The state field hockey semifinals are moving from a 23-year run at Goucher College to four venues in Anne Arundel and Howard counties starting next fall.

Phyllis Hemmes, director of the state field hockey committee, said the switch was made because field hockey coaches were complaining about the deterioration of the auxiliary fields at Goucher, and Goucher lacrosse coaches were complaining that they lacked access to the fields during the days of the tournament.

The state finals will remain at Goucher and be played on its stadium field with the 2A game on Friday, Nov. 7, and the other three finals on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The change was approved at a state field hockey committee meeting last Wednesday.

Each of the new locations at Wilde Lake, Hammond, Severna Park and Glen Burnie has a Bermuda grass field, a major consideration in making the switch.

"When we started playing at Goucher in 1980, the Baltimore Colts trained there and they maintained the fields to perfection," Hemmes said. "But ever since the college went co-ed in the late 1980s, the fields have taken a beating. Hopefully, the coaches will appreciate the Bermuda fields."

The 4A/3A semifinals will be played at Wilde Lake and Hammond, and the 2A/1A games will be played at Severna Park and Glen Burnie.

One game will be played at each site on Monday, Nov. 3 and Wednesday, Nov. 5. All games will be at 2:45 p.m.

"I'll miss having all the teams at one location," said Fallston coach Alice Puckett. "That way you got to see teams you might not otherwise see."

Coach Lil Shelton of Severna Park, whose teams have won 13 state titles, said she'll miss the tradition of having the semifinals at Goucher, but that she'd have no objection provided the games will be on Bermuda grass.

Kim Ziegler, a returning All-Metro forward from Fallston, said: "Playing on Bermuda grass is a quicker game and brings out the skill talents of the players."