By John Knebels • Posted October 16, 2026

For Cardinal O’Hara’s field hockey players, the frustration is understandable.

So is the optimism.

After years of watching Archbishop Carroll dominate the Philadelphia Catholic League, the Lions believe they are finally positioned to do something that has eluded them since 2019: defeat the Patriots when it matters most.

And if the two rivals meet in the PCL championship Oct. 28 at Neumann University, O’Hara would welcome another opportunity.

“The loss is only going to help us grow,” said O’Hara senior captain Sophia Gosseaux. “I do have confidence that we will meet them again. Carroll is and always has been a good team, but I think our team is coming together.”

Considering Carroll’s recent history, that confidence will be tested.

Since falling in the PCL semifinals in 2015, and excluding the pandemic-canceled 2020 season, the Patriots have reached nine consecutive league championship games, winning six and losing three.

More impressively, Carroll has captured the past five PCL championships, establishing a dynasty that shows no signs of slowing down.

Since suffering a 3-2 regular-season defeat against O’Hara on Oct. 6, 2023, the Patriots have won 31 consecutive league games — 25 during the regular season and six in the postseason.

Their most recent victory, a 4-2 decision at O’Hara on Oct. 7, secured a third consecutive undefeated PCL regular season.

But unlike most of their recent meetings, Carroll had to work considerably harder to defeat its familiar rival.

Before their Oct. 7 showdown, the Patriots had dominated the Lions in four consecutive meetings, outscoring them by a combined 18-2. Those victories included convincing performances in the 2023 (5-1) and 2025 (6-0) PCL championship games, along with regular-season triumphs in 2024 (3-0) and 2025 (4-1).

This time, however, O’Hara twice erased one-goal deficits before Carroll scored twice in the final 10 minutes to escape with the victory.

“I mean, the game was definitely frustrating, obviously from the score and due to the fact we can definitely beat them,” said O’Hara junior captain Kylie Donnelly. “We’ve lost to them my whole time at O’Hara, and this is definitely the year to beat them.

“So next time we play them, we will definitely take out all our anger from this previous game and want to finish the job by beating them.”

The latest encounter offered plenty of reasons for optimism.

After Carroll grabbed a 1-0 lead, O’Hara’s Sammy Hippert tied the score. The Patriots moved ahead again, only to watch Gosseaux respond with another equalizer, making it 2-2.

The score remained tied until Carroll broke through with 10 minutes remaining. Three minutes later, the Patriots added an insurance goal.

For O’Hara, the final seven minutes were particularly disappointing.

“We were all frustrated with ourselves because I think we knew it was a pretty even matchup, and we had that game just as much as they did,” said Gosseaux. “I think we played well the first, second, and third quarters, but by the fourth quarter we started to let go a little bit.

“When we see them again, I think it will be a different story.”

Donnelly agreed that the Lions’ late-game execution contributed to their downfall.

“The fourth quarter we started playing very frantic trying to score, and not making the extra pulls, and passes were definitely not connecting,” said Donnelly. “Once we saw them score again and saw we were down two goals with seven minutes to go, we all put our heads down thinking the game was already over. But we just need to lift each other up in the future and take this game as a learning experience.”

The history between these programs helps explain why another meeting would carry so much significance.

O’Hara captured consecutive PCL championships in 2015 and 2016, including a 1-0 victory over Carroll in the 2016 final. Three years later, the Lions celebrated another championship after defeating the Patriots, 3-2, in overtime.

That 2019 championship represented O’Hara’s third league crown in five seasons.

Since then, however, Carroll has controlled the rivalry.

The Patriots defeated O’Hara in the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025 championship games, with Bonner-Prendergast falling to Carroll in the 2024 final. And since the Lions’ regular-season victory in October 2023, Carroll has defeated them five consecutive times.

Now, with their latest performance suggesting the gap has narrowed, O’Hara’s players believe the remaining obstacle might be as much mental as physical.

“I think it is 100 percent psychological at this point just because of how past years have went,” said Gosseaux. “As a senior captain this year, I enjoy helping my team see that it is possible through our hard work at practice, and team bonding on and off the field.”

Gosseaux is joined by fellow captains Donnelly, junior Tori Paglioti, and senior Phoebe Fagioli.

A multisport athlete who also plays lacrosse, Gosseaux believes her athletic experiences have taught her lessons that extend far beyond wins, losses, and championships.

“I think sports have helped me learn what it means to actively and effectively work with people and pick each other up in hard times,” said Gosseaux. “It also has helped me realize how to be persistent and push myself.”

Donnelly, who also competes in basketball and lacrosse, believes the personnel changes on both sides have contributed to a more competitive rivalry.

“Both teams lost a good amount of seniors, and most of them were all starters,” said Donnelly. “So with that senior class graduating and now with our current teams, it’s almost like a fresh new start, and it’s still pretty even both ways.”

And while Carroll possesses the championship experience and an intimidating winning streak, Donnelly sees little separating the teams when they share the field.

“I do believe we are evenly balanced,” said Donnelly. “It’s just a matter of who is truly showing up that game and who wants it more.”

There is, of course, no guarantee that Carroll and O’Hara will meet again Oct. 28.

But should they advance to another championship showdown, the Lions will arrive carrying both the weight of recent history and the confidence gained from their closest encounter with the Patriots in years.

“Our whole team is excited to play them again to get a second chance and fix what needed to be fixed last game,” said Donnelly.

For Carroll, another championship would extend a dynasty.

For O’Hara, it would mean finally ending one.

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Contact John Knebels by email at jknebels@gmail.com, on ‘X’ @johnknebels, or on Instagram @johnknebels.