When the ball found Sydney Simmons, it quickly found itself in the back of the net.
Simmons scored three goals, each off rebounds while parked in the perfect location, as Westminster defeated Edwardsville 4-0 in the first round of the 2025 State Field Hockey Tournament Wednesday at Lafayette High.
Early in the second quarter, during a frantic frenzy in front of the goal, Simmons calmly gathered the loose ball and her composure to give the Wildcats the lead. Five minutes later, a booming shot from senior Ansley McGowan ricocheted off Edwardsville goalie Lydia Blind’s left pad and onto the stick of Simmons, who quickly smacked it into the cage for her first multi-goal game of the season.
“My stick was down and I just used my hand-eye coordination,” Simmons said.
Simmons was not finished. Midway through the third quarter, she beat the Edwardsville defense to another loose ball to earn her second hat trick of her career and first since a three-goal outburst against Marquette on Sept. 16, 2023. For her career, Simmons has three multi-goal games. Two have come against Edwardsville in the postseason, including a two-goal outing during a 4-3 playoff victory last season.
“I was really excited to play today. I’m just happy to advance further into the playoffs and keep playing,” Simmons said.
No. 15 Westminster (8-11-1), winners of six of its last nine games, will face No. 2 John Burroughs (20-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the round of 16. The Wildcats started the season 2-8-1, but have hit their stride in October.
“We’ve been talking about community and really building each other up rather than playing individually,” said junior captain Caroline Campbell, who assisted on the final Westminster goal. “We’ve stayed positive and we want to help everyone on the team succeed.”
Lafayette 6, United 0
Emily Williams scored four times, including a coast-to-coast, highlight-reel goal to power the Lancers to victory. After assisting on a tip-in goal from junior Norah Martin to open the scoring, Williams made an interception in her own half of the field and motored end-to-end, dribbling through and around defenders before delivering the ball into the cage.
She added three more goals in the second half to increase her season total to 27. Both her goal total and point total (73) are third-best in the STL-area.
No. 10 Lafayette (14-5), which has averaged 6.2 goals per game during its current six-game winning streak, will face No. 7 Kirkwood (7-9) at 9 a.m. Saturday at John Burroughs.
Lindbergh 3, Eureka 2
Elaina Meyer scored the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter to propel the Flyers to a hard-fought victory over Eureka. Lindbergh, which scored at least three goals in a game for the third time this season, also received goals from Kennedy Herbst and Haedyn Siebert.
Anna Mowry and Olivia Wineinger scored for Eureka, which finished the season with a 10-8 record, its best mark in three seasons.
No. 16 Lindbergh (8-10-1) advanced to face No. 1 MICDS (18-4) at 10 a.m. Saturday at MICDS.
Nerinx Hall 6, Parkway Central 0
Celia Mederios scored twice, her team-leading, 17th and 18th goals of the season, to guide a balanced Markers’ attack to victory. Taylor Koenemann, Kate Schuermann, Lydia Schuermann and Harper Searcy also scored for Nerinx Hall, which led 4-0 at halftime.
Mary Claire Lindh made a pair of saves to earn her fifth solo shutout of the season.
No. 9 Nerinx Hall (11-7-1) will face No. 8 Ursuline (10-5) at noon Saturday at MICDS.
Parkway South 3, Pembroke Hill 1
Grace Corbet scored her first two goals of the season to lead No. 21 seeded Patriots to victory over No. 12 Pembroke Hill. Parkway South scored all three of its goals in the fourth quarter, including the team-leading 18th goal from senior Kaitlyn Fenier.
Emily Muchnick made six saves to earn the victory in net.
No. 21 Parkway South (11-8) will face No. 5 Ladue (15-5) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Villa Duchesne.
Marquette 7, Webster Groves 0
Sydney Rubenstein scored twice to lead six different goal scorers, as the Mustangs won a playoff game for the 19th consecutive season.
Emma Vendt and Coco Brassie contributed two assists apiece to help Marquette snap a six-game losing streak. Fofie Holt earned her fourth solo shutout in goal.
No. 13 Marquette (7-11) will face No. 4 St. Joseph’s (14-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Villa Duchesne.
Visitation 2, Oakville 1 in 2OT
Grace Inserra scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to propel the Vivettes into the Sweet 16. Visitation defeated Oakville 5-0 just 12 days earlier, but endured a lockdown defensive effort by the Tigers that allowed only a Hayden Duffy goal through four quarters.
Oakville finished the season with a 6-9-3 record and a playoff victory over Lutheran South on Monday.
No. 11 Visitation (10-8-1) will face No. 6 Summit (17-2-1) at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Villa Duchesne.
Cor Jesu 1, St. Dominic 0
Cor Jesu broke a five-game losing by outlasting St. Dominic 1-0, the second time this season the teams played to that identical score. St. Dominic ends the season with a 5-10 record.
No. 14 Cor Jesu (7-12) will face No. 3 Villa Duchesne (14-4-2) at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Villa Duchesne.
For photo galleries of the field hockey season, including the playoffs, visit: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Field-Hockey/2025-Season