Yorktown tops Oakton and repeats as Class 6 Va. field hockey champion

The Yorktown Patriots set a firm goal at the start of the season: repeat as state hockey champion.

And the team delivered on Saturday (November 16) in Virginia Beach.

The Patriots (18-4) won the Virginia High School League Class 6 state tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Oakton Cougars in the championship game at Ocean Lakes High School.

It was vindication, as just days earlier Yorktown had lost to Oakton in the 6D North Region tournament title game, just as it had in 2023.

The state crown was Yorktown's third in program history after wins in 2021 and 2023, with a second-place finish in 2022.

“This season we were really determined to win state,” Yorktown senior Paige Baskin said. “After losing to Oakton in the region, we knew we would have a tough route to the state finals.”

In the state final, it was Baskin who took the first shot in the winning sequence that was tapped into the goal by Maddie Nimerala for the game winner with 5:32 to play.

The goal came from a penalty corner situation that started with a pass from Nimerala to Elena Reiser. She passed left to Baskin, who fired a hard shot that hit the goal post. Nimerala stood close to the goal and tapped the ball in for her third goal this fall.

“She was there to get the rebound,” Baskin said.

Then Yorktown's defense withstood a series of Oakton shots on goal in the final two minutes, with goalkeeper Sarah Kinzer sealing the victory. She made three saves in the game.

Oakton took a 1-0 lead on a penalty corner late in the first quarter when Lindsey Calder scored on a shot that deflected off Kinzer. Yorktown tied the game at 1 with 11:20 left in the second quarter when Olivia Stafford scored on a breakaway backhander from the left side during a one-on-one fastbreak rush against the Oakton goalie.

The goal was Stafford's twentieth of the season, with nine assists.

Stafford, Nimerala and Baskin each scored twice in the state final and Reiser (15 goals this season, nine assists) had one. Mairin Almy, who missed the recent action due to injury, was substituted into the match and helped create some scoring opportunities in the build-up to Nimerala's match winner.

Yorktown head coach Olivia Shipley was not at the state finals because she was getting married that day in Florida. She did comment on her team winning a third state crown under her leadership.

“This team has been tested all season with tough matches and has shown their resilience and ability to continue to improve throughout the season,” Shipley told ARLnow. “The seniors are a very special group, with four state finals and three wins. To end their career with this title is incredibly creditable.”

Assistant coach Grace Sensenig led the team in Shipley's absence.

“It was a long and intense week for the team, with a happy ending,” said Sensenig. “This is so great for the seniors to win state again and go out in style. The players were confident they could do this again.”

Sensenig said she made the decision to include Almy in the title match in a maneuver to create more offense. “It was a bold move, but we thought we needed something at the time,” Sensenig said.

Yorktown was 3-0 in the state tournament. The Patriots defeated the host and previously undefeated Stafford Indians1-0, in the first round, then on top Fairfax Lions2-1, in sudden death overtime in the semifinals at Ocean Lakes. Fairfax had defeated Yorktown in the 2022 state finals.

Against Stafford (21-1), Leah Williams scored a fastbreak goal in the second half on an assist from Stafford. Riser made four shots and Stafford two. Kinzer made two saves in goal.

In the semi-final win over Fairfax, Yorktown dominated possession for most of the match. Reiser scored the winning goal on a hard groundball shot from the top of the circle with 3:53 left in the first overtime. The shot came after a pass from Nimerala from a penalty corner.

Yorktown took a 1–0 lead on a goal by Anna Menard on a high shot that bounced off the Fairfax goalkeeper's glove with 4:52 left in the third quarter, with Stafford trying to tip the shot close to the goal . That goal also came from a penalty corner situation.

Fairfax (22-4) tied the score at 1 with just 44 seconds left in regulation time. The loss snapped a 14-game winning streak for Fairfax.

Yorktown's three state tournament games were all on the road. “The trips were fun, but it takes a lot,” Baskin said.

In addition to Stafford, Baskin and Reiser, Yorktown's other seniors were Kiki Friemel, Quincy Greene, Emme Yoder and Kelly Brown. Juniors were Nimerala, Kinzer, Katherine Martin, Reagan Fruzetti, Mary Hardwick, Ellie Cooney and Maren Leonard. Almy, Menard, Eliza Conway and Molly Gill were sophomores. Freshmen were Williams, Brooke Inserra and Ellen Shuckra.

REMARK: Yorktown also defeated Fairfax during the 2024 regular season and in overtime in last year's semifinal.