The Wykeham Collegiate winners of the Pietermaritzburg North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge. Pic:Rogan Ward

On a hot summer’s day, host The Wykeham Collegiate’s cool, calm, and collected performance earned them top honours in the Pietermaritzburg