Paarl Gimnasium crowned Girls Challenge champion
Paarl Gimnasium held their nerve to beat Herschel 3-2 in a penalty shootout to lift the inaugural Belgotex Sport Girls Hockey Challenge trophy on home ground, on Saturday evening.
Paarl Gim also received the Girls Challenge Trophy, which goes to the top-performing school across all three age groups: u19, u16, and u14. Paarl Gim won the u16 cup, while Affies finished first in the u14 competition.
The tournament was billed as a new chapter in schoolgirl hockey and it lived up to expectations with thrilling encounters over three days of intense competition.
Naturally, with the hosts performing superbly, the local crowd thoroughly enjoyed themselves, too.
In the final, the stakes weighed down on the shoulders of both teams and a cagey first few minutes unfolded. Gim was the first to respond, though, and they seized the initiative and went on the offensive.
Herschel, though, had been sound in defence throughout the tournament, conceding only one goal on their path to the final, and they showed why when Paarl Gim attacked. The Cape Town school maintained a solid defensive structure to keep the hosts at bay.
When the home team’s forwards beat the defenders, they were met by the immovable titan that is goalkeeper Hailey Lewis. She pulled off multiple saves to stave off Paarl Gim’s attacking forays.
Twice, coach Danelle van Zyl’s girls came close to breaking the deadlock, beating both the Herschel defence and goalkeeper, but both shots were only millimetres wide of the mark.
Herschel had their moments in attack in the first two chukkas, but they didn’t produce anything to write home about.
After the halftime break, Paarl Gim upped their intensity. However, as had been the case in the first two chukkas, their excursions into the Herschel half were met by an organised defence. Herschel got behind the ball, setting up a tight wall, which also affected their ability to counter when they turned over possession.
The game opened up more in the final chukka and Herschel made more runs into the Paarl Gim half, creating some chances. Meanwhile, Hailey Lewis kept denying the home team’s efforts and the match finished 0-0 after regulation time. It would be settled by penalties.
Sarah Ashbolt stepped up to take the first one for Herschel and she didn’t make a mistake, beating Karli van Deventer, the Paarl Gim keeper, to put the visitors ahead. Herschel thought they were in business when Hailey Lewis denied Joné de Winnaar a goal from Paarl Gim’s first attempt.
However, Herschel offered the hosts a way back into the shootout when their second effort exceeded the eight-second time limit.
Minke Botha converted her penalty to level the scores at 1-1. Another Herschel miss and the advantage tilted Paarl Gim’s way.
Alanda Rademeyer took on the responsibility of the third attempt for the home team. With six goals to her name, she was the leading goal-scorer in the tournament and she demonstrated her goal-scoring chops once more by converting her chance to put Gim 2-1 up.
When their next effort missed the mark, Herschel’s players, coaching staff, and supporters watched the title slipping from their hands. They needed Paarl Gim to miss their fourth attempt. The hosts didn’t and the title was theirs.
Still, the umpires decreed that the last two penalties be taken. Herschel converted and Paarl Gim missed theirs and it ended 3-2 to the home side.
It might have finished goalless in regulation time, but the final was far from a snooze-fest. There were moments of brilliance and superb skills from both teams, which underlined why they had made it through to the title-deciding contest.
Oranje, who finished in ninth place, took home the Plate, while Durbanville claimed the Bowl.
RESULTS
U19 Final
Paarl Gim (3) 0-0 (2) Herschel
U16 Final
Paarl Gim 3-0 Rhenish
U14 Final
Affies 3-2 Rhenish
U19
3rd/4th: Pearson 2-1 St Mary’s DSG Kloof
5th/6th: Collegiate (4) 1-1 (3) Waterkloof
7th/8th: Durban Girls College (4) 1-1 (1) Rustenburg
9th/10th: Oranje (3) 1-1 (1) Stellenberg
11th/12th: St Mary’s Waverley 1-0 Reddam Constantia
13th/14th: St Cyprian’s 1-0 Garsfontein
15th/16th: Fairmont 2-0 Springfield
17th/18th: Durbanville 2-1 Somerset College
19th/20th: St Stithians 6-0 Cornwall Hill
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