The best field hockey games have always had storylines and history. But it’s the performances and drama on the pitch which make the games legendary. We had plenty during the 2024 season — so much so that we could not stick with a group of 10 top games, so we went a bit further. You’ll see why when you read this list.
20. Guilderland (N.Y.) 2, Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) 1
Nov. 3, 2024
Final, NYSPHSAA Section II Class A Tournament
In a premonition of some of the events of the state final to come, Guilderland was able to get into the state quarterfinal round thanks to an untimed penalty corner goal at the end of regulation to beat Saratoga Springs. Sophomore Olivia Bigness got the ball on the doorstep and scored through a maze of sticks to win the match
19. Somerset-Berkley Regional (Mass.) 3, Uxbridge (Mass.) 2
Oct. 17, 2024
Regular-season game
Uxbridge is one of the best under-the-radar teams in the United States. On the way to winning a fourth straight state tournament this season, the Spartans played some pretty good opposition, including this late-season game against Somerset-Berkley. SBR won the game with a third-quarter goal from Julie Pacheco, her second of the match. Both of these teams would win state finals at the end of the season
18. Chelsea (Mich.) 1, Dexter (Mich.) 0
Oct. 26, 2026
Final, MHSFHL Division II Tournament
This game turned on a third-quarter goal when Jikke Kerstens snapped off a cross into the circle, and it deflected off a Dexter defender for the lone goal. Dexter pressed the issue in the final 10 minutes, and seemed to have scored the game-tying goal in the final minute, but the shot attempt came from just outside the striking circle
17. Medford Lakes Shawnee (N.J.) 3, Moorestown (N.J.) 2, OT
Nov. 11, 2024
Semifinal, NJSIAA Group 3 South Tournament
Shawnee and Moorestown have been in the forefront of girls’ athletics in southern New Jersey for a century. These days, the two schools are not only in the same athletic conference (the Olympic), but in the same NJSIAA classification (Group 3). This was not always the case, which led to a lot of mystique whicy was only solved when the two teams would face off on the pitch — usually in a late-season situation with a lot on the line. This year, the postseason offered a chance for both of these teams with enormous histories to get back together. The outcome turned on the performance of Abby Davidson, who had two goals, including the overtime game-winner, for the Renegades
16. Westport Staples (Conn.) 3, Darien (Conn.) 2, OT
Oct. 29, 2024
Final, FCIAC Tournament
The Fairfield County postseason tournament is usually a bellweather game for field hockey in Connecticut, and this contest was no different. The Blue Wave had a 2-1 lead heading into the final minute of regulation but Staples was able to equalize, then won the game on a Sofia Hildago backhand golazo nine minutes into extra time
15. East Hampton Williston Northampton (Mass.) 4, Concord Middlesex (Mass.) 3, 2 OT
Nov. 17, 2024
Final, NEPSAC Class B Tournament
Williston Northampton had a 3-1 lead heading into the second half, but the Middlesex Zebras, having earned nearly two dozen penalty corners throughout the game, kept grinding, and leveled the match in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats would win the game deep into overtime, as in the 75th minute, forward Brooke Schluter took advantage of an overcommitted Middlesex defense to slip the ball into the goal for the championship
14. Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.) 1, Manheim (Pa.) Township 0, OT
Nov. 2, 2024
Final, PIAA District 3 Class AAA Tournament
Lower Dauphin had won 16 District 3 titles in its history, but Manheim Township was the defending champion and was looking to get back to the state final. The teams pushed and pulled during a taut 60 minutes, but it was Lizzie Day of Lower Dauphin who had the game-winner on a breakaway in extra time
13. Mullica Hill Clearview (N.J.) 1, Elliotsburg West Perry (Pa.) 0
Sept. 21, 2024
National High School Invitational
West Perry had one of the finest individual players in the country in Jordan Byers, but Clearview got a fourth-quarter goal from Alexa Hogan in winning this NHSI matchup of teams who eventually won their respective state finals
12. Brewer (Maine) 3, Skowhegan (Maine) Area 0
Nov. 6, 2024
Final, MPA Class A North Tournament
Skowhegan had made the Class A state final out of the North bracket each of the last 22 seasons, but give the Brewer Witches credit for not allowing the Skowhegan mystique to hinder them. Paige Oakes was the difference with a pair of goals in the win
11. Mamaroneck (N.Y.) 2, Oley (Pa.) Valley 1, OT
Sept. 22, 2024
National High School Invitational
The Tigers came into the National High School Invitational undefeated, but left the same only after a pair of one-goal wins against former state champions. Oley Valley pressed Mamaroneck, the defending NYPHSAA Class A champion, into overtime, when sophomore forward Lily Brickman latched onto a through pass and scored on a backhand golazo from the left wing
10. Baltimore Bryn Mawr (Md.) 1, Owings Mills Garrison Forest (Md.) 1
(Bryn Mawr wins 3-1 in penalty shootout)
Oct. 31, 2024
Semifinal, IAAM Class A Tournament
Garrison Forest was the defending IAAM-A champion, but the Mawrtians, bolstered by the coaching of all-time alumna Carey Fetting-Smith, were more than a match for them. It was a remarkable renaissance for Bryn Mawr, which had been playing in Class B for most of the 2010s instead of the “A” division. The team was able to win a thrill-a-minute shootout after extra time
