Hopkinton stepping up in Massachusetts as field hockey playoffs get started

The Hopkinton (Mass.) High School field hockey team will not be in position to defend its title. Instead, the Division 2 state champion a year ago jumps to the Division 1 tourney this fall. The undefeated Hillers enter as the No. 2 seed behind only perennial-power Walpole, also undefeated. The state's defending Division 1 champion, Weston, returns as strong as ever. Read more at WickedLocal.

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Kent Denver, Denver East reach title game for Colorado field hockey bragging rights

Colorado's state field hockey championship game will provide a classic matchup: the longtime power against the upstart program. That result was secured on Monday with victories by top-seeded Kent Denver, the dominant team in state field hockey, and Denver East, which had never won a playoff game before this year.

Kent reached the final game by blanking Colorado Academy 2-0, avenging an earlier loss this season. Jessie Burke and Krista D'Allesandro scored for Kent. East won a thriller over Smoky Hill on strokes after two overtimes failed to snap a 2-2 tie. The championship game will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Burt.com Stadium in Parker. Read more in the Denver Post.

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Ann Arbor Pioneer beats rival Huron for fifth straight Michigan field hockey title

Emy Guttman netted two goals as Ann Arbor Pioneer beat cross-town rival Ann Arbor Huron 2-0 to win the Michigan High School Field Hockey Association title on Oct. 31. The win gave Pioneer its 21st championship in program history and fifth in a row. Early on it looked like Huron would be able to dethrone the Pioneers, as the River Rats outshot the four-time defending state champs 11-1 in the first half. But Pioneer goalkeeper Emma Hamstra refused to give in. Read more at MLive.com. Get all tournament results by checking out the state bracket.

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Assumption endures to tip Collegiate on strokes, win Kentucky field hockey title

Assumption field hockey coach Debbie Judd knew there was one thing she could count on from her team: the Rockets' proficiency in penalty strokes. Good thing, because that's what it took for Assumption to beat Collegiate to win the Kentucky state high school championship in field hockey. After the final went to flicks after regulation ended 1-1 and the teams played a scoreless, seven-on-seven, 10-minute overtime period, Assumption prevailed 3-2 in strokes for a 2-1 victory at Bellarmine University on Oct. 29. Read more at the Courier Journal.

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Charlotte Country Day School dodges a bullet in semis, wins state in North Carolina

Charlotte Country Day School, which reached the finals after surviving a semifinals scare, won the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association field hockey tournament on Oct. 31 with a 1-0 win over previously undefeated Charlotte Latin School.

Friday's semifinals saw Latin blank Ravenscroft School 2-0, but Country Day barely got past third-seeded Durham Academy on the other side of the bracket, winning 1-0 on sudden death strokes. Read more about the games and meet the all-state team at CharlotteObserver.com.

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Skowhegan bid for ninth straight title in Maine stopped by Scarborough

The Skowhegan High School field hockey dynasty felt like it lasted forever, and then it was over after Scarborough's Ellie Morin scored in overtime of Saturday's Maine Class A state championship game in Yarmouth to secure a 2-1 win over the Indians. The loss marked the first time since 2000 that Skowhegan did not win the Class A state title. "You never know what it will feel like until you have it, and it's overwhelming," said Scarborough coach Kerry Mariello, whose team has 13 seniors. Read more at the Kennebec Journal.

Gardiner knocked off York 2-0 in Saturday's Maine Class B field hockey state championship game, the first state title for the Tigers since 1987. Naturally, they were given the royal treatment on their way back into Gardiner. "We got back to the interstate in Gardiner, and we were met by a first police cruiser," Gardiner assistant coach Sharon Gallant told the Kennebec Journal. "At the middle school we picked up a second police cruiser and a fire truck from Pittston. We paraded past the high school and downtown." "We were all cheering," Gardiner senior forward Kashley Weymouth said. "It was really fun. I probably won't forget it. I don't think any of us will." Read more at the Kennebec Journal.

Catherina Mountain scored with 2:07 remaining to lift Dexter High to a 1-0 upset of previously-undefeated and defending champion North Yarmouth Academy Saturday in Maine's Class C state championship field hockey game. The win gave Dexter its first state championship since 2003. Read more.

New Trier East beats the elements to win high school field hockey title in Illinois

New Trier East survived the elements over the weekend to claim the championship in the Illinois High School Field Hockey Association state tournament. The Trevians tipped top-seeded Lake Forest 1-0 in the title game on Saturday at Illinois Benedictine University in Lisle. It wasn't easy getting there: New Trier won its semi-final match in a driving rainstorm 1-0 in overtime over Oak Park-River Forest; Lake Forest blanked Glenbard West 2-0 in the other semifinal. Read more about the semifinal game at PioneerLocal.

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Mainland a first-round winner in New Jersey field hockey state tournament

Senior Ashlyn Cook scored her first three goals of the season, helping seventh-seeded Mainland outlast 10th-seeded Williamstown, 6-4, Friday in the opening round of the New Jersey SIAA South Jersey Group 4 field hockey tournament. Learn more about this game and other playoff action at Philly.com.

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Timberlane wins New Hampshire Class L field hockey title in OT

Timberlane (N.H.) High School senior Emily Cannon scored on a reverse sweep Saturday to give the top-seeded Owls a 3-2 victory over third-seeded Pinkerton, earning Timberlane its first New Hampshire Class L field hockey title. Timberlane had tipped Exeter 1-0 to reach the semifinal, while Pinkerton blanked Winnacunnet High School 1-0. Get more details at SeaCoastOnline.

In other New Hampshire action, Oyster River High School had a goal waved off in the second half of the Class I championship game, leaving them on a short end of a 1-0 loss to Hanover, which won its first title since 1988.

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Harwich (Mass.) field hockey coach reaches 600th victory of her 40-year career

Harwich (Mass.) High School field hockey coach Cheryl Poore recorded victory No. 600 on Friday when her Rough Riders edged previously unbeaten Dennis-Yarmouth, 1-0 . Poore, who has seen her fair share of games over 40 years of coaching, was impressed by the game: "In my long history, it's at least in the top five." But it wasn't just about Poore: her team also is well positioned for the division tournament. Find out more at CapeCodOnline.

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