WATERTOWN, MASS. (WHDH) - Not one, not two, not even 10 or 20, but 33 consecutive shutdown wins by the Watertown girls field hockey team recently set a new national record for games without an opponent scoring.
It took two seasons to get to this place, with a 7-0 win over Melrose last Thursday putting Watertown over the top.
“A credit to last year’s team and this year’s team,” said coach Eileen Donahue. “We work a lot on our defense in practice as well as our offense.”
Coached by Donahue, Watertown has won 65 consecutive games, claiming back-to-back state titles.
The last goal the team allowed was to Andover last September.
“I think it really just shows how much hard work and dedication can do for a program,” said captain Molly Driscoll. “We’re not the most skilled team individually, but the way that we work together really connects us and we’re able to set records like that.’
Watertown’s record-setting run topped a previous shutdown record set by a team in New York in the late 1990s.
The shutout record is also just the latest such record set by the Watertown girls field hockey team. The team additionally holds the US high school record for consecutive wins, with 184 wins in an unbeaten streak spanning nearly a decade from 2008 to 2017.
Watertown has won a total of 20 state championships during Donahue’s 38 seasons as coach.
So, what is it that sets this program apart from the rest?
Team captains credit practice and teamwork.
“All the hard work and dedication and all the hours we put in,” said captain Aislin Devaney. “Saturday mornings, we get up 7 a.m., 6 a.m. to come here and practice and it’s really the repetition, getting the basics down and really just working together as a team.”
As for what’s next, the Watertown girls field hockey team has its sights set on a third straight state championship.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)