We’re in the 116th season of scholastic field hockey in America, and the last several years have seen groups of games being made into enormous events.
Most are scheduled games, like the Gateway Invitational, National High School Invitational, or the Delaware Turf Bowl.
But it’s this time of year, the playoffs, where the best hockey is played. Many states host end-of-season events featuring multiple state finals on the same day. Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire, have tripleheaders to finish the season. Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland have quadrupleheaders. One state, New Jersey, finishes its state tournament season with a quintupleheader. Yup, field hockey from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
We’ve seen some great games at these state tournament events, but there is an event this weekend which could produce some unforgettable moments. And this is just in the quarterfinal round in Pennsylvania.
Saturday, at Don Thomas Stadium in Reading, Pa., there are going to be four neutral-site field hockey matches with some incredible players and storylines in each of Pennsylvania’s three enrollment classes. Here’s a look:
12 noon: Lititz Warwick (Pa.) vs. Allentown Salisbury (Pa.), Class AA
Warwick (21-5) is your defending PIAA Class AA champion, having gone through an emotional run through the 2024 postseason. The Indians are led by senior Karys Craver, who is headed to Ohio State next year. Salisbury (20-2) is led by senior Gwyn DeFazio, who is a career 100-goal scorer. Head coach Jane Brennan, in her ninth season, has piloted the Falcons to their first major trophy in field hockey, the District 11-AA championship.
2 p.m.: Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.) vs. Mechanicsburg (Pa.), Class AAA
Villa Maria (21-2), the No. 5 team in the TopOfTheCircle.com Top 10, is a team which has a number of age-group national team members as well as nine seniors. Keep your eyes on senior attacker Caitlin Connell, who is in the Top 10 individual goal-scorers of all time. Helping her will be junior Jack Shaw, who is equal to her teammate in skills and game sense. Mechanicsburg (18-4-1) comes out of District 3, and the Wildcats have been doing everything by committee, since all-stater Mary Olivetti has been out all season with a lower-body injury. Interesting historical note: In 2022, Mechanicsburg won the PIAA Class AA championship. The year after that, Villa Maria won the state title in Class AA. Both schools are now in the 3A ranks.
4 p.m.: Millersville Penn Manor (Pa.) vs. Allentown Parkland (Pa.), Class AAA
The last time Penn Manor (20-4-1) won a state championship, Rachel Suter, Penn Manor Class of 2014, was about to graduate from Liberty University. Now on the sidelines for the Comets, she has given them a chance to emerge from the lower half of the PIAA bracket. Parkland (18-6) was the second-place finisher in the District 11-AAA tournament, having given Emmaus (Pa.) all it could handle in that title tilt. The Trojans are led by sophomore Olivia Estaban, who has 30 goals thus far.
6 p.m.: Millerstown Greenwood (Pa.) vs. New Hope-Solebury (Pa.), Class A
Greenwood (17-5-1) has been in the headwaters of the Class A conversation, having won the 2017 PIAA Class A championship and developing the likes of Paityn Wirth, who played for the U.S. women’s national team. The opponent, New Hope-Solebury (18-3), was a mid-table side for decades but have improved tremendously the last few years. The program has won six PIAA District 1 titles, all after 2017. The Lions are led by senior forward Abby Varghese and sophomores Gabi Solis and Danielle Wilson.
If you have a chance, go see this quadrupleheader. This should be a fantastic series of games.
