As we mentioned in yesterday’s blog entry, the big story in scholastic field hockey the balance of this season is going to be the teams of PIAA District 3. Three of them are in our Top 10, and three more are in our group of teams to bear in mind.
Our Top 10 teams are in playoff brackets from coast to coast, and a lot is going to happen in Pennsylvania in the next two weeks, as the PIAA and PAISAA Tournaments get under way along with brackets in the rest of the country.
This week’s RightToRightIsRight.com honorary No. 11 Team of the Week is Columbia Long Reach (Md.). Last week, the Lightning beat Timonium Dulaney (Md.) 1-0 to give them their first berth in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class 3A semifinal round since 2000.
1. Pottstown Hill School (Pa.) 19-0
Hill had a pair of quick goals in the first quarter to run out 3-1 winners over Cherry Hill Camden Catholic (N.J.); the PAISAA tournament starts in a few days
2. Mamaroneck (N.Y.) 19-0
Tigers won the NYSPHSAA Section 1 Class A Tournament with a 9-0 win over Wappingers Falls Ketchum (N.Y.); will take on Kingston (N.Y.) out of Section 9 in the state tournament
3. Emmaus (Pa.) 22-1
The Hornets, after winning their 36th consecutive District 11 championship, will embark on a difficult road in the Class AAA state tournament, starting with West Grove Avon Grove (Pa.) today
4. Villanova Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (Pa.) 17-2-1
The Irish finished their regular season with a 4-2 win over Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.); semifinals of the PAISAA tournament is on Thursday
5. Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.) 20-1
The Hurricanes face an absolute minefield in the PIAA Class AAA tournament; the Hurricanes face Millersville Penn Manor (Pa.) today and their reward is either Downington (Pa.) West or Manheim (Pa.) Township in Saturday’s quarterfinal
6. Watertown (Mass.) 18-0
After an 8-0 win over Falmouth (Mass.) in the first round, the Raiders get Lynn St. Mary’s (Mass.) this afternoon in the Round of 16
7. Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.) 19-3
The Falcons were able to parlay their team speed to win the PIAA District 3 Class AAA title with a 1-0 overtime win
8. Westport Staples (Conn.) 18-1
The Wreckers got two late goals from Sofia Fildago in a 2-1 overtime win over on Darien (Conn.) in the final of the FCIAC tournament; Darien had taken a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute, but Fildago, the Princeton-bound attacker, leveled matters in the final 12 seconds
9. Cherry Hill Camden Catholic (N.J.) 15-2-1
Irish were able to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback to beat North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.), only a couple of days after losting to Hill 3-1
10. Andover Phillips Academy (Mass.) 15-0
The Big Blue go for an undefeated season as they take on their ancient rival Exeter Phillips Academy (N.H.) at high noon on Saturday
11. Columbia Long Reach (Md.) 12-3
After a three-win season in 2021 and a four-win season in 2022, the Lightning have come together under head coach Stephanie De Wit. The team will take on longtime power Severna Park (Md.) in the semifinal round Thursday
Who’s out: Manheim (Pa.) Township lost 1-0 to Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.); North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.) 3-2 loss to Cherry Hill Camden Catholic (N.J.)
And bear in mind: La Jolla Bishop’s School (Calif.) 22-1, La Jolla (Calif.) 13-5, La Verne Bonita (Calif.) 13-5-2, San Francisco St. Ignatius (Calif.) 15-5-1, Denver Colorado Academy (Colo.) 16-0-1, Darien (Conn.) 17-2, Lewes Cape Henlopen (Del.) 15-2, Delmar (Del.) 16-1, Smyrna (Del.) 14-2, Washington Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) 14-2-1, Winnetka New Trier (Ill.) 24-1-1, Louisville Assumption (Ky.) 20-6-3, Portland Cheverus (Maine) 16-0, Baltimore Bryn Mawr (Md.) 18-2-1, Chelsea (Mich.) 15-3-1, Ann Arbor Pioneer (Mich.) 17-1-1, St. Louis Villa Duchesne (Mo.) 23-2, Keene (N.H.) 18-0-1, West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.) 20-2, North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.), Cary (N.C.) Christian 16-0, Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.) 15-3, 17-3, Worthington Thomas Worthington (Ohio) 17-5-1, Manheim (Pa.) Township 19-3, Lititz Warwick (Pa.) 22-2, Elliottsburg West Perry (Pa.) 20-2, Exeter Wyoming Area (Pa.) 19-0, Providence Moses Brown (R.I.) 15-0, Burlington Rice Memorial (Vt.) 14-0-1, Trinity Episcopal (Va.) 17-0-1, Yorktown Tabb (Va.) 17-0, Hartland Arrowhead (Wisc.) 12-2-2