IAPS U13 Girls Hockey Champions

The sun graced us with its presence on 17th of March for the tournament at Peponi. The girls had been training morning and evening for the past 9 weeks and it all came down to this one day.

Nerves were running high to start the pool matches, a minor mistake allowed a quick goal to be scored against us by Peponi B, the only goal of the match. After a quick team discussion morale was running high once again and we drew against Banda, 0-0. We then came head to head with the pool leaders Pembroke. The girls supported one another and worked hard as a team to convert two goals against a strong Pembroke side, winning 2-1. Our final pool match was against Hillcrest. The scores for our pool were relatively equal, however, a win in this game would see us finish top of the pool. The girls, positive from their previous win, were prepped and ready for this last match. They managed to score a beautiful goal two minutes before time, finishing the game 1-0.

The semi-finals ran straight away, Braeburn played a strong and determined Kenton side; Braeburn proved equally so. No goals were scored in the allocated times which meant that we ran into 5 minutes ‘Golden Goal’. Tension was running high but a swift ball crossed by Kiana made light contact with Liana to the inside of the back post, resulting in a 1-0 win over Kenton.

After a swift team talk and group cheer, the final began. The weather was on the turn and the hope of securing the title for another year was looming. Standing in Braeburn’s way was Pembroke with their skilful players. Having already won against Pembroke, the girls were quietly confident; however, the crowds gathering to watch from all the schools increased the skill levels and focus further for both teams. With only 1 minute 10 seconds remaining on the clock, the girls caught the Pembroke team with a direct hit into the D, where Marie-Ange was waiting patiently for the ball; turning she made a great connection with the ball, sending it into the bottom left corner of the goal. It proved to be the only score of the game and with the final whistle the girls erupted into celebration.

Braeburn won this tournament by working as a team and supporting each other up and down the field. We are so proud of all of our girls for their consistent morning, lunchtime and after-school training sessions, and the support from our parents! A big thank you to everyone involved, we will always remember this moment!