John Burroughs uses penalty corner prowess to defeat St. Joseph’s in state championship game

MARYLAND HEIGHTS – The John Burroughs field hockey team has a motto affectionately referred to as “FEO WEO.”

It means, ‘For Each Other, With Each Other’ and serves as a guiding principle to always work as a team and relish the success of teammates.  

That tenet was exemplified Saturday as the Bombers scored three consecutive goals off penalty corners and soared to a 5-0 victory over St. Joseph’s to win the Missouri State Field Hockey Tournament championship at Sport Port in Maryland Heights.

John Burroughs (24-1), which played in its fourth consecutive state title game, won its second championship in the last three seasons.

“I have immense gratitude for the coaching team, the parent community and for these girls who feel like daughters to me,” John Burroughs coach Carrie Chapman said. “To have this front row seat to such a special time in life is something I will never forget.”

A massive crowd poured into Sport Port to watch the state final, much like the huge crowd the Bombers encountered playing at rival MICDS, the site of their only loss on Sept. 27.

“Our main obstacle was letting our nerves and our energy get the best of us,” Chapman said. “That’s what we focused on since the MICDS loss. We can’t let emotion get in the way of our ability to execute what we do so well together.”

St. Joseph’s (17-3) began the state championship game still beaming from a penalty shootout win over No. 1 seed MICDS two days earlier. Strong midfield play by seniors Maddie Croghan and Lylah Kaminski helped tilt the field in the Angels’ favor early.

“They came out hard and that could have put us on our heels,” Chapman said. “We had to stay together and stay calm with the pressure they were putting on.”

Late in the first quarter, a strong advance into the circle by John Burroughs senior defender Lilly Tourville earned the first penalty corner opportunity for the Bombers, and set the stage for the Lila Merlin-Sophie Buchowski connection.

Merlin provided the insert to the closest player to her, Buchowski, who ripped a perfectly-placed shot along the water turf. It avoided sticks and shoes and snuck inside the far post to give Burroughs a 1-0 lead.

“Coming into it, we knew this was our last game together no matter what, and getting the first goal helped us calm ourselves, settle down and just play our game,” senior captain Kate Logsdon said.

Early in the second quarter, John Burroughs earned another corner. Again, Merlin inserted to Buchowski, but this time her shot hit the stick of a St. Joseph’s defender and came to rest in the circle.

In one motion, Merlin turned and rocketed it into the cage for a 2-0 lead.

“It hit off the flyer’s stick and it was loose in front. Right place, right time,” said Merlin, who scored the overtime game-winner in a 2-1 win over Villa Duchesne in the state semifinal.

John Burroughs earned another penalty corner opportunity two minutes later, and for the third consecutive time, Merlin directed her insert to Buchowski.

“We were saying, ‘If it works, it works,’” Merlin said.

This time Buchowski faked a shot and sent a pass back to Merlin, who delivered a slick backhand into the cage to give the Bombers three goals in a five-minute span, all from penalty corners, and a commanding 3-0 lead.

“It’s hard to defend their corners,” Aubel said. “The first quarter I thought we were going to do alright, but once they got that (first) goal, it was hard to break that barrier and stay in it.”

Merlin and Buchowski alternate who inserts the ball depending on which penalty corner play is called. The corner insertion has become an art form they have worked together to master.  

“Something really lovely about our relationship is that we know how to flow together, so if she has a bad insert then I go,” Buchowski said. “We’re really there to support each other.”

Each penalty corner looked like the same Merlin-to-Buchowski play, but Chapman explained that they were actually different.

“There was a switch-up. We went to Sophie on the first one and she went far post. The second one we went to Sophie and she went near post, so we actually did different corners. It just didn’t look like that to the outside observer,” Chapman said.

Even the untrained eye could see that John Burroughs had seized control of the game. Moments later, senior Katy Chapman received a pass from Rylee Belle McGowan, entered the circle and blasted a reverse shot into the cage to give the Bombers a 4-0 lead at halftime.

The explosive second quarter was a showcase of the Bombers’ team-centric philosophy, and in terms of execution on a championship stage, may have been the most impressive quarter they played all season.

“It’s up there, for sure,” Merlin said. “Everyone was connecting really well. It was great, team field hockey.”

The team aspect for John Burroughs continued to shine in the third quarter. A beautiful, tic-tac-toe passing play went from Finnley Desloge to Kate Logsdon and across the circle to Reese Rafferty, who blasted a one-timer into the cage to give the Bombers a five-goal lead.

The St. Joseph’s season was defined by overcoming obstacles and never giving up, and the Angels demonstrated that again in the second half.

Blistering reverse shots from freshman Ellie Oster and junior Mia Ryan required excellent pad saves from John Burroughs junior goalie Tessa Zwicker. The Angels earned three penalty corners in the third quarter and forced the defensive corner unit of Chapman, Logsdon, Desloge and Buchowski to work in harmony to keep the ball out of the cage.  

“I’m so proud of them,” Aubel said of the Angels. “With this group of seniors, we didn’t want to end our season a minute early. We wanted to make it until the bitter end, and we did.”

And the individual skill, team depth, and the desire to play both ‘for each other’ and ‘with each other,’ placed a state championship trophy in the hands of the Bombers.

“I think this game really encapsulates our ‘FEO WEO’ motto,” Buchowski said. “Every pass we sent for each other, every shot we took for each other.”

She added, “We’ve been working together since the July heat. Every practice, every game, we built our love and friendship for each other, and it feels great to connect all the pieces.”  

For a photo gallery of the state championship game, click on this link:

https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Field-Hockey/2025-Season/State-Championship-John-Burroughs-vs-St-Joes

News and Notes:

Prior to the game the following awards were announced: