As a player, Allie Mikelson was a textbook example of the talent that exists in the Lehigh Valley field hockey community. After playing four years at Emmaus High School, complete with a PIAA 3A State Championship in 2010, she went onto the University of Delaware where she won three Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships, was named the CAA’s Most Outstanding Performer in 2014, and was a two-time Team MVP and co-captain before graduating in 2016.

[Mikelson as a player at Emmaus High School. Contributed by Mikelson.]

[Mikelson as a player at the University of Delaware. Contributed by Mikelson.]

[Mikelson as a player at the University of Delaware. Contributed by Mikelson.]

No big deal, right?

While Mikelson may not be the only field hockey player from the Lehigh Valley to have had an exceptional playing career at the Division I level (recall that seven Lehigh Valley natives appear on the rosters of the top ten Division I teams according to the 2024 NFHCA Preseason Poll) what makes her story unique is what came next.

Mikelson began officiating indoor field hockey at her home club, the Firestyx (where most Emmaus players play club hockey), in 2014 while in college. By luck, Mikelson ended up paired with Fran Corl, a veteran umpire who has a strong presence in USA Field Hockey, her first time umpiring.

“[Corl] was like, ‘If you like it, you should keep doing it and I’ll help you get your way through USA Hockey and get some umpiring opportunities’,” said Mikelson.

“I don’t know if I would be here, necessarily, if I wasn’t working with Fran that first time I was ever umpiring.”

[Mikelson and fellow umpires. Contributed by Mikelson.]

Mikelson continued umpiring field hockey competitions throughout her time as an undergraduate student at University of Delaware and then during her time in graduate school where she was studying to become an Occupational Therapist (OT). She had her first NCCA appearance as an umpire in 2019 and received her first appointment to officiate an international competition in 2022 for the Junior Pan American Games and Hockey5 Pan American Cups.

Today, Mikelson umpires NCAA field hockey (primarily at the Division I level) and International Hockey Federal (IFH) Hockey competitions (which is the organization that operates the majority of the major international hockey competitions). She travels the world umpiring games between both men’s and women’s teams—notably all in addition to her day job as an OT and her role as a volunteer coach on the Emmaus field hockey coaching staff.

[Mikelson and the Emmaus High School field hockey coaching staff. Contributed by Mikelson.]

“In my head, I have my full-time job, which is being an OT. That comes first, and then umpiring. I do all the international stuff I can do, but you do kind of have to set boundaries for yourself and some other things may have to give because you just never know when an international opportunity is going to come up,” said Mikelson.

Mikelson has made the most of her opportunities on the international stage, having umpired the Pan American (Pan Am) Cup men’s indoor hockey final between Trinidad & Tobago and Argentina this past March in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

[Mikelson as an umpire. Contributed by Mikelson.]

On the domestic side, she was chosen to officiate the Ivy League tournament before umpiring the semi-final for the NCAA Division I tournament in 2023 between Duke and Northwestern. Mikelson was the reserve umpire for the championship game as well.

If her appointments to officiate games of such significant magnitude don’t show just how exceptional an umpire Mikelson is, her umpiring resumes does: In 2023, Mikelson was named the winner of the USA Field Hockey National Umpire Award.

It’s not about the big awards, selections, or appointments to Mikelson, though. She’s most proud of having the opportunity to represent the U.S. internationally.

“Just the work I put in over quite a few years to develop myself in order for the U.S. to trust me with representing us as an official outside of the country,” Mikelson shared when asked of which of her accomplishments she is the most proud.

“There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a lot of time. There’s a lot of self-growth that you have to go through. Umpiring is a lot of dedication if you want to do the international stuff—and even the NCAA stuff. There’s sacrifices you make.”

Mikelson’s goal is to continue to represent the U.S. on the international stage—with hopes of potentially one day officiating an Olympic or World Cup hockey competition.

 “I got into umpiring because I enjoy the game a lot,” she shared.

“As long as it continues to be fun, I think that’s the goal. I want to enjoy the journey to get there every step of the way.”

[Mikelson as an umpire. Contributed by Mikelson.]

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

If you don’t look too closely, it may appear like another “rinse and repeat” year in the Colonial League. As of September 19th, Northwestern, who won the District XI 1A championship and finished second in league play in 2023, sits atop the league standings, with an undefeated 8-0 overall record. The Tigers are trailed by reigning league champion Southern Lehigh, who sits at 7-1 overall. The Spartan’s one loss came to Northwestern in a September 13th matchup in which the Tigers bested the Spartans 3-2. 

