On Monday 10 October the U11s travelled to Eastbourne College to compete in the Hockey IAPs tournament. It was an early start, but the traffic still got the better of us, as we arrived at the venue 10 minutes before our first game in the pool stages. The team composed themselves in the time they had to face-off against Bede’s Prep. They battled hard and hit their stride in the second half finishing in a draw, with an equalising goal from Phoebe (1-1).
With no let up, the team went straight into the second game against Rose Hill, taking a 2-0 win. They were impressive in attack and moved the ball as a unit, for Phoebe and Darcey to score. The last game in the pool was against St. Andrew’s Prep, with some end-to-end hockey resulting in a (1-1) draw due to a crucial goal from Martha. Excitingly, this led to a draw at the top of the table with St. Andrew’s and Surbiton High Girls’ Prep all square with 5 points, meaning one thing only…penalties!
Eva, Darcey and Katherine stepped up, and Gigi made some vital saves to go to sudden death. With Katherine slotting the final penalty and Gigi making a heroic save, the team won to finish 1st in their pool and bag a place in the quarter finals.
Another 14 minutes of tantalising hockey was upon us, against Holmewood House. The team started strong with some counter attacks and Gigi saving a couple of crucial shots at goal. Holmewood House won the ball from a counterattack with their defender sending a splitting pass across the pitch. This led to them scoring a well worked goal. The girls came back to win a short corner, which was sadly disallowed as it was not stopped outside. The game ended 1-0 to Holmewood House.
Congratulations to the U11s for winning their pool and reaching the quarter finals. They represented the school with pride and demonstrated courage and compassion for each other. Well done to Phoebe, Isla, Eva, Lauren, Martha, Katherine, Jessica, Florence, Darcey and Gigi.
Categories: Girls' Prep School Sport