It's a Wrap! Field Hockey-NCAA Divisions I, II, & III
Playing On Sports covers two states. Field Hockey is almost entirely in the Eastern most city. Until they Play On. They then play coast to coast and do things like be named an All-American.
What is Playing On Sports?
Playing On Sports covers the graduates of 1,000 high schools located in Kansas and Missouri who compete in 11 sports in any of the 1,100 NCAA Division I, II, or III colleges and universities.
Our best athletes go on to play the sport they love in college. It is impossible to keep track of them because our lives are busy. And then there is the Transfer Portal. Contact is lost. Until now. Playing on Sports is the only publication that delivers so much information on so many athletes as they compete at the next level. No longer are they “Out of sight, out of mind”.
Every athlete is identified by their name, sport, position, class, high school, college, and collegiate conference.
If the collegiate accomplishments of your favorite high school athletes interest you, then get your free subscription now:
This Series
This is the first of Playing On Sports’ “It’s a Wrap” series. For each covered sport, we not only list every material statistics for every athlete, we also highlight those athletes who achieve certain predetermined criteria. Here are the upcoming editions and the number of total athletes contained in each article:
Field Hockey - All Three Divisions - 67 Athletes
Football - Division I - 590 Athletes
Football - Division II - 941 Athletes
Football - Division III - 218 Athletes
Women’s Volleyball - Division I - 176 Athletes
Women’s Volleyball - Division II - 265 Athletes
Women’s Volleyball - Division III - 116 Athletes
Men’s Soccer - Division I - 107 Athletes
Men’s Soccer - Division II - 217 Athletes
Men’s Soccer - Division III - 156 Athletes
Women’s Soccer - Division I - 299 Athletes
Women’s Soccer - Division II - 361 Athletes
Women’s Soccer - Division III - 128 Athletes
These articles contain season detailing information on 3,641 athletes. Centralized information you can’t find anywhere else. Easily read spreadsheets and photos along with expansive highlighting of season-long achievements. Why 13 separate articles and 14 spreadsheets? So that you can absorb the enormity of their accomplishments.
A Historical Note
Field Hockey is new to most Playing On Sports readers. I was introduced to the sport when our sons enrolled at a school in Kansas City, one of two schools outside of metro St. Louis to offer the sport. But the sport is not new. There were activities in ancient Egypt, Persia, and Greece that resembled Field Hockey. The first formal club was formed in 1849 London. To this day, unlike in America, the sport is dominated by men’s teams in Europe. I don’t know when Field Hockey was introduced to American high schools. In the Kansas City area, inter school competition can be found about a quarter century before Title IX. The earliest Field Hockey I could find in Kansas City goes back to 1918 at Central High School. Those competing in college today have a special kinship with the pioneering ladies of 1918. All of those ladies lost significant competition time to a pandemic.
And Now for the Field Hockey Finale
Relatively few in numbers, but long in accomplishments. That is the best way to sum up the local talent competing collegiately in Field Hockey. All three divisions are combined for this article because of the small number of athletes. There are barely 30 schools in this area that offer Field Hockey as a sport. And only two of those are outside of metro St. Louis. But these ladies go coast to coast to compete in all three divisions.
But, do these ladies truly compete in this East Coast dominated sport? Well, there are three NCAA national team champions, right? Two of those teams have local talent on their roster. Grace Pottebaum (John Burroughs/North Carolina) in Division I and Ellie Hughes (Pembroke Hill/Middlebury College) in Division III, are both national champions. And not just this year. In their combined five years of collegiate competition, they have five national championships. Taken together, those two athletes are collectively 104 and 4 in there careers. I also mentioned a first team, Division I All-American. That would be Mia Duchars (MICDS/Louisville). From her Midfielder position, she covered the entire field. While she was earning Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the year honors, she was also named twice as the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. Grace Lock (Webster Groves/Denison Univ.) was named first team North Coach Athletic Conference and was her conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
I could go on about conference honors earned. But, you don’t have to take my description of these ladies. I will refer you to the one person who most likely knows more about these ladies and their field hockey play than anyone else. Their college coach. I asked some of the coaches for their thoughts about these athletes. You will read what they had to say.
The athletes highlighted achieved one or more of the following:
All conference season honor
All conference weekly honor
National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Region Team selection
NFHCA All-American Team selection
Top 5 conference finish in a selected statistic
Top 10 NCAA finish in a selected statistic
The Spreadsheets
Don’t miss the spreadsheet attached at the end which contains eight biographical details along with 14 statistics for the position players and 12 statistics for the goalies.