In 2023, the Tigers and the Spartans were joined in the Colonial League playoffs by Palmerton (11-3 in the Colonial League in 2023), Bangor (8-5-1 in 2023), Wilson (7-5-2 in 2023), and Moravian Academy (7-6-1 in 2023). Palmerton and Bangor managed to advance from the Quarterfinal Round to meet Northwestern and Southern Lehigh, with Palmerton upsetting the Tigers in the Semi-Final Round before falling to Southern Lehigh for the championship.

Business as usual in the Colonial League in 2024? Not so much. 

A closer look at the league results shows an unlikely competitor rising through the ranks: the Salisbury Falcons. The Falcons failed to make the league playoffs in 2023 after going 6-6-2 in Colonial League play. This fall, as of September 19th, Salisbury is 7-2 in league play, with their only two losses coming to Northwestern in their first game of the season on August 27th, and in a nail biter loss to Southern Lehigh on September 16, when the Falcons fell to the Spartans 1-0. Salisbury has scored 36 goals in just nine league games, while surrendering only 13. 

The Falcons are “co-oped” with Central Catholic, who does not have a field hockey team. With this co-op arrangement, girls who are interested in playing field hockey at Central can join Salisbury’s team. The program at Salisbury is certainly seeing benefits from this arrangement. For one, the Falcons welcomed the addition of midfielder Lauren Kushma in 2024. Kushma, who is committed to play field hockey at Drexel, transferred to Central Catholic for her junior year and joined the Salisbury field hockey team.

Having a hunch that the matchup would be closer than a Southern Lehigh-Salisbury field hockey game has been in many years (if ever), I made my way out to the new turf field at Southern Lehigh Middle School for the game. Having witnessed it myself, I can attest that the Spartan’s 1-0 victory was, in fact, a nail biter. 

The Spartans got on the board early in the first quarter after connecting a few passes and building an attack up the field and capitalizing on an open shot in the circle. Both teams battled back and forth with penalty corners and scoring opportunities on both sides, but neither could find the back of the net after the Spartan’s early tally. 

There was clear talent on both sides. Both teams strung passes together and showed stalwart defenses. There was a healthy number of skilled players in both uniforms, neither team relying on just one or two sources of talent. 

While the Spartans pulled this one off, they appeared more or less evenly matched by Salisbury. 

In fact, the game was so close, a Southern Lehigh fan in the stands remarked “We survived!”, when the final horn blew. 

[Salisbury at Southern Lehigh on 9/16/24 at Southern Lehigh Middle School. Contributed by Kate Arnold.]

After the game, Southern Lehigh, coach Adrienne Searfoss, acknowledged as much–noting that the Colonial League is “much tighter” than the veteran coach has seen in the past. 

“Every game, we have to show up,” Searfoss reflected. 

It’s not just Salisbury who has gotten into the mix for the Colonial League title. A new competitor exists in Lehighton, 4-3-1 in league play as of September 19th, who just joined the Colonial League in 2024. Wilson also rounds out the crew of teams with winning records (5-4) vying for one of the six top spots to advance to the playoffs. 

The Catasauqua Rough Riders are on the bubble at 5-5, after finishing league play with a 5-9 record in 2023. Saucon Valley (4-5 in in the Colonial League in 2024), Bangor (3-4-1 in 2024), Pen Argyl (2-5-1 in 2024), Palisades (0-8-1 in 2024), Moravian Academy (0-8 in 2024), and Northern Lehigh (0-8 in 2024) will look to turn things around with the remaining three weeks of the regular season. 

Given the jockeying for positions atop the league standings we’ve seen and will likely continue to see in the coming weeks, it’s unclear at this point how the Colonial League playoff picture will come together. 

Coach Searfoss agreed: “Records are so tight, it will be a close match in terms of seeding.”

Only time will tell if a new team will hoist the Colonial League trophy in 2024. 

[Salisbury at Southern Lehigh on 9/16/24 at Southern Lehigh Middle School. Contributed by Kate Arnold.]

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

If, like me, you have spent your life in the Lehigh Valley, or even just within the state of Pennsylvania, you may take for granted that you live in what many would consider the heart of field hockey country. Travel just a few hours outside the state (particularly in the central U.S.) and you’ll likely find people who have never heard of the sport. 

Field hockey has taken off in recent years, but still remains heavily concentrated on the East Coast. In fact, USA Field Hockey divides the country into different regions for membership purposes. According to the 2023 Annual Report, the state of Pennsylvania, which itself makes up the entire Region 5, is home to 5,629 USA Field Hockey members, or nearly 20% of the organization’s 28,407 total members. This is far more than any other single region, nearly all of which are made up of multiple states. The regions that comprise the states from Maryland up through New England make up over half of all registered USA Field Hockey members.

