Wildcats Win Field Hockey State Championship

The varsity field hockey team won its third straight state championship with a convincing 5-1 victory over Trinity Academy in the Wisconsin High School Field Hockey Association state finals Saturday night at Kettle Moraine High School. The Wildcats ended their season with a 22-0-3 record.

Kendall Youngblood, sophmore at USM, scored three of the Wildcats’ goals. Her first came with 20:10 left in the first half. On a free start, senior Jenna Seter moved the ball to the right side of the Trinity circle. Seter sent the ball to Youngblood in the center of the circle. Youngblood pulled the ball around a defender and slammed it through the legs of Trinity Academy’s goalie, Olivia Goltermann to make the score 1-0.

Youngblood started the Wildcats’ second scoring play by sending a cross pass into Seter in the middle of the Sentinels’ defense. Instead of shooting as the goalie expected, Seter passed the ball to senior Billie Fritz who slapped it in with 42 seconds left in the half.

At halftime, USM’s coaches Tom Carter and Andrea Burlew urged the Wildcats to continue their fine play, reminding them that the game was not won yet. 

The USM players took their words to heart. They scored two more goals in the first five minutes of the second half to ice the game. Senior Maggie Schroeder stopped a Trinity Academy clearing pass near the Trinity 25-yard line and moved in with the ball in tow. She passed it to senior Sally James on the left side of the circle. James adroitly crossed it to Youngblood who sent a reverse stick sweep past Goltermann at 28:47.

It wasn’t long before the score was 4-0. On a short corner opportunity, James inserted the ball to junior Meredith Jeffers at the top of the circle. Jeffers pulled it away from an on-rushing defender and lined a low shot toward the left post. James was there waiting and she redirected the ball into the net at 25:38.

The Sentinels’ got their lone goal at 10:14 when Madi Matloub fired a hard shot in off an insert pass on a short corner.

The Wildcats’ sewed up their victory and tied it off with a goal at 6:34. James ran the ball toward the net pulling Goltermann toward her. She then slid the ball across the turf to Youngblood who popped it into the open net on the far side for her hat trick.

In the game Goltermann made six saves. USM’s senior goalkeeper Margeaux Hagemann did not make any saves during the game.

Editor's Note: Thomas Geilfuss is the sports information coordinator for USM.