Friday September 1 at 9am vans full of Sion field hockey athletes left the circle drive and drove to St. Louis. Field Hockey was competing in the Gateway tournament, the same as every other year.
Field hockey annually attends this tournament, which is held either in Tulsa or Oklahoma; however, Sion hasn’t won the league since 2008.
“We went in expecting to not do so well because the schools out in St. Louis are a lot better than us because they do field hockey year round.” Junior Lily Krumm said.
However, Sion defied their own expectations by winning all their games and becoming the champions of the Gateway Tournament for the first time in 15 years.
“Our coaches haven’t won since their first year working at Sion, so it was cool for us to experience that with them,” Krumm said.
After driving to St. Louis Sion played their first game Friday evening and won 2-0 against St. Dominic High School. To celebrate their victory the team went to Busch Stadium and watched a Cardinals game together.
The next morning, Sion played two more games. The first game came close, ending 3-2 with a Sion victory against Antioch High School. The second game was an intense match under the sun’s afternoon heat. The stakes were high but Sion pulled through and beat Lindbergh 3-1.
After winning all three of the tournament games, they were crowned champions of the Gateway Tournament.
“In the moment, it did not feel real to win the championship, but I was really proud of everyone, and everyone did so well, ” Krumm said. “We put all our effort into it, and it was really exciting to see our seniors win it because I think they deserved it the most.
Seniors Grace Kiewet, Ellie Henson, Jane Lehmann, and Piper Riffe have been playing field hockey since their freshman year. Unfortunately, Riffe, who played goalie, injured her ankle before the tournament forcing the team to put in new goalies at the last second.
“Having newer goalies added more pressure onto the defense,” defender Krumm said. “But both the goalies did really well, and we all kept it pretty shut down in the back.
Although winning the Gateway Tournament does not affect any season rankings, it shows that Sion field hockey is a fierce opponent. Pembroke and Sion field hockey share a rivalry as they are the only two teams within the greater Kansas City area.
“I hope we come out and destroy Pembroke this season. They won their division in the tournament, so we will see what happens, Krumm said. “I hope we get better as a team throughout the season and demolish Pembroke.
