This weekend, the scholastic field hockey season will come to a conclusion with championships to be decided from coast to coast.
Today, there will be championship finals in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, and California. There will also be semifinals for the New England Preparatory Schools Athletic Council and the New York public schools, with those finals to take place tomorrow.
As much as I’d love to provide whiparound coverage today of all 34 games, it’s a bit too much for me to pay attention to, especially the 2 o’clock hour, when 11 games will be taking place simultaneously.
Instead, for my sanity (and yours), I’m going to pick out a selection of the best games for you to take note of. Many of these involve the best players and teams in the country. Every game has a storyline. Each will have a heroine at the end of the day. And you’re not going to hear the dreaded words “co-champions shall be declared” once 7-v-7 overtime ends, so every game will have a winner.
Here are some matches that deserve even more rapt attention than others:
12 noon, VHSL Class 5A final, Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox (Va.) vs. Virginia Beach First Colonial (Va.). These two teams are located a mile apart along the banks of the Mill Dam Creek in Hampton Roads. And yes, you can be a bit salty about the fact that both of these teams are being obligated to travel 227 miles to get to the game site in Ashburn, Va.
But there is an amazing history between these two sides. For a decade, these teams would meet sometime during the postseason for an elimination or championship game. This hasn’t happened for the last four years, but the FC-Cox rivalry springs up again in a key juncture of the season. These two teams have already met twice this year, with the sides splitting the results. That makes this game the ultimate rubber match.
2:30 p.m.: CIAC Class L final, Darien (Conn.) vs. Westport Staples (Conn.). You could forgive these two teams if they gave furtive glances towards each other at September’s National High School Invitational. They are from the talent-rich Fairfield County area of Connecticut, and have already met twice this season. The sides have split games this year, but the most recent was Darien’s win in the FCIAC Tournament. Again, this makes this championship final the ultimate rubber match.
3 p.m., PIAA Class AAA final, Emmaus (Pa.) vs. Doylestown Central Bucks West (Pa.). There is a major historical circle that will be connected today. It was 11,684 days ago when Emmaus, coached by Susan Butz-Stavin, met Newtown Council Rock (Pa.), a team led by attacking midfielder Lori Mastropietro. Both of these people will be at the game today; Butz-Stavin is the only scholastic field hockey coach with more than 1,100 wins, while Aida Ierubino, the daughter of the former Council Rock star, will be playing for Central Bucks West.
The 1994 game, played on the grass pitch at Ursinus College, finished in a 1-1 draw, the circumstances of which led to a rewrite of a section of field hockey’s rulebook. This game should also be on a knife-edge.
5 p.m., MIAA Division 3 final, Uxbridge (Mass.) vs. Sandwich (Mass.). Uxbridge isn’t the No. 1 team in America for nothing; the Spartans have beaten an array of Massachusetts powerhouses this season, including all three sitting state champions. This week, they beat Watertown 7-0 with goals which ranged from the tough and gritty to the dreamlike. A 28th-minute goal from Juliana Casucci resembled a goal that vaulted Carlos Alberto to legend after the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
As skilled and smart as Uxbridge is, they could find Sandwich a tough out. The Blue Knights have shut out all four of their tournament opponents, and are looking for their first state championship since 1987.
6 p.m., NJSIAA Non-Public final, Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.) vs. Cherry Hill Camden Catholic (N.J.). Since 2019, these two teams have met for state championship honors every year except for the COVID-19 season of 2020. But these sides have also scheduled each other frequently in the regular season; they have already met twice, with the Royals winning both encounters. But the inaugural South Jersey Tournament of Champions winner is looking to win this all-important match.
Look for how the Oak Knoll defense, led by goalkeeper Kristen Shindle, handles all-American Sophia Stasi. Also, keep an eye out for how much room forward Phoebe Laferriere is afforded in the Camden Catholic circle.
9 p.m.: CIF San Diego Section Open Division final, La Jolla Bishop’s School (Calif.) vs. San Diego Canyon Hills (Calif.). The Bishop’s School has become Southern California’s best team over the last couple of seasons primarily because of sophomore star player Lola Conway. She joined the pantheon of players who have scored 50 goals in a season, and is going to reach 100 sometime next year.
Facing them is Canyon Hills, a side which has continued and extended its championship legacy which was honed when the school was known as Serra. Canyon Hills is led by a pair of sophomores, Eva Allen and Rylie Storm.
