The competition became tougher in the state tournament, but as was the case all season, the Yorktown Patriots met the task and conquered.
Yorktown won the Virginia High School League Class 6 girls state field hockey tournament with a 3-0 record, nipping the Western Branch Bruins of Chesapeake, 1-0 in the Nov. 13 championship match on a blue artificial-turf field at Courtland High in Spotsylvania.
The state title was Yorktown’s first, as the Patriots were playing in the competition for just the second time.
The championship capped the team’s finest season in program history. Prior to the state event this season, Yorktown won district and region tournaments, finishing the season with a 21-1 record and a 16-match winning streak, including 8-0 in the postseason.
In those eight playoff matches, Yorktown outscored opponents 30-5 with four shutouts, amassing nine, seven and five goals in three victories. The team’s only loss was a 2-1 regular season setback to state semifinalist Fairfax on Sept. 14.
“It’s pretty incredible. This season definitely ended the way we had hoped,” said first-year Yorktown head coach Olivia Shipley, who played field hockey at Yorktown and has been coaching in the program at various levels for a number of years. “We had three goals at the start of the season. Win districts, win region and win states.”
In the state final, Emily Stafford scored Yorktown’s goal unassisted with 8:34 left in the first period off of a fast-break situation. The Patriots didn’t get many other scoring opportunities, but the defense and goalie Morgan Stone did the rest, shutting out the Bruins. Stone made five big saves in the second half, including two while on the ground.
“Morgan played amazing,” Shipley said. “Western Branch was very disciplined and aggressive. We just tried to play our game and stay calm and composed.”
In other state-tourney matches, Yorktown topped the Robinson Rams of Fairfax, 2-1, in the first round on the Patriots’ home field for the team’s very first state-tournament win. Taylor Chase scored the first goal, assisted by Olivia Stafford, and Emily Stafford scored the second off a direct shot.
In the semifinals, Yorktown routed the Grassfield Grizzlies of Chesapeake, 7-1, Nov. 12 at Spotsylvania High. Emily Stafford scored two goals and Olivia Stafford, Olivia Morgan, Olivia Nelson, Caroline Brickley and Sydney Polly had the others. Alexis Williams had two assists. Other assists went to Emily Stafford, Brynn Baskin and Brickley.
“We had a great game offensively against Grassfield,” Shipley said.
NOTE: Yorktown is the third straight 6D North Region team to win a Class 6 state championship. Madison won last season and Langley in 2019. The Patriots’ only other appearance in the state tournament came in 2019 when they lost in the first round. Yorktown was eliminated by Madison in last season’s region tourney, and that loss motivated the team for the 2021 fall campaign.