Oak Knoll field hockey Head Coach Ali Good ’95 reached a remarkable career milestone on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, earning her 450th victory as the Royals defeated Verona High School 8-0.

The achievement adds to a remarkable coaching career that has helped establish Oak Knoll as one of the nation’s premier high school field hockey programs. Good, an Oak Knoll alumna who joined the coaching staff more than 25 years ago, has led the Royals to sustained success at the county, state, and national levels.

Good now ranks 18th all-time in New Jersey for career victories and third among active coaches, with a career winning percentage of 90 percent.

Yet for Good, a milestone measured in individual coaching victories has never been about one person.

“When you’re able to achieve something with a group of people that you’ve worked with for a long time, whether it’s that season or it’s built up across many seasons,” she explained, “being able to look to the left and to the right of you and have a group enjoy the same celebration and understand everything that went into it is really something special.”

That team-first philosophy has been a hallmark of Good’s tenure at Oak Knoll.

A member of the Class of 1995, Good began playing field hockey while she was a student in the Lower School and continued throughout Upper School. She credits her experience as a student-athlete with giving her confidence that extended well beyond the field.

“It gave me the ability to believe that I can do what I put my mind to,” she said. “And you can draw that line from sports to real life pretty quickly.”

Although Good did not play field hockey in college, an unexpected opening for an assistant coach eventually brought her back to Oak Knoll. She initially planned to stay for just one season.

“I was more inclined to do it because I played with my sister, Christina, and we both had an amazing experience playing field hockey for Oak Knoll. And my youngest sister, Laura, who was a freshman at the time, was about to embark on the program. I knew more about field hockey than the head coach. And he knew more about coaching than me. I figured we’d make a good team. I told my athletic director, Jerry (Butler), that I would give it a year. Twenty-plus years later, I’m still here.”

During Good’s tenure, Oak Knoll has built a nationally-recognized program and a culture defined as much by connection and shared responsibility as by championships. Good was named New Jersey Coach of the Year in 2017 and National Coach of the Year in 2019, when Oak Knoll was ranked No. 1 in the country. In 2021, she was inducted into Oak Knoll’s Gerald P. Butler Hall of Fame alongside her sister, Christina Sumas ’98. Last year, Good was named MAX Field Hockey’s New Jersey Region Coach of the Year in 2025.

Most recently, the Royals capped a 22-1 season in 2025, ranked No. 1 in New Jersey and No. 4 nationally, capturing their 14th overall state championship, 14th consecutive sectional title, and 16th consecutive Union County Tournament championship.

The program has also become a family affair. Good later coached her younger sister, Laura Sumas-Barry ’03, and eventually her own daughter, Lea Good ’23.

But Good has always viewed the definition of family more broadly.

“There’s no real manual on how to do it; you learn as you go. But all of these players are my family,” she emphasized. “We’ve created a culture at Oak Knoll where everybody is in this together. So, whether you’re family by blood or not, you are family.”

That culture has connected generations of Oak Knoll field hockey players and families, many of whom continue to follow and support the program long after graduation.

For a program accustomed to winning, Good has also emphasized that no single victory, player, or season defines its success.

“We rise and fall as a team.”

That philosophy makes the 450-win milestone particularly fitting: while the victories belong on Good’s coaching record, she sees the achievement as the product of the players, coaches, families, and alumnae who have built the program alongside her.

“We have a great parent support network and a great alumni network. They text and follow us on social media. At the end of the day, to play for this program is something really special. You may leave the program, but the program never leaves you.”