How Long Can Hockaday Remain at the Pinnacle of Girls Lacrosse in Texas?

As the Hockaday lacrosse dynasty has continued to build, each trophy has led to increased expectations.

This spring, the Daisies are aiming for their fourth consecutive Texas Girls High School Lacrosse League state championship and their third straight SPC title. But they know the margin for error is slimmer than ever.

“We have high expectations to continue to be on top,” said Hockaday head coach Molly Ford Hutchinson. “But everybody wants to take the top down. The girls have done a good job of making sure we’re prepared for that.”

Hockaday capped an unbeaten season last year with a victory over Austin St. Michael’s in the TGHSLL title game in Coppell. The Daisies haven’t lost a game in Texas since 2021.

This year, they elected to play a more challenging nondistrict schedule that included five out-of-state opponents over two separate weekends of travel — one to San Francisco and another to Atlanta.

That handed the Daisies four losses, more than they’ve had in the past three seasons combined. But it also provided valuable lessons that Hockaday hopes will yield success in the playoffs.

“Our goal was to get the girls some big competition and learn a lot from that competition,” Hutchinson said. “We’ve really pushed this team to their limits. We’re not taking anything for granted.”

In her eighth season since coming to Hockaday from lacrosse hotbed Maryland, Hutchinson has built the Daisies into a perennial powerhouse. However, she’s quick to credit her players and a youth feeder program led by local select coach Pat Gum, who’s had four daughters play at Hockaday.

“The biggest thing is to continue that mental toughness and make sure we’re pushing and working harder every day in practice,” Hutchinson said. “We’re always in a battle no matter who we are playing.”

The team’s leading goal scorer this season is junior Sunnie Wang, who missed last year with a knee injury. Mae Flanagan, a junior who is verbally committed to Stanford, also has been a top contributor.

But this season’s quest for a fourth consecutive championship is especially meaningful for three seniors — Taylor Hua, Riley Damonte, and Caroline Warlick — who have been with the varsity program since their freshman year, and thus on the field for all three championships.

“They don’t want to end their winning streak. They’re very motivated by that,” Hutchinson said. “They’ve been in it with us since the beginning.”