Clinical Collegiate take contest honours
THE Collegiate High U14A hockey team finished off a successful season when they took part in the inaugural DSG U14 tournament in Grahamstown.
The tournament brought together teams from Cape Town, Paarl, George, Port Elizabeth and East London and was set up to mirror an interprovincial format.
The teams were split into two pools, with playoffs, semifinals and a final.
Collegiate were placed in a pool with Springfield, Stellenberg, Framesby U16A and DSG.
The weekend started with a tough game against Springfield, a well-drilled team who counter-attacked effectively.
Collegiate took an early lead after a fine finish from Gemma Phillips, only to be pegged back by a good penalty corner goal.
Collegiate tried their best to storm down the barn door late in the second half but to no avail and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The girls turned it on in the second game, moving the ball around with ease and playing with enjoyment against a Framesby side, who struggled to match the pace of the game. Collegiated ended up winning 10-0.
The second day started with a tough clash against DSG. The sides had met on two occasions this season, with Collegiate winning both games.
With home-ground advantage and a desire to perform at their own tournament, DSG put in a solid performance and, thanks to outstanding goalkeeping, were always in the game.
Collegiate took the lead through a Phillips tap-in on the left post after some superb work from Amy Breetzke.
DSG scored a carbon copy of that goal as the game ended 1-1.
The last pool game saw Collegiate take on Stellenberg, with a win guaranteeing them a spot in that evening’s semifinals.
It was a rather ill-tempered affair and Collegiate did well to hold their nerve against their physical opponents.
A final score of 2-0 meant Collegiate went through to face York in the semis.
In arguably their best game of the year, Collegiate outclassed the plucky George team 6-0.
The girls demonstrated why they had such a successful season, combining skill, pace and a hunger for goals.
They never let York into the game and always kept the pressure on their defenders.
The final day saw Collegiate come up against Springfield again, with both teams having much to play for as they were protecting unbeaten records.
The game took a similar shape to their pool match with Springfield happy to defend and soak up pressure, looking to hit their opponents on the counter.
Collegiate did well to learn from their early tournament mistakes and were clinical and patient.
Phillips proved to be the match-winner with a deflected penalty corner goal for the only score of the match.
Special mention must be made of Jamie Olivier, who was voted the most influential player.