The Top 50 American scholastic field hockey teams of 2005

This was a very tough Top 50 to compile. As much as we want to ensure that state champions (and, in the case of California, sectional champions) are recognized, there were a lot of very good teams out there that didn't win state championship finals in 2005.

And like last year, there were two instances in which three three teams which defeated each other over the course of the season the season.

As always, to make the compilation of these kinds of surveys easier in the future, it is our hope that school athletic directors and coaches help create challenging non-league schedules. And we would also like to see state sanctioning bodies foster more interstate competition -- if not more competition altogether, given the suffocating scheduling limits in the state of Maryland.

	School	State	Record	Notes
1	Emmaus	PA	28-0	Scored a record 216 goals in winning Class AAA final
2	Palmyra	PA	27-1	Boasted Kelly Fitzpatrick, nation's leading goal-scorer (66)
3	Voorhees Eastern	NJ	22-1-2	In seven Group IV title matches, Vikes have seven shutouts
4	Stafford	VA	24-0	No one else beat three state titlists on three consecutive days
5	Wilmington Tower Hill	DE	17-0-2	Hillers back with a vengeance after losing early in 2004 playoffs
6	Louisville Assumption	KY	25-1-1	Job was easier in finals after beating Sacred Heart in semifinal
7	Severna Park	MD	19-1	As good as advertised; Hayley Rausch is the real deal
8	St. Louis Cor Jesu	MO	17-1-1	Stopped an excellent John Burroughs team for MWAA title
9	Garden City	NY	21-0	Bested good Queensbury and Mameroneck squads in Class A
10	Belfast	ME	18-0	Current win streak is the nation's second longest (33)
11	Ocean City	NJ	23-1-1	Still has not lost a final on the Lions' Stadium turf
12	Dedham	MA	23-1	Was the Herget survivor after Walpole's collapse
13	Kingston Wyoming Seminary	PA	20-1	This young team may be the best in the state for years to come
14	Allentown William Allen	PA	20-6-1	Showed in playoff that it more than just a boy and 10 girls
15	Ambler Wissahickon	PA	21-5	Team comes into 2006 motivated after Allen loss in OT
16	North Caldwell West Essex	NJ	21-2	Did the necessary work to wrest Group II dream from Glassboro
17	Carlsbad La Costa Canyon	CA	23-2	Mavericks earn title after feeling disrespected in seeding
18	Wilmington St. Mark's	DE	16-3-1	Katelyn Falgowski will make major noise in 2006
19	Lake Forest	IL	21-1	Scouts have had excellent record the last few years
20	Virginia Beach Princess Anne	VA	19-4-1	Could not solve Stafford's skill and pace
21	Escondido San Pasqual	CA	23-2	Eagles' best season since Banueloses and Gannons starred
22	Columbus Bishop Watterson	OH	17-3-1	Early corners sealed OHSAA title vs. Kettering Fairmont
23	Plumstead New Egypt	NJ	21-1	Third time the charm for Patti Nicholson's committed crew
24	Lakeville Hotchkiss School	CT	14-1-1	This prep school is on a tear in WNEPSAA play
25	Worcester Notre Dame Academy	MA	20-2-1	Rebels got it together at season's end
26	Lincoln-Sudbury	MA	20-2	Was very fortunate to get into state title match
27	Walpole	MA	21-2	High-flying attack saw defense exposed in state semifinal
28	Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox	VA	20-2-1	Internecine rivalry with P. Anne caught up with Falcons
29	Medford Lakes Shawnee	NJ	19-3-1	Renegades a worthy foe for Eastern in state semifinal match
30	Glassboro	NJ	16-2-4	Gloria Byard's turnaround has many repercussions
31	Watertown Taft School	CT	15-1-2	Earned important late wins in WNEPSAA challenge
32	Richmond St. Catherine's	VA	14-7-1	Don Warner's skilled group won VISL championship
33	Fallbrook Union	CA	19-5-2	Best Cali team not to win a title in 2005
34	Charlotte Country Day School	NC	17-1	Buccaneers won private-school title over Durham Academy
35	Skowhegan	ME	17-1	First Maine team to win five straight state championships
36	Englewood Kent Denver	CO	17-0	Won state final 2-0 over Denver Colorado Academy
37	Chapel Hill	NC	11-1	Lauren Mazziotto turned around team's fortunes
38	Oak Park River Forest	IL	20-5-1	Unafraid of interstate competition, did well in states
39	Durham Academy	NC	17-1	Splendid season came to an end at the hands of Charlotte
40	Mameroneck	NY	18-1-3	Too much Garden City quality in the end
41	Ann Arbor Pioneer	MI	15-0-2	Dominated Grosse Pointe South 3-0 in state championship
42	San Diego Serra	CA	21-5	Deserved better in sectional title match
43	Greenwich Academy	CT	18-2-1	Had done well up until meeting Taft in WNEPSAA semis
44	The Lawrenceville School	NJ	12-4	Won NJISAA title with 2-1 win over Stuart
45	Princeton Stuart Country Day School	NJ	17-1-2	Mercer County champions placed second in NJSIAAs
46	Allentown	NJ	19-1	Undefeated record spoiled in state semifinal vs. Glassboro
47	Alexandria St. Stephen's/St. Agnes	VA	19-2	ISL champions could not get it done in VISL tournament
48	Greenwich	CT	17-1-1	Late steal and score gave Cardinals Class L win
49	Barrington	RI	15-0-3	Quality wins over Tiverton and Lincoln earned Division I title
50	Huntington Beach Marina	CA	21-2-1	Held off Newport Harbor 3-1 in Tournament of Champions

AND BEAR IN MIND: Selinsgrove (Pa.), East Rochester (N.Y.), Queensbury (N.Y.), Spotsylvania Courtland (Va.), South Burlington (Vt.), Berlin (N.H.), Pocomoke City (Md.), Gilroy (Calif.), Stowe (Vt.), Bow (N.H.), Edgewater South River (Md.), Salem (N.H.), Mount Abraham Union (Vt.), East Corinth Central (Maine), Salisbury Parkside (Md.), Branford (Conn.), Putnam Valley (N.Y.), Haddam-Killingworth (Conn.), Warwick Veterans Memorial (R.I.), Fort Worth (Tex.) Country Day School, Archbishop Mitty (Calif.), Lewis Mills (Conn.), St. Francis (Calif.), University School of Milwaukee (Wisc.).