St Mary’s the epitome of consistency and excellence
St Mary’s DSG Kloof was the epitome of consistency and excellence during the 2024 hockey season. The girls from KwaZulu-Natal’s coastal region won two trophies and came close to a third title when they reached the final of the Fairtree Super 12 Tournament.
Carla Ann Mackay’s charges enjoyed a brilliant season in which they scored 202 goals and conceded a paltry 25 for an astounding goal difference of 177 in 65 matches.
Their 51 wins from 65 encounters left them with an elite win percentage of close to 80% (78.5). They lost only eight matches and recorded six draws. Two of those eight losses came during a pre-season of The Netherlands.
On that tour, St Mary’s won five of their eight fixtures and drew another one. The sojourn provided the Georgia Pollock-captained side with two highlights.
“Making a final in the HDM Easter Tournament so early in the year was incredible, and we learned so much about ourselves as a team and as individuals. The girls also were lucky enough to get a few training sessions with Dayaan and Mustapha Cassiem, which was invaluable,” coach Mackay shared.
The first assignment for Saints after their trip to The Netherlands was at the St Mary’s Waverley Festival, which they played without the influential Pollock, their SA Schools’ midfielder, who had sustained an injury abroad. They finished sixth in the tournament.
It was a shaky start, but they turned things around barely a week later when they won twice in as many days. They trounced Maris Stella 6-0 and followed that up with a 2-0 victory over Voortrekker Bethlehem. That 2-0 win was significant. It transformed their season.
“Looking back, that was the moment we gained proper momentum and came together as a team. We usually shy away from physicality, but that game showed us we could come up against any team, any brand of hockey, and overcome it and get a result,” Mackay explained. “That game made us realise that we really could contend for any silverware in the season.”
From that point forward, St Mary’s barely lost. They were a juggernaut that decimated the opposition. That’s not to imply that they were not tested in their victories. They crossed swords with top sides, like Durban Girls’ College, Oranje, Paarl Gim and Eunice, who tested their mettle. They always pulled through, though, thanks to the consistency of players like Anna Birt, Sibabalwe Mfazwe, Elizabeth Anderson, Jamie da Silva, Georgia Pollock and Alex Bowyer.
When she came back from her hand injury, Pollock slotted seamlessly into the side and led it with a level head, elevating the standard of play of her team-mates. However, Mackay added, while it is easy to point out the most consistent players, the rest of the side produced moments of brilliance when the team needed it most.
“I don’t want to sound biased, but when you have a side of 16 talented players who play for each other and were always good humans first, on top of being some of the most talented schoolgirl hockey players in the country, it just feels wrong to point out a handful of players. For instance, Cassandra Forbes was incredible when she was in form, and often stood out as a strong leader and really steadied the ship for us,” Mackay said.
The St Mary’s coach also pointed to Jenna-Leigh Freese; a player who was not selected as much as she would have liked.
“She has grown so much this season as an individual player, and as the season went on, despite some setbacks and disappointments, she really showed her worth and added so much value to the team,” MacKay said.
Freese was not alone. There were a few others who did not play as much as St Mary’s leading players. However, they stepped up when they were called upon to do a job for the team. That mindset speaks to the culture of a team that does not rely on individual talent but is a sum of its parts.
“While our big names stood out, the fact that these other girls were also showing up is why we won big games. They allowed us to play our best structure, the best brand of hockey, and because of that everything clicked.
“Connections were effortless, out-letting was flawless, execution of set pieces clinical,” Mackay reckoned.
That culture is the reason Saints won the St Anne’s Cup and the SPAR Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge title in a space of two months and then reached the final of the Fairtree Super 12, where they lost to Rhenish in a penalty shootout. They won their other six matches against the country’s elite at the tournament in Bloemfontein, which was unmatched.
St Mary’s would have loved to close the season on a high, but they are not letting that narrow defeat in the final eclipse the great season they enjoyed. When it began, their goals were to qualify for the SPAR tournament and the Super 12. They outdid both of those.
“I am really proud of the girls. They achieved a lot this season. They played great hockey. I am thankful that I had the privilege to coach such an incredible group of girls,” Mackay said.
“Looking forward to next season, we are integrating new youngsters coming through into the squad. We lose seven matrics, so we need to select players that will fill the spaces and add value to the team.
“But we carry on moving forward as a school and look to continuously elevate our hockey programme and showcase this incredible school and the brand of hockey that will become synonymous with St Mary’s Kloof,” Mackay ended on an optimistic note.
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