YORKTOWN — For Wendy Wilson, high school field hockey is very much about “the end game,” the state championship, a prize her Tabb Tigers have won 11 times in her 19 seasons as head coach.
That’s pretty much made the Tigers’ current winning streak off limits as a topic of discussion, let alone motivational fuel for her players. But the elephant in the room has gotten too big to ignore, as the Tigers will win their 100th consecutive game should they beat Smithfield on Thursday at home.
One-hundred straight anything is an exceedingly rare feat in Virginia High School League annals.
The VHSL Record Book lists a girls tennis team (J.J. Kelly) with 128 consecutive wins, a (Centerville) wrestler with 126 and a boys basketball team (Booker T. Washington of Suffolk) from the former Black schools (VIA) league with 101. Not listed are the 100 consecutive home victories the Newport News High basketball program achieved ending in 1966.
So, following the 8-0 win at No. 14 Grafton on Tuesday, Wilson and two of her top players reflected on the virtual certainty the Tigers, 9-0 and No. 1 in the latest 757Teamz Top 15, will join the triple-digit club with a win against Smithfield (2-5).
“We just come out here and play for each other, so I think that’s the big milestone and why it’s going to be so emotional on Thursday for us,” said senior Kira Trader, a Penn State recruit and the reigning All-Tidewater Field Hockey Player of the Year after tallying 32 goals and 35 assists as a junior.
Parker Siegel, a senior who will play next year at Washington & Lee, said, “It means a lot. It shows a lot about our team and our family that we’ve built and worked toward.
“Being here all four years (on the varsity with Trader) it means a lot for us.”
Wilson labels the accomplishment as “definitely amazing, almost surreal.” One reason she was shy to talk about it to start the season is she wasn’t sure it could happen.
“We lost five starters, almost half of the starting lineup, from last year’s team, including Mika,” she said, referring to Mika Hilburger, who graduated with the program’s career goals record and plays at JMU after scoring 49 a year ago. “When we started off in a tough tournament in Northern Virginia we just didn’t know if it was possible.
“Those larger schools exposed our weaknesses and, after that, we changed our lineup and moved some girls into different positions.”
But, even as they were learning, the Tigers rolled through the field, beating VISAA Division I state runnerup Bishop O’Connell 5-2, Class 6 Colonial Forge 7-1 and Class 6 state quarterfinalist Woodson 6-0.
‘The more the girls played together and the more they worked hard together, they realized they had the same work ethic and the same drive as our past teams,” said Wilson, whose Tigers have won four consecutive Class 3 state titles. “In the past we’ve had players who could put the team on their backs, sometimes, but these girls are utilizing their teammates to work together as a cohesive unit forward and back.”
Tabb’s Wendy Wilson has 11 state titles in her 19 seasons as head coach. Her team this season is 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the latest 757Teamz Top 15. (Kendall Warner/Staff)
Trader is the star, “just an amazing overall player with an understanding of the game that allows her to play offense or defense,” Wilson says. Because Tabb’s games are often one-sided, Wilson says she will occasionally “restrict” Trader from scoring.
“Then she will try to find a first-year player or new (varsity) player and do whatever she can to help her score,” Wilson said. “That’s what excites me because it shows what a true teammate she is.”
Siegel has moved into Hilburger’s role in the attack with a growing confidence that impresses Wilson. Kaila Trader, a sophomore, has teamed with sister Kira to give the Tigers a formidable duo in the middle. Camden Torry and Megan Way anchor a defense that has not allowed a goal the past six games, while Erika Lombardo has proven capable of playing multiple positions.
It is a team, despite Wilson’s preseason cautiousness, capable of winning a fifth consecutive state title — the one milestone the Tigers’ coach has yet to achieve. So, after No. 100 in a row, the Tigers will prepare for the “end game” with tough regular-season games against surging York, Class 4 state semifinalist Gloucester and Class 5 defending state champ Nansemond River.
“It would be amazing,” Siegel said of a fifth straight state title. “It would be very cool and I’d be very excited.”
Kira Trader said, “Most people can’t say they won one state championship. For us to say we won four straight and the program won five straight is surreal.”
Wilson said, “For these girls to pick up a fifth, every year it gets harder and harder. The bulls-eye on our back gets bigger, the pressure gets bigger and the girls you lose feel bigger.
“But these girls are just fighters, so I hope we stay healthy and they can keep working together. No. 5 is definitely what we’re working for.”
Tabb’s Kira Trader (16) travels with the ball during a game against Grafton at Grafton High School in Yorktown on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot)
