middletown game, using a strong offense to power them forward.

Middletown, trying to focus on playing their game against Century insisted that all the pressure would be on their neighbors from Carroll County.

“Of course they have more pressure on them,” said a confident Delauter. “We can use that to our advantage.”

Middletown will look to capitalize on the mistakes Century may make from that pressure, vaulting them into the regional final, a spot they haven’t been in for some time.

A win might also add a little measure of vengeance for a team that suffered a blowout in September that turned their season around.