Add more first-time accomplishments earned by the Bishop O’Connell Knights field-hockey team this season.
They have become an annual thing since Megan Sullivan took over as head coach four seasons ago.
field hockey
It was a busy afternoon, with Bishop O’Connell High School girls teams playing in three different state-tournament contests at home last Tuesday (Nov. 5).
In the end, O’Connell teams won all three — soccer, field hockey and volleyball — to advance in the Division I private-school state competitions.
With the state tournament now ahead, the Yorktown Patriots are very much in the running to finish on a high note and repeat as Class 6 girls field-hockey champions.
Like a year ago, Yorktown (15-4) enters the Virginia High School League’s state tournament as the runner-up in the 6D North Region tourney. The host Patriots lost to the defending champion Oakton Cougars, 1-0, in the Nov. 6 region final.
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 Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots have reached the semifinals of the 6D North Region girls field-hockey tournament.
In order for the Arlington rivals to meet in the championship match on Wednesday (Nov. 6), the high-school teams have to win matches set for Monday (Nov. 4) at 7 p.m. Yorktown (14-3) will host the Madison Warhawks (16-3) and W-L (13-6) will play at the defending champion Oakton Cougars (18-2).
It’s now four straight Liberty District field-hockey tournaments the Yorktown Patriots have won, pretty much all in dominating fashion.
The top-seed Patriots (13-3) won the 2024 high-school championship on their home field with a 3-0 victory over the third-seed Arlington rival Washington-Liberty Generals (12-6) on Friday (Oct. 25).
Familiar Arlington rivals will face off in this season’s Liberty District girls field-hockey tournament-championship match.
In that Friday (Oct. 25) high-school final, the top seed and three-time defending champion Yorktown Patriots (12-3) will host the No. 3 seed Washington-Liberty Generals (13-4) at 7 p.m.
Dominating its competition at times, the Yorktown Patriots finished a fourth straight regular season undefeated against district field-hockey rivals.
Yorktown (11-3 overall) was 6-0 and outscored Liberty District opponents, 26-1 with five shutouts, in play this fall. The Patriots will be the top seed in the seven-team district tournament, a competition they have won three straight times with 2-0 records each year, and have a first-round bye.
In sports that require them, goalies can play a vital role in a team’s success.
That’s certainly been the case for the Bishop O’Connell Knights girls field hockey team this fall.
With 10 victories already in the book this season, and the potential for more, the Washington-Liberty Generals are happy with their start.
Victory No. 10 was a 2-0 triumph over the Herndon Hornets in a recent Liberty District girls high-school field hockey match. That win was a big bounce backfor the Generals and snapped a two-match losing streak after being blanked by the host Bishop O’Connell Knights, 3-0, and nipped by the Fairfax Lions, 2-1.
No matter what happens from this point, the Bishop O’Connell Knights already have achieved a season of firsts.
Through 11 games, the girls high-school field hockey team stands 10-1, with that number of wins being the most in a single season for the private-school squad.