The 2026 Tower Hill Field Hockey team poses for a picture after winning the 2026 DIAA Division Two Field Hockey State Championship game. Photo Credit: Ryan Colasanti
The Tower Hill Hillers defeated the Caravel Buccaneers, 3-1, in the 2026 DIAA Division Two State Championship, earning the program’s 19th state title.
FREDERICA, Del. — Tower Hill junior Molly Gallagher stepped to the penalty spot with her team tied, 1-1, under a minute to play in the third quarter. Gallagher placed the ball down and readied to take her shot. The whistle blew and Gallagher didn’t waste a second.
Gallagher fired a quick shot toward the right of the cage. Caravel goalkeeper, Hartley Haynes, moved quickly and got in front of the shot. Haynes seemed to have stopped the shot with the pad on her left hand, but the ball deflected off the pad backwards and right behind her to the back of the cage.
Gallagher scored on a second penalty stroke opportunity in the fourth quarter helping Tower Hill defeat Caravel, 3-1, and earn the 2026 DIAA Division Two State title.
“It’s just such an amazing feeling. We’ve been working so hard all season,” Gallagher said postgame. “This was such like a team effort, it wasn’t just one person. We like, we passed so well, we moved the ball, we stuck to the gameplan. This is just like an unreal feeling.”
The Hillers and Buccaneers played a close game through frigid temperatures and strong winds, Friday night. The two teams battled for possession through most of the first quarter with only a pair of Caravel penalty corners presenting possible scoring chances. Midway through the second quarter the Hillers broke through.
The game’s opening goal was scored by Tower Hill senior Hailey Allen on the right of the cage. The play was initiated by Gallagher who dribbled through a pair of Buccaneer defenders at the top of the circle to create a bit of space for a pass to Charlotte Vanni a few yards away from the goal. Vanni quickly fired a backhand shot that was deflected by a Caravel defender, but landed right in front of Allen to knock in.
Tower Hill’s defense withstood three Caravel penalty corner attempts in the final five minutes of the quarter and closed out the half with a 1-0 lead.
The midfield battle continued into the second half until Caravel worked the ball into its offensive zone with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter. The Buccaneers breached the circle and fired a pair of shots at the goal to no avail. One of the shot attempts drew a foul call on the Hiller defense and resulted in a penalty stroke opportunity for Buccaneer sophomore, Allie Sweeney. Sweeney fired a low shot to the left of the cage to tie the game, 1-1.
Gallagher’s first penalty stroke followed about four minutes later and her success returned the advantage back to the Hillers before the fourth quarter.
Caravel’s offense put together a couple strong attempts at an equalizer, but the Hillers’ defense stood strong and didn’t allow another score. Gallagher added a second goal to her ledger with a score on a second penalty stroke opportunity and Tower Hill protected the lead until the final buzzer rang out. Gallagher finished the game with two goals on two successful penalty stroke attempts.
“It’s such an honor, like, it’s so much pressure but I know they believe in me and that just gives me the strength to keep going,” Gallagher said about being the one to take the penalty shots while a group of Tower Hill fans shouted MVP chants in the background.
The 2026 Hiller team finished the season with a 17-1 overall record and the program’s first state championship since 2008. Tower Hill head coach Lindsay Goeller graduated from the school a year before that title but won three before that as a player under former Hiller head coach Robin Adair. Adair led the Hillers to ten state championship victories over her career, winning four straight titles multiple times.
Goeller said her staff is filled with alumni that span across three decades of Hiller field hockey and that passion and investment for the school and program make this state championship special.
“As a staff we’re so invested in this program, in Tower Hill, in the culture of field hockey and its so special to bring a state championship back to Tower Hill,” Goeller said. “We’re so proud and you can feel the tradition, you can feel what it means to our program to have the trophy back.”
Caravel finished the season with a 13-5 overall record and the program’s first state championship appearance since 2020.
Ryan Colasanti joins Delaware Live following four years at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism. There he covered multiple sports for the school’s radio station as both a reporter and editor. Ryan is excited to return back to the state and cover all things Delaware sports.