9. Manheim (Pa.) Township 4, Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.) 3
Sept. 21, 2024
National High School Invitational
The organizers of the annual National High School Invitational often put regional state champions on the main short-pile turf, used by Villanova University, at The Proving Grounds. However, it was these two teams, who were one game short of winning their respective state titles in 2023, who put on the best show. It was a back-and-forth affair between these two sides before Manheim won out in the end
8. Arlington Bishop O’Connell (Va.) 2, Richmond Trinity Episcopal (Va.) 1
Nov. 7, 2024
Semifinal, VISAA Division 1 Tournament
The Knights, a team which is only about 12 years old at the varsity level, made its first state final by beating an undefeated mid-state team which was the top seed in the VISAA bracket. Goals by Jordan Hardenburgh and Isabelle Vivarelli were the difference
7. Mamaroneck (N.Y.) 2, Guilderland (N.Y.) 1, 2 OT
Nov. 17, 2024
Final, NYSPHSAA Class A Tournament
Mamaroneck had a large edge in possession throughout regulation, but only managed to pip one goal. That almost proved costly, as Guilderland, on an untimed corner at the end of regulation, leveled the match on a low cross that was bundled over the line — like the goal that got Guilderland into the quarterfinal round of the state tournament two weeks earlier. The overtime period was a thrill-a-minute spectacle, which included a missed penalty stroke by Mamaroneck senior Catherine D’Arcy. But in the second OT period, D’Arcy pounded a shot which appeared to deflect off the body of a Guilderland player in front, resulting in the goal that ended the game
6. Watertown Taft (Conn.) 1, Greenwich (Conn.) Academy 0, OT
Nov. 16, 2024
Semifinal, NEPSAC Class A Tournament
If you want an extra-time goal, sometimes you want a player who has a professional athlete or two in your household. Ariana Ftorek, whose father and grandfather played professional ice hockey, was the hero of the day, scoring barely a half-minute into extra time to give the Rhinos the victory and a chance to repeat as NEPSAC champions
5. West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.) 2, Newton (N.J.) 2
(Shore Regional wins 3-2 in penalty shootout)
Nov. 16, 2024
Final, NJSIAA Group 1 Tournament
Shore Regional is one of the most successful field hockey programs in New Jersey’s history, having won 18 titles, but the Blue Devils found themselves hounded by a resolute Newton side from the northernmost edge of the state. The Braves played it close throughout and almost won the game on a couple of occasions. But what people in the diners of Sussex and Monmouth County will be discussing for years afterwards is the penultimate round of the penalty shootout. With the score knotted at 2-2, Shore took the first shootout attempt, and Finley Elias bunted the ball forward and to the left of the goalkeeper, and lost it out of bounds. She was, however, given a retake of the shootout attempt because of an unintentional foul. The retake led to a successful shootout goal, which held up as the difference in a 3-2 penalty shootout win
4. Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.) 2, Emmaus (Pa.) 1 (OT)
Nov. 12, 2024
Semifinal, PIAA Class AAA Tournament
Emmaus had been hammering at the proverbial dam in the second half with the sides level, having been awarded a series of untimed corners at the end of regulation. But Villa Maria held firm as the game went into overtime. In the ninth minute of extra time, Jack Shaw had a side-in inside the attacking third and sent the ball to forward Caitlin Connell inside the striking circle. Connell deftly jabbed at the ball, which made the ball softly bounce up as she rotated her body towards the center of the field. With a sudden effort, she unleashed a backhand golazo that went into the top shelf. It was an unbelievable finish to this game featuring two sitting PIAA field hockey champions
3. Delmar (Del.) 3, Georgetown Sussex Academy (Del.) 2, OT
Nov. 6, 2024
Semifinal, DIAA Division 2 Tournament
When Delmar started its skein of eight straight state championship, Sussex Academy had not yet graduated its first class of seniors since the charter school expanded beyond middle school in 2013. Sussex Academy, playing brave and enterprising hockey, took the game to extra time, but Jordyn Hollamon, the nation’s leading scorer, would score off a forehander on the run that flummoxed the Seahawk defense
2. Lititz Warwick (Pa.) 1, Palmyra (Pa.) 0
Nov. 12, 2024
Semifinal, PIAA Class AA Tournament
The Warriors took the pitch mere hours after learning that the team’s former head coach, Bob Derr, had passed away from an illness. The District 3-AA champions played enormously well against their district rivals, getting a goal from the heavens as Calli Martin flicked the ball over the goalkeeper on a third-quarter penalty corner
1. Tredyffrin Conestoga (Pa.) 2, Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.) 1 (OT)
Nov. 16, 2024
Final, PIAA Class AAA Tournament
Villa Maria, a scant three days after winning its way into this game on an overtime goal, had to face Conesoga forward Shae Wozniak and a committed group of Pioneers in search of the first state title in program history. And two weeks after Conestoga dropped the District 1-AAA final to Villa Maria, the team gave the ball to Wozniak i overtime. In a sequence destined to be the stuff of legend, she raced from the right sideline, beat two Villa Maria backs, and laced a backhand golazo into the goalboard for the win. It was the first District 1 team to win a PIAA Class AAA championship in 22 years
