If you blink (or get tied up in a project at work…), you just might miss the high school field hockey regular season. Teams kick off official competitions in the last week of August, generally play 3-4 games per week, and by the second week of October, only those teams who have qualified for league or district playoffs are still playing. Meanwhile, at the college level, regular season play continues throughout the entirety of October, with league play not beginning until early November, and the National Championship usually falling the weekend before Thanksgiving.
But at the high school level, for the EPC and Colonial Leagues, conference playoffs are slotted for the second full week of October. In the Colonial League, Palmerton (ranked 6), Bangor (3), Pen Argyl (7), Southern Lehigh (2), Wilson (5), Northwestern (4), Palisades (8), and Salisbury (1) advanced to the league playoff, while the EPC playoff included Emmaus (1), Stroudsburg (8), Northampton (4), Nazareth (5), Parkland (3), Liberty (6), Easton (2), and Freedom (7).
So, how did we get here?
In the Colonial League, Salisbury continued the program’s upward trajectory, finishing with an overall record of 15-1 and securing the top spot in the playoffs. That’s an improvement from last season where they compiled a record of 13-3 and the year prior where they ended up 5-8-1 and failed to even reach the league playoffs. Salisbury was followed just behind by Southern Lehigh, who wrapped the regular season with a record of 14-1-1. The Spartans fell to the Falcons early in the season 3-0, but turned around and won the rematch in their last regular season game by a score of 2-1. The Spartans played Wilson to a 0-0 tie, while winning all their remaining league games (but falling to Nazareth 2-1 in non-conference play).
In the EPC, Emmaus once again dominated the regular season (in what is head coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s 50th–yes, 50th–season at the helm), finishing 13-0 in league play. In non-conference play, Emmaus was able to knock off Oak Knoll, a power house team from New Jersey by a score of 3-2, but fell to Downingtown West 2-1 in OT in a matchup where the Hornets were missing a few key players due to injuries.
Easton (12-1), Parkland (11-2), and Northampton (10-3) put together impressive seasons and kept things interesting. Parkland gave the Hornets their biggest scare–finding the back of the net despite falling in a 2-1 loss. Northampton was the only other EPC team to score on Emmaus back on August 28th in a 7-1 loss. Meanwhile, the Easton Red Rover defense recorded 13 shutouts in 15 regular season games, surrendering just six goals all season (four of which came in non-conference games).
District XI playoffs will begin during the third full week of October, where Emmaus (3A), Southern Lehigh (2A), and Northwestern (1A) will seek to repeat as champions.
Joining Emmaus in the 3A District Playoff will be the same cast of characters that competed in the EPC playoff, with Whitehall, East Stroudsburg South, and Pocono Mountain West failing to advance to either playoff.
In the 2A bracket, Salisbury, Southern Lehigh, and Bangor will compete for the title.
Northwestern Lehigh, Wilson, Pen Argyl and Palmerton will vie for the 1A District XI title.
From there, the champion from the 1A playoff and the 2A playoff will advance to the 1A and 2A PIAA state playoff, respectively, while the top two teams in 3A will advance to the 3A PIAA state playoff beginning on November 4th.
While the post season schedule and set up is more or less standard at this point, the next few weeks are sure to harbor at least a few surprises. Will it be the year that Salisbury is able to bring home a gold medal? Will Northwestern retain the top spot in District 1A? And will Coach Sue Butz-Stavin and her Hornet squad be able to cap off her 50th season with their 16th PIAA State Championship?
Only time will tell! Dust off your winter hats, gloves, coats, and blankets, fans. Playoff field hockey is here.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
