Undefeated Cape Henlopen faces Appoquinimink in DIAA field hockey playoffs

Cape Henlopen and Tower Hill hold the top seeds in the 2026 DIAA field hockey tournament brackets released on November 2. The Vikings went into the postseason with an undefeated regular season record. They secured the Henlopen Conference Championship with a 10-0 victory over Lake Forest. The Hillers finished the regular season with a 14-1 record. Their only loss came against Cape Henlopen.

Tournament play starts on Wednesday, November 4. The division two field consists of 12 teams. The top four seeds received byes in the first round. Newark Charter, Caravel, and Archmere also hold first-round byes. The remaining eight teams will compete in four first-round games on Wednesday. Division one includes only eight teams, so it skips the first round and begins with the quarterfinals.

In division two round one, No. 5 Indian River hosts No. 12 Mount Pleasant at 2:30 p.m. This is the first meeting between the two schools this season. No. 6 Wilmington Friends hosts No. 11 Delaware Military Academy at 2:30 p.m. at Wilmington Friends. The Quakers won the division two championship last season. No. 7 Concord plays No. 10 Sussex Academy at 5:00 p.m. at Odyssey Charter. No. 8 Lake Forest hosts No. 9 Ursuline at 4:00 p.m.

Division one quarterfinals occur on Friday, November 6. No. 1 Cape Henlopen hosts No. 8 Appoquinimink at 2:30 p.m. The Vikings and Jaguars have not met this season. No. 2 Caesar Rodney hosts No. 7 Charter School of Wilmington at 3:00 p.m. No. 3 Padua plays No. 6 Milford at 2:30 p.m. at Tatnall. This marks the second consecutive year these teams meet in the postseason. Padua defeated Milford 2-1 in last year's tournament.

No. 4 Smyrna hosts No. 5 Odessa at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The Eagles and Ducks have not played each other this season. All division two quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, November 7, at 11:30 a.m. No. 1 Tower Hill hosts the winner of the Lake Forest and Ursuline game. No. 2 Newark Charter hosts the winner of the Concord and Sussex Academy game.

No. 3 Caravel hosts the winner of the Wilmington Friends and Delaware Military Academy game. No. 4 Archmere hosts the winner of the Indian River and Mount Pleasant game. The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association announced these brackets to conclude the high school field hockey regular season. The postseason determines the state champions for both divisions.