Any time discussions about local girls high-school field hockey begin these days, the Yorktown Patriots are quickly included in the conversation.
A team is worthy of such recognition when it has played in four of the last five Virginia High School League Class 6 state tournaments, winning the titles in 2021 and ‘23 and finishing second in ‘22.
With many top-returning players from last season’s 20-2 team, that experience should make Yorktown a big contender in district, region and state tournaments once again this fall.
“We have a lot of potential, and we are excited that another strong season is possible,” Yorktown coach Olivia Shipley said. “We are a pretty well-balanced team on both sides.”
Included among those returners are senior captains Elena Reiser and Paige Baskin. Reiser scored 10 goals and had seven assists last season. Baskin scored the game-winning goal in last season’s overtime state championship match.
Speedy senior midfielder Olivia Stafford is another top returner. She scored 11 goals with seven assists last fall.
Stafford has become one of the best and most versatile female athletes in the school. She also plays for Yorktown’s girls lacrosse team, has played varsity basketball and has run on the track and field teams.
Stafford already has played on four state-championship teams at Yorktown, two each for field hockey and lacrosse. She also is a standout soccer player, having committed to play that sport at Vanderbilt University. Stafford has not played for the Yorktown soccer team.
Additional returners are junior midfielder Madeleine Nimerala (four goals last fall), sophomore forward Anna Menard (six goals), senior forwards Kiran Friemel and Quincy Greene, junior forwards Katharine Martin and Mary Hardwick, senior defenders Emme Yoder and Kelly Brown, junior defender Reagan Fruzzetti, sophomore midfielder Molly Gill and junior goalie Sarah Kinzer.
A talented freshman will be Leah Williams, the sister of Alexis Williams, a standout on last year’s team now playing at the University of Pennsylvania.
Yorktown’s early season non-Liberty District schedule includes matches against recent past state-champions Fairfax and Madison. The district schedule begins for Yorktown with a road match against Herndon on Sept. 23, which includes one game against the past state champ Langley Saxons.
The Patriots also play in the Broadneck High School Invitational in Maryland for the first time, facing host Broadneck on Sept. 7 as well as Patuxent that same day. Broadneck won the Maryland 4A region tournament last fall and advanced to the Maryland state competition. Patuxent also played in last season’s Maryland state tourney.
Yorktown also has a non-district regular-season home match against Frank Cox on Sept. 28. Dating back to 1981, Cox is a 24-time VHSL state champion at the Class 5 or 6 enrollment categories, with four runner-up finishes.
“We have some difficult games, but we like that,” Shipley said.
NOTE: Yorktown’s overall record the past three seasons is 59-7. The Patriots finished 9-14 when they qualified for the state tournament for the first time in 2019, losing in the first round.
