The U11 Mint team travelled to Wellington College to compete in the IAPS qualifiers. The team had their work cut out for them as the pool stage was a very tough draw, playing against other very strong schools.
The first game against Edgeborough was tight. The team had some chances go wide of the goal, as well as forcing the goalkeeper to make some saves. A steady start saw the game end 0-0.
The game against St. George’s was another close encounter, with both teams presented with some opportunities to score. Tilly made an excellent goal line save, reacting to a close-range shot, keeping the score to 0-0.
The final game of the group was against Rowan Prep, where the team turned it on to apply some one-way traffic towards the opposition goal, resulting in a well-deserved 2-1 win. This resulted in the team coming first in their pool, to continue into the cup knockout stage.
The team turned up the heat in the quarter-final with a solid performance, comfortably winning 3-0 against St. Neot’s. Into the semi-finals they went, showing composure and a quiet sense of focused confidence, winning 3-0! The defence teamed up to transfer the ball, with the midfield making some fast-paced runs to the backline, for the forward line to take their chances with the ball.
The final was again a local derby-affair, playing Rowan Prep to decide the area winner. The team hit a stride to play some impressive hockey, moving the ball with flow, fluency, and maturity to win 3-1!
This is a tremendous achievement by the squad, as it is the first time in the School’s history that we have qualified for the National Finals.
A hearty congratulations to Camilla D, Clodagh, Abigail, Mya, Camilla MT, Emily, Lizzie, Tilly, Sofia, and Ellie for qualifying for the National Finals on the 28 November! Good luck!
