It will be deja vu all over again in the championship match of this season’s girls 6D North Region field-hockey tournament.
For the second straight year, the defending champion Oakton Cougars and Yorktown Patriots will meet in the high-school title match, set for tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 6) at 7 p.m.
The only difference is this year’s clash will be at Yorktown, not Oakton, which won last fall’s final, 2-1.
Yorktown will be playing in its fourth straight region final.
Both teams are 2-0 in the tournament so far, including home semifinal victories on Monday (Nov. 4). Yorktown blanked the Madison Warhawks, 2-0, and Oakton routed the Washington-Liberty Generals, 6-0.
Oakton has a 19-2 overall record and has won 11 matches in a row. Yorktown is 15-3 with an eight-match victory string, including three straight shutouts and seven in its last eight games.
Olivia Stafford scored both goals, unassisted, in Yorktown’s semifinal win. Goalie Sara Kinzer earned the shutout.
For Oakton in the semis, Avery Dekoven scored multiple goals and had an assist, Gigi Liu and Taryn Knepper each had a goal and an assist, Riley Sweeney scored a goal and Marisa Rubano had an assist. Oakton led 4-0 at halftime.
In the first round, Dekoven scored three goals and Lindsey Calder and Liu one each in a 5-2 Oakton victory over the Marshall Statesmen. Marisa Rubano and Daniella Rubano each had two assists. For Marshall, Paige Pehrkon and Katie Kuczkowski had goals.
Yorktown blanked South Lakes, 4-0, in the first round. Stafford scored two goals and Elena Reiser and Quincy Greene one each. Reiser had two assists and Maddie Nimerala and Anna Menard one each.
By reaching the region final, Oakton and Yorktown have qualified for the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 state tournament. Yorktown won the state titles in 2021 and 2023 and finished second in 2022. Oakton lost in the semifinals last season after a first-round victory.
First-round state tournament matches are slated for next week at higher seeds.
