By Saylor Milone
Throughout the 2024 High School Field Hockey season, Longstreth Field Hockey will be recognizing a Player of the Week, Powered by Grays, to highlight their noteworthy successes. A Player of the Week can be nominated and/or selected on the basis of achievements and performance in featured games.
To kick off the 2024 campaign, Caitlin Connell is the inaugural Player of the Week! Caitlin, a junior forward and attacking midfielder at Villa Maria Academy, scored her 100th career goal on September 5 in Villa Maria’s third game of the season against Merion Mercy Academy. The Villa Maria Hurricanes went on to win the game 16-0, thanks to 3 first-half goals by Connell and a fourth, number 100, in the final few minutes of play. Entering her third season with the hurricanes, Caitlin needed just 11 goals to reach the 100-goal milestone after scoring 62 times in 2023 and 27 in 2022!
Caitlin states that her “freshman self would be proud” since reaching 100 career goals was a milestone she wanted to achieve when beginning her high school play at Villa. Her focus now is on breaking the school record set by Hannah Miller, who was an NFHCA All-American at Duke, which stands at 120 goals. Like Miller, the Top 10 2026 field hockey player Connell will pursue ACC Field Hockey play as she is committed to the University of Virginia and their field hockey program with coaches Ole Keusgen, Alyssa Parker, and Carrera Lucas. Caitlin credits her teammates for her scoring success, recognizing their skill in playing where there is open space and capitalizing on opportunities to transition to attack quickly.
As a predominant forward with Mayhem Field Hockey and the U.S. Junior National Team, playing midfield occasionally at Villa Maria has allowed Connell to develop her field IQ, including developing an increasing decisiveness between shooting and passing, playing into the middle of the field when open, and speaking with her teammates about ways to lead ahead for space.
Caitlin is the Hurricanes’ Junior Captain, and in her leadership role, she has taken principles like Pack Mentality from her training with team U.S.A to enhance team energy and promote greatness on and off the field, inspired by exceptional captains before her. For Caitlin and the 3-0 Villa Maria field hockey team, ranked #4 in the nation, their goal is to take the season one game at a time as they build off momentum from a 2-1 win over the #3 team in the country, the Academy of Notre Dame, and approach a challenging season ahead.
