LEWES, Del.- The Cape Henlopen field hockey team has its eye on another state title.
Under the leadership of Head Coach Kate Austin, the Vikings pulled four consecutive titles and are ready to work for the fifth. The titles compliment the 69-game in-state winning streak.
Each preseason practice for Cape is three hours. They are broken into running, more running and drills.
The team knows it has a target on its back and it has to prove its top-seed position each year.
"People want to be that team that is going to take Cape down," Austin said. "It’s like who is going to be the first one, who is going to go after them, who is going to win the next state championship? It is easy to hate people when they win."
Winning is a Vikings tradition on the field hockey field.
"We don’t like to lose so we go out there and strive to win every game," said senior goalie Riley Shields.
The question on the minds of many is how are the Vikings able to stay consistent even with the yearly loss of seniors? Austin is partial to planning ahead and starting girls young.
"We have middle school girls who come to our games and they are just waiting to put on that cape uniform," Austin said. "So they are just taught at an early age to work hard."
The Vikings kick off their regular season on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Smyrna.