Mia Duchars - Senior- Midfielder - MICDS - University of Louisville - Atlantic Coast Conference
First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference
Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Conference Defensive Player of the Week-Two Times
First Team NFHCA Division I All-West Region
Second Team NFHCA Division I All-American
“Mia was an integral part of our defensive, midfield, and penalty corner units this year. Our defensive unit was one of the best in the country, our midfield group had depth, speed, and was impressive in transitional play and Mia was one of the best penalty corner first runners in the country. Mia has shown a lot of growth and maturity throughout the 2023 season. Her hockey IQ has enabled her to excel in her senior season and has become well respected amongst her teammates and within the ACC. I am thrilled that she will be returning to the Cardinals for her fifth and final season.”
Justine Sowry
Field Hockey Head Coach
University of Louisville
Taylor Etling - Senior - Midfielder - Cor Jesu Academy - University of Indiana - Big Ten Conference
Conference Sportsmanship Award
Mia Fields - Senior - Defender - Nerinx Hall - Bucknell University - Patriot League
Conference Weekly Honorable Mention-Two Times
Maeve Fogarty - Sophomore - Attack - Visitation Academy - University of Rochester - Liberty League
Conference Offensive Performer of the Week
Conference Weekly Honor Roll-Two Times
Conference No. 4 Shots Taken per Game - 3.76
Conference No. 3 Shots on Goal per Game - 2.38
Conference No. 4 Goals Scored per Game - .619
Conference No. 5 Assists per Game - .333
Conference No. 2 Points per Game - 1.57
First Team NFHCA Division III All-Region III
First Team NFHCA Division III All-American
Grace Lock - Senior - Defender - Webster Groves - Denison University - North Coast Athletic Conference
First Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference
North Coast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year
First Team NFHCA Division III All-Region VI
“I have been fortunate to have coached some amazing athletes during my tenure at Denison, and I would put Grace among the short list of the best athletes I have had the pleasure of coaching. Grace’s relentless competitive spirit, athletic IQ, versatility, and execution of skills, paired with a work ethic and passion for the game has made her an integral part of the team’s success”
P.J. Soteriades
Head Field Hockey Coach
Denison University
Abby Long - Senior - Goalkeeper - Pembroke Hill - Washington and Lee University - Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Conference No. 2 Goals Against Average - .947
“Abby was a tremendous leader for us this year and was a great teammate who made those around her better. Our program benefitted from Abby being the last line of defense the past two seasons. We will miss her energy and presence on and off the field.”
Gina Wills
Head Field Hockey Coach
Washington and Lee University
Kate Oliver - Sophomore - Forward - MICDS - Harvard University - Ivy League
Honorable Mention All-Ivy League
“Kate has been instrumental for us this season. Her tenacity and work ethic on pressing has been a key aspect of our attacking success. Kate can bank on a tremendous amount of skills and speed and when she follows her intuition she is a constant threat on our attacking line. She scored goals in key games but has been setting up opportunities and getting corners for us all season. She is a phenomenal athlete and has the drive and talent to be amongst the top forwards in the country and we are excited to have her as part of our attacking unit for the coming years.”
Tjerk van Herwaarden
Head Field Hockey Coach
Harvard University
Kate Smith - Junior - Defender - John Burroughs - Amherst College - New England Small College Athletic Conference
Second Team All-New England Small College Athletic Conference
Second Team NFHCA Division III All-Region II
Luanna Summer - Senior - Goalkeeper - John Burroughs - Yale University - Ivy League
Ivy League All-Academic Team
Conference No. 5 Shutouts per Game - .125
Conference No. 5 Saves per Game - 4.94
“Luanna has been an incredible asset to our program. She is competitive, driven, resilient, and loves the process. Her work ethic and passion have rightfully made her a valued member of our team. She’s respected by her teammates, coaches, and peers. We are grateful for Luanna’s commitment to the program and excited to see all the wonderful things that lie ahead of her!”
Melissa Gonzales
Head Field Hockey Coach
Yale University
Taryn Tkachuk - Junior - Forward - Villa Duchesne - University of Virginia - Atlantic Coast Conference
Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference
Conference Offensive Player of the Week-Two Times
Sophia Vandeloecht - Senior - Midfielder - Lutheran South - Concordia University-Wisconsin - Southern Athletic Association
Second Team All-Southern Athletic Association
“Sophia had a great four year field hockey career at CUW. She positively impacted our program with her work ethic, tenacity, and skill, which showed true in her SAA All-Conference award this Fall. Off the field, Sophia continued to represent CUW Field Hockey well by excelling in the Accelerated Occupational Therapy program and organizing various service events for our team, such as Operation Christmas Child. She will be a four year honoree of the NFHCA All-Academic Squad as well. We are grateful for all of the ways Sophia influenced our team on and off the field at CUW.”
Samantha Schoessow
Head Field Hockey Coach
Concordia University-Wisconsin
Here is the spreadsheet with 14 statistics for each of the 61 position players, in order of minutes played:
Here is the spreadsheet with 12 statistics for each of the 6 goalkeepers, in order of minutes played:
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