POQUOSON — Buckle up the chinstrap for football or button on a skirt for field hockey?
No Poquoson High athlete ever had to make the choice senior Ashley Groseth did Thursday.
Groseth is a placekicker, the first female ever to play on the Islanders’ varsity football team that hosted New Kent. She’s also a starting center-midfielder on the field hockey team that played at Lakeland in Suffolk.
Although the the field hockey match started earlier, the almost one-hour driving distance between the events meant she had to choose one or the other. She chose her stick over the kicking shoe, per the understanding when she joined the perennially successful football team in need of a kicker that field hockey comes first.
“It’s definitely hard (to choose) but I’ve committed my time to field hockey first and the football coaches have been super-understanding,” said Groseth, who is in her second season playing field hockey as she gives kicking the football a try for the first time. “It’s a hard conflict.
“As much as I want to be kicking for the football team at home, I have to put field hockey first because I’ve played for them and they deserve my time.”
Ashley Groseth makes a field-goal attempt during football practice at Poquoson High School in Poquoson, on Sept. 3, 2025. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)
Groseth experienced plenty of excitement from both on consecutive days last week. On Thursday she made a key pass in sudden-death overtime to teammate Elizabeth Trant, who scored to give the Islanders, ranked No. 9 in the 757Teamz Preseason Field Hockey Top 15, a 2-1 upset victory over No. 4 First Colonial.
“I was so glad to get the ball to Elizabeth, because I knew she’d know what to do,” Groseth said. “That win was super-cool, because it showed we’re closer to being in the top three or five than we are No. 9.”
Following the Islanders’ first touchdown the next night in the 27-6 win over York, Groseth was called on to attempt her first point-after as the Islanders’ kicker. The nerves kicked in as she trotted to the field, but her holder, Islanders’ quarterback Keegan Webb, calmed them.
“He is super-nice to me and always encouraging me and telling me to block everything else out,” she said. “He told me: ‘This is what you’ve worked for. This is what you’ve practiced so many times.’
“So I tried to take it as if I was in practice and not let outside noise or the York line get into my head. My long-snapper (Dominic Galacgac) and holder did their job.
“The guys have been super-supportive of me, and when I made it the helmet slaps and high-fives were unlimited.”
Football and field hockey are the latest sports Groseth has added to her growing list of athletic endeavors. She was primarily a soccer player growing up, and a very good one.
She scored the Islanders’ first goal in the 2-1 Class 2 state championship game victory over Clark County in June. Younger sister Brynn Groseth clinched the Islanders’ first girls soccer state title with a booming tie-breaking goal from 40 yards with two minutes to play.
“Winning that was the coolest experience ever, especially because I did it with my sister,” Groseth said. “I think it was cool for my parents, too.
“My dad said it was the best Father’s Day present ever, that he didn’t need anything else.”
Her dad is Cory Groseth, the star running back for the Islanders’ 1996 and ’97 football teams and a standout on the first Poquoson boys soccer team to reach a state tournament. One of his football coaches was current offensive coordinator Bill Ward, who phoned Cory this summer to ask if either of his daughters was interested in filling the vacant kicking position.
Brynn is the more serious soccer player and the time she spends with her club team makes football prohibitive. Ashley was happy to give it a try and quickly set about learning the nuances of kicking.
“I don’t think my dad thought I’d rehash the whole Poquoson football thing for him,” Ashley Groseth said.
Islanders coach Elliott Duty is glad she has. A penalty forced her to take her second PAT attempt against York five yards farther back, and she missed — barely.
Duty is confident she’ll find consistency, and accuracy, at greater range (37 yards is her limit for now) with practice.
“She’s not going to be outworked,” he said. “Sometimes I have to tell her to slow down, that she’s got to take care of her body.”
Ashley Groseth defends a teammate during a drill in field hockey practice at Poquoson Middle School in Poquoson, on Sept. 3, 2025. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)
Meanwhile, Islanders coach Darcy Chiappazzi is happy field hockey remains a priority for Groseth as the Islanders seek a return trip to the Class 3 state championship game.
“By looking at Ashley, you’d never think this is just her second season,” Chiappazzi said. “She’s athletic, aggressive, is a distributor and play-maker, and is able to boost her teammates up.
“They respect her. She gets it done in the classroom and on the field.”
Lots, including running legs on three indoor track relay teams that combined for 15 points in the Class 2 state meet (her 4×800 relay team was second in the state), leaving less time for her favorite activity — socializing.
An academic standout carrying a 4.4 grade-point average, she admits it can all be as fatiguing as it sounds at times, but she’s happy.
Ashley Groseth at Poquoson Middle School on Sept. 3, 2025. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)
“It’s exciting, but sometimes I sit back and think ‘Oh my goodness, I’m so stressed,’ as I think about school and sports and SATs and college applications,” she said. “Then I just think how I need to step back and take it day by day, because so many people are like `This is a cool experience.’
“So, as much as it is overwhelming, I’m trying to take it slow and really enjoy this, because I have opportunities not a lot of other people do.”
