Fieldston’s Girls Varsity Field Hockey team made history on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, when they beat Rye Country Day School 3-2 in the NYSAIS championship game.
The game can only be described as “edge-of-your-seat” and “nail-bitingly tense.” It was downright cutthroat.
Fieldston’s team faced an underdog battle. They fought for victory from the moment they stepped on the field, while Rye, defending NYSAIS champions for the last six years, began the game with an air of expectancy and arrogance. Rye’s team did not prepare for Fieldston’s grit and determination, gained from the team’s incomparable season defeating rival Hackley three times and playing four overtime games.
“We played the first quarter and I remember looking at Lily Saal and saying, ‘We can do this,’” said Holly Daykin (Form VI), one of the team’s four captains. “Rye was clearly the better team but we matched their level, and we played as a team. We just knew we had to give it everything we had because if we didn’t we’d regret it.”
The first quarter ended 0-0, largely because captain and team goalie Lily Burnside (Form VI) carried the team’s defense, blocking shot after shot. She maintained a “short-term memory mindset” throughout the game, especially after Rye scored their first goal early in the second quarter.
“I knew in order for us to tie the game we had to forget about the score and continue to fight as if the game was tied,” said Burnside. “[After the goal], I knew as the goalkeeper I had to fight as hard as I could and give our forwards a chance to put us on top.”
Down a goal, the minutes waning in the second quarter, Fieldston’s offense heated up, getting a penalty stroke (similar to a penalty kick in soccer). Captain Lily Saal (Form VI), who returned to playing midway through this season after tearing her ACL last year, whipped the ball into the corner of the net, tying the score.
Saal credits her goal to the time she spent practicing with Burnside. “I don’t know how many of those we’ve done against one another,” said Saal. “As I stepped up to take it, I just pretended I was back at practice against Burnside.”
Even after falling behind 1-2 in the third quarter, Fieldston remained relentless. “I kept waiting for the sophomores on defense or forward or any of the less experienced underclassmen to crack and they just never did! They never gave up,” said Saal.
With only five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Lucia Mastroianni (Form IV) tapped a miracle shot past Rye’s keeper. The student section roared, and breathed a sigh of relief. They were back in. The score balanced 2-2, the buzzer sounded, and overtime began.
Thinking back to her game-saving goal, Mastroianni said, “I was nervous and getting a little upset because I wanted to win for all of our seniors and coaches. I don’t think the other team was expecting us to score in that moment, but I saw the ball and all I was thinking was to score.”
After an hour and a half of back and forth, the game finally came down to shootouts. Ask anyone who was at the game that day, the tension was palpable; you could feel it as the student section stood anxiously arm-in-arm, as did the team.
Burnside stepped up to defend against Rye’s first shot. She made incredible save after incredible save: diving, swatting, nearly flying, to stop the barrage of shots. On Fieldston’s offensive side, Saal and Mastroianni both scored, bringing the score to 2-2.
The final shot came down to Fieldston’s Sophia Thompson (Form V). As she stepped toward the goal, the students, parents, and teachers who made the trek to SUNY Purchase that afternoon collectively held their breath. No one moved.
“Before scoring, I was so nauseous. Anyone who was there at the game could see my face right beforehand, I was petrified,” said Thompson of the moment before her goal. “I went up to the 25-yard line, and stood very still for a moment, and thought about who was there, watching the game at that moment, and smiled.”
Thompson ran forward, and Rye’s goalkeeper dashed to meet her. Pulling right, she smacked the ball into the center of the cage. The moment the ball hit the backboard, Fieldston’s team, fans and family erupted in cheers, storming the field in victory.
Teammates hugged and cried, parents ran looking for their daughters, and Coach Diane Toth and Athletic Director Gus Ornstein shared a hug and incredulous smiles. The field was electric with emotions, from players to parents to friends, exhilaration, exhaustion and disbelief overflowed. “The feeling in that moment was something I wish I could repeat everyday of my life,” described Burnside. As the team lined up and held hands for their ritual “1, 2, 3, down up!” you could see the realization in their eyes: They were NYSAIS champions.
“I believe this win was destined,” said Captain Vera Koontz (Form VI). “My fellow captains and I went into this season knowing we could be winners, and that was exactly how I felt going into that final overtime period. We had made it that far; I knew we were too stubborn to lose at that point. Holly, Lily, Lily and I all share a true love for field hockey which I think was key in bringing about this perfect end to a perfect season with this perfect team.”
