On a cold, windy November day at the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken, Pa., The Hill School (20-1) and Episcopal Academy (17-3-2) found themselves facing off in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Field Hockey Championship game once again.
In 2021, the two teams met for the state title with Episcopal Academy (EA) coming out on top, 3-2. This year, the exact same score appeared on the scoreboard, but instead was in Hill’s favor. The 2022 Field Hockey team now holds the honor of being the first state championship team in Hill School history with their win on November 17, less than two weeks after claiming their fourth consecutive MAPL title.
EA struck first and led the game into the second quarter up 1-0. Riley Savage ’25 tied the game in the second quarter with an assist from Aubrey Turner ‘25 and scored again in the third with Hill now leading 2-1 going into the final 15 minutes. EA answered back with 7:44 remaining in the game making it 2-2.
As the fourth quarter got down into the last minute of the game before overtime would be needed, Opal Sparling ’26 drilled a shot from a corner assisted by Jaedyn Scarlatos ’24 into the EA net with 32.5 seconds left in the game.
“I can't really put into words what I felt during that moment when I scored the game-winning goal,” says Sparling. “I knew when stepping up to the top of the circle, that it was the last chance we had to score before the time ran out.”
“I felt honored to be the one able to score for all the seniors on our team that have done so much in their four years at Hill to get where we are today. I'm just so grateful for the team as a whole and am so happy to be a part of the Hill Field Hockey Family,” Sparling adds.
For more game information, read this PA Prep Live article .
As the buzzer hit 0.0, the team, along with friends and family, stormed the field in celebration. Many emotions surrounded the team and the coaching staff as they were hugging each other with tears of joy.
After photos and videos were taken and the championship win started to sink in, Coach Jennifer Weissbach got the trophy she’s been waiting for – an ice-cold bucket of water poured over her head to commemorate the win and the end of a historic season.
"Winning a PAISAA State Championship has taken years of culture building and hard work and I am so proud that this group was able to win on the biggest stage in high school field hockey," says Coach Weissbach. "We will deeply miss our sixth formers and I am excited to get back to work with our returners and newcomers to help defend our State Title. Now that we’ve won it once, we are hungry for more."
