Wyoming Valley West’s Lily Watchilla, left, and The Hill School’s Haley Wlliott fight for the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wyoming Valley West’s Lily Watchilla, left, attempts to block The Hill School’s Macy Rehak during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wyoming Valley West’s Charlotte Yelen defends the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wyoming Valley West’s Charlotte Yelen hits the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wyoming Valley West’s Valeri Yelen hits the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Hill School’s Sofia Ferri hits the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Hill School’s Haley Elliott takes the ball down the field during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Hill School’s Haley Elliott celebrates with her team after scoring the first goal during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wyoming Valley West’s Charlotte Yelen brings the ball down the field during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Hill School’s (21) and Wyoming Valley West’s Savannah Rafuse Franco fight for the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Wyoming Valley West’s Lily Watchilla, left, and The Hill School’s Haley Wlliott fight for the ball during a field hockey matchup in Kingston on Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
KINGSTON— There’s a reason The Hill School field hockey coach Katherine Bowie tries to get as many Wyoming Valley Conference field hockey teams on her schedule as possibly she can.
Bowie spent two seasons as the head coach at Wilkes and was hired 10 days before COVID came and essentially limited how high school and collegiate sports could be played during the time period. With that in mind, Bowie was a constant on the local field hockey scene, watching games and scouting players.
Now in her second season at The Hill School, she has a team that is ranked No. 1 in the country by Max Field Hockey and boasts a roster filled with five Division I commits. The team’s speed and athleticism was on display Wednesday night at Spartan Stadium as The Hill School picked up a 5-1 victory over Wyoming Valley West.
“I know the area, these are tough girls and there is great hockey,” Bowie said. “I want my girls in front of good hockey before we play national contenders later on the season.”
The Hill School plays a national schedule which has already had it play scrimmages against teams from Connecticut and Virginia. On Aug. 30, The Hill School hosted Wyoming Area in a scrimmage and picked up a 1-0 victory. Wednesday’s game against the Spartans was the team’s first of the season. The Hill School will host Crestwood on Oct. 10.
“For our first game I am proud of the way the girls stuck to it,” Bowie said. “A two-hour bus ride, it’s a grind on the 10th day of school. I love playing teams out of region just to get the different styles.”
With everything to gain and nothing to lose, Wyoming Valley West played some spirited hockey, especially in the second half. The Hill School led, 2-0, at the half after Hailey Elliot and Harper Bruder each scored. Opal Sparling made it 3-0 in the third quarter before Wyoming Valley West’s Paige Yurko scored to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Hill School scored one more goal in the third and added a fourth-quarter goal to provide the final difference.
“It’s an honor to play a team like this,” first-year Wyoming Valley West head coach Lois Krause said. “It gives us a chance to figure out what we need to work on. We can see what our weaknesses and strengths are before we get back to our league schedules. The girls were anxious and excited to play this game.”
The loss dropped Wyoming Valley West to 3-3 overall. It also lost to Oley Valley and Selinsgrove.
“We want teams to challenge us,” Krause said. “We have to play a whole 60 minutes no matter what the score is. We love to play teams like this. We know what we have to fix. We have to look if our formations were right and if our players are in the correct spots.”