So if, one weekday, you venture out to a high school field on one of those perfect Pennsylvania fall afternoons around 4pm, there’s a chance you may stumble upon one of the nation’s best field hockey players, even right here in the Lehigh Valley. 

Meredith Sholder, a former Emmaus Hornet and UNC Tarheel who is now a member of the U.S. Women’s National field hockey team with over 50 caps (appearances in international competitions), is a prime example. Sholder tallied the only goal in the only U.S. women’s field hockey team’s one victory in the Paris Olympic Games this summer. “It was such a crazy feeling to see the ball go in the back of the net and see my teammates running to me. I’m not someone who normally scores on the team, so that was a very special occasion for me,” told Sholder. 

[Meredith Sholder’s 50th international cap at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games vs. Argentina on 7/27/24. Sholder front row, center, with flowers. Contributed by Sholder.]

[Olympic field hockey players – Sholder at far left – in Paris. Contributed by Sholder.]

Lehigh Valley is also home to the winningest high school field hockey coach in America in Emmaus’s Sue Butz-Stavin. Butz-Stavin, who was named to National Federation of State High School Associations National High School Hall of Fame last year (just the second inductee from the Lehigh Valley in the organization’s 40-year history), is often commended for her efforts developing field hockey players at the youth level. Emmaus’ youth program offers playing opportunities for those as young as three years old. These efforts have helped generate a high school program with 41 conference championships, 39 District XI championships, 15 PIAA State Championships, and countless recruits who went on to have successful careers as members of Division I, II, and III field hockey programs. 

[Emmaus youth field hockey player, Blair Boyer, at Emmaus’ Memorial Field. Contributed by Kristin Boyer.]

What’s more, the U.S. team was captained by a player who played collegiately right here in the Lehigh Valley at Division I Lafayette College, Amanda (Magadan) Golini. 

[U.S. Women’s National Team captain, Amanda (Magadan) Golini, and former Lafayette College teammate Kate Arnold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Contributed by Kate Arnold.]

[2024 Paris Olympic Games: USA vs. Argentina pregame on 7/27/24. Contributed by Kate Arnold.]

A read through the rosters of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA)’s 2024 Preseason Top Ten Division I field hockey teams finds 54 Pennsylvanians, including 7 from the greater Lehigh Valley area specifically. Notably, none of the top ten teams are even schools located in Pennsylvania. This statistic is even more impressive when you consider that the majority of these rosters are filled with international players, coming from everywhere from England to the Netherlands and beyond.

“Pennsylvania is such a hot spot. It’s nice growing up and playing field hockey as part of your life. You just know all of these girls. I have so many teammates that I grew up playing against,” told Sholder. 

“I think being surrounded by field hockey growing up [in the Lehigh Valley] definitely impacted where I am now. Being where I’m from and surrounded by field hockey, I felt like I knew what I wanted to do at an early age because of it. It was my life growing up. I had so many resources, which was amazing. I was constantly going from one thing to the other and having amazing coaches like Sue Butz and Laree Beans, those people who come back and want to grow the game where they’re from. All of these little tiny products have helped mold me into where I’m at today,” said Sholder. 

While girls’ and women’s field hockey has come a long way in the U.S., we still lag behind other countries, especially many in Europe. The U.S. Women’s National Team, which has a very a young roster (not a single member of this summer’s Olympic team had prior Olympic experience), is ranked #13 in the world. 

“Other opponents [at the Olympics] on other teams were two, three, four-time Olympians with over 200 caps. They have higher retention in other countries because the U.S. doesn’t have an adult club system. Other countries have adult leagues where you can keep paying after school,” explained Sholder.

Despite that, the future is bright for field hockey in the United States, largely thanks to products out of our very own area. The Lehigh Valley is home to multiple players currently playing in the USA Field Hockey developmental programs which funnel players towards the national team roster. 

As a former field hockey goalkeeper out of Southern Lehigh who loved the Lehigh Valley so much that I decided to stay here and play at Lafayette College, I look forward to highlighting the abundant talent and notable stories that come out of the Lehigh Valley field hockey community in this blog. I hope you’ll follow along as we bring recognition to the remarkable field hockey teams and players, like Sholder, that call the Lehigh Valley home. 

Sources:

• USA FIeld Hockey 2023 Annual Report: USA Field Hockey | Corporate Docs 
• Women’s FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings: https://www.fih.hockey/outdoor-hockey-rankings   
• NFHCA Coaches Preseason Rankings: https://nfhca.org/polls/division-i/