Top of Her Field: Amy Griffin has spent the better part of a decade winning field hockey championships

Amy Griffin was never a big goal scorer. But the field hockey star could always score the big goal.

As the wind whipped in New Jersey and time winded down in the 2022 NCAA Division III field hockey championship match, a sophomore Griffin and Middlebury College were in a 0-0 deadlock with Johns Hopkins.

With 2 minutes 33 seconds remaining in overtime, the New Trier High School alumna carried the ball down the right side of the field, saw her opportunity and shot her shot. Her big goal delivered a fifth straight national championship to Middlebury.

“The whole feeling on our team was relief,” Griffin said. “We were so excited.”

Griffin’s heroics further cemented her place in the decorated halls of Middlebury field hockey history and her legacy as an all-time great in the sport.

The Wilmette native has lost before, but it’s been a while. For six consecutive years, Griffin reached the pinnacle of her sport. Coming off two state championships as a Trevian (2018-19), Griffin then won four national championships at Middlebury (2021-’24).

And Griffin played a major role in her teams’ successes. She was an All-State and All-America talent while at New Trier and won the prestigious NFHCA National Player of the Year honors in 2023 and 2024.

Back in the day

Growing up in a big sports family, Griffin competed in just about anything she could, including ice hockey, baseball, swimming and soccer.

Field hockey was added to the mix in middle school when one of Griffin’s soccer friends and her older sister started playing the sport. By high school, Griffin had her sights set on playing hockey on ice and turf.

Griffin’s field hockey coaches knew early on that she would be a special player. She was elevated to the JV team her freshman year.

Her JV coach and later an assistant during Griffin’s varsity years, Brittany Romano — who is now the Trevians varsity head coach — was quick to recognize her potential.

“Immediately, her skills, even at that age, were much more developed than any other player of her age and actually probably most players in the program,” Romano said. “So, as a freshman, we moved her up to JV, where she actually probably could have been on the varsity team and probably could have found minutes.”

Griffin’s efforts earned her that promotion to varsity the following year. 

She took advantage of the opportunity, becoming a starting member of the squad. Romano said competing at the highest level was not a problem for Griffin. 

“It was even a big deal for a sophomore to be on varsity,” Romano said. “I remember that transition being fairly seamless for her. That’s pretty difficult to do as a sophomore.”

Griffin went on to play an instrumental role in two state championship victories (2018, 2019) during her last two seasons in high school.

During Griffin’s senior season New Trier had an elite level of talent, earning the Trevians a national ranking.

Griffin was a — if not the — vital piece.

“Even as a junior without the title (of captain), she was already a leader. Her work ethic and how she carried herself made others look to see what she was doing,” Romano said. “Amy was kind of the centerpiece of it all. I think if Amy wasn’t there to connect some of those other big players that we had on the field, I don’t think it looks the same.”

Having also played club field hockey for Windy City, Griffin began thinking about the next level when she was a high school underclassman. From her two siblings’ college experiences, she knew that she wanted to go to a smaller school that, because of her love for snowboarding, was close to mountains.

Hearing that, her club coach Katie Beach recommended Middlebury. Griffin was hooked after one visit.

One thing that influenced her decision was seeing the student-athletes enjoying their time at the school.

“I went to a clinic, and one thing that kind of solidified it for me was that all of the current teams’ players were at the clinic, and they all just seemed like they really wanted to be there,” Griffin said. 

Middlebury coach Katharine DeLorenzo was also interested in Griffin. 

DeLorenzo met Griffin when she was in high school, and by then, Griffin had advanced skills for her age. 

“My first impressions of Amy were simply that the game could grow into something bigger, more interesting, if she were in it,” DeLorenzo said. “She never found it difficult to manage a possession, to manage the ball, and her head was always up. She was observant while skillfully always being able to execute sort of the demands of possession.”

It wasn’t always easy

Griffin’s introduction to the world of collegiate field hockey was unusual — to say the least. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Middlebury did not have a 2020 field hockey season. The team held practice for the players who were on campus, but they had to remain 6 feet apart. As a result, normal activities like scrimmages were mostly out of play.

“It was definitely a hard fall to go into because it was not what any of us expected for our first semester at college, especially for our first season,” Griffin said.

A season off did not slow Griffin down, even though she started playing an unfamiliar position. Griffin took on a defensive screen role at Middlebury and credits her father’s coaching for helping her adjust to and enjoy her new role. 

“He was always someone who really emphasized your vision on the field or on the rink and looking to find the pass that helps the team the most,” Griffin said. “I give him a lot of credit. I’m always looking for the pass.”

That wasn’t the only big change, though. Middlebury changed its formation that season. Every player had to learn the new system together and adapt to each other’s new roles.

The new formation worked in favor of the Panthers, as Griffin and Middlebury won the 2021 national championship to cap off an undefeated (22-0) season. 

The Panthers had no intentions of slowing down. Over the next three seasons, Middlebury won three more national titles, making it four straight during Griffin’s tenure. 

The Wilmette native was crucial to the team’s success. Along with her two NFHCA National Player of the Year awards, Griffin was a two-time NFHCA First-Team All-American and a two-time Division III Honda Athlete of the Year finalist.  

One for the record books

Going into her final season in 2024, Griffin had one more height to reach: Middlebury’s career assists record. 

Before the season, Griffin was told that the mark was in reach. When she broke the record, though, she had no idea it had happened. Her two assists in a victory over Bryn Mawr in November made her the record-holder with a career total of 49 assists.

“I remember coming off the field, and everyone was freaking out, and I didn’t know what it was for,” Griffin said. “I’ve been very fortunate to have different accolades, but I think that’s one that I am really proud of.”

Less than two weeks later, Griffin got to go out on top again, as Middlebury defeated Tufts 2-1 to cement the Wilmette native as a four-time national champion.

In the eyes of DeLorenzo, Griffin has left an indelible mark on Middlebury’s program. 

“It really would remain impossible to, in words, describe Amy’s impact to the growth of our team and the growth of our game, the growth of our style of play,” DeLorenzo said. 

Contributing in such a way means a lot to Griffin. 

“It’s fun to be part of something that is bigger than yourself, and Middlebury field hockey has been such an incredible program for so long,” Griffin said. “Every year it was a different group of girls, and getting to be so close to so many people has been super special.”

Finishing her playing career and graduating with a degree in computer science at the end of January, Griffin is off to Boston. What’s next? A local return is not out of the question.

Griffin has spent some summers helping Romano with New Trier field hockey programs, and the Trevians head coach thinks Griffin has the tools to be a coach. 

“I would love it if she came back and wanted to continue to coach and be on the coaching staff, because, again, she just has a way of how she presents herself and how she talks about the game,” Romano said.

Griffin keeps the possibility in the back of her mind as well.

“It was my high school coach who … always says that I’m gonna find my way back to coaching, so maybe I’ll have that in my future as well,” Griffin said.

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