Somerset College edges St Mary’s to claim Challengers’ Cup
Somerset College was regarded as one of the favourites leading into the Challengers’ Cup, and they lived up to those expectations by winning their way through to the final, where they beat St Mary’s Waverley 2-1 at La Rochelle Girls’ High on Saturday in Paarl.
The Western Cape side was made to sweat for their win but goals from Evi Benson, and Ashley Hingeston, scored at crucial moments of the game, sealed the win for coach Kyran Fortuin’s side.
Relive the action on SuperSport Schools
Somerset College started the tournament in Pool B, drawn alongside St Mary’s, Pearson High, DSG Makhanda, Paarl Girls’ High, and Fairmont. After the pool matches had been completed, they found themselves in second place behind coach Cindy Brown’s St Mary’s side.
In pool action, Somerset recorded wins over DSG, Fairmont, and Paarl Girls’ High. They suffered a shock 2-3 defeat at the hands of Pearson, before playing out a 1-1 draw with St Mary’s.
Their second-place finish earned them a semi-final showdown with Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (Affies).
Affies were unbeaten heading into the final four game, and they had been in rich goal scoring form. Somerset, though, shut Affies out and pulled off a 2-0 win, with Caroline Morris and Siena Kontopirakis striking for the Belgotex Easter Festival champions.
In the final, Somerset College came up against a St Mary’s side that was, justifiably, brimming with confidence after winning all of their matches up until the title-decider.
Coach Fortuin’s team made an ideal start, however, with Evi Benson, after finding herself unmarked in the circle early in the first half, directing the ball into the back of the net.
At half-time, Somerset led 1-0.
In the third chukka, however, St Mary’s worked their way back into the game, with Lucy Viljoen striking after a scrappy short corner, which resulted in the ball finding its way to her stick. She gobbled up the chance.
St Mary’s joy was short-lived. Somerset College, immediately after the restart, set up camp in their opponent’s half. Then, when a ball was whipped into the circle, Ashley Hingeston deflected it goalwards, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
The Johannesburg side created a number of opportunities to draw level in the fourth chukka when they were awarded two short corners, but their execution let them down.
Reflecting on the tournament win, Somerset College head coach, Kyran Fortuin, said he was proud of his team’s performance throughout the event and happy that they managed to achieve one of their goals for the season.
“I’m immensely proud of this group. It’s probably one of the best teams I’ve had the opportunity to work with,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“There’s such good camaraderie and massive resilience, and everything we worked for this year has come to fruition at this tournament.
“Our goal was to come here and win gold. We backed ourselves, our abilities, and our systems. We knew the plans that were put in place for this team, and we needed to be disciplined, and I think that got us over the line.”
Playing for the Challengers’ Cup title marked the third time in the season that Somerset College had made it to a final.
In March, they won the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament when they defeated Hoërskool Middelburg 2-0 in the final.
Last month, matters went awry when they faced Paarl Gimnasium in the final of the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament, with Gim cruising to a 10-1 victory. Fortuin praised his team for bouncing back from that disappointing result and taking on the top traditional hockey-playing schools.
“After losing the Cape Town International Hockey tournament final, the girls were in a bad space,” he revealed.
“For them to put that behind and come here and put in clinical performances, that’s a massive achievement for us.
“We managed to take on top schools like Paarl Girls’ High, St Mary’s and Affies in the semi-final. Those are schools double our size, and to come and do well is the cherry on the cake,” he concluded.
In the third/fourth playoff match, Affies, after suffering a 0-2 defeat to Somerset, took on Rustenburg Girls’ High, who had lost 1-2 against St Mary’s earlier in the day.
It was the Cape Town side that reigned supreme, winning 1-0, courtesy of a Lisa Grey goal.
Results | Day 3
DSG Makhanda 6: Kayleigh Clayton, Abigal Holderness (2), Sarah-Jane Brits, Lucy Holderness, Jocelyn Appel. Hoërskool Middelburg 0
Parel Vallei 2: Zelda Rosenstrauch, Anmarie Grobler. Pearson High 0.
Somerset College 2: Caroline Morris, Siena Kontopirakis. Affies 0.
St Mary’s Waverley 2: Erin Kruger (2). Rustenburg Girls’ High 1: Tasmin de Villiers.
Bethlehem Voortrekker 1: Jani Faber. Paarl Girls’ High 0.
Parel Vallei 2: Elrie Pienaar, Anmarie Grobler. DSG Makhanda 0.
Pearson High 2: Lisa De Villiers, Nyssa Slabbert. Hoërskool Middelburg 0.
Fairmont High 1: Camryn Corner. York High 0.
Rustenburg Girls’ High 1: Lisa Grey. Affies 0.
Somerset College 2: Evi Benson, Ahsley Hingeston. St Mary’s Waverley 1: Lucy Viljoen.
Final Standings
Somerset College
St Mary’s Waverley
Rustenburg Girls’ High School
Affies
Parel Vallei
DSG Makhanda
Pearson High School
Hoërskool Middelburg
Bethlehem Voortrekker
Paarl Girls’ High School
Fairmont High School
York High School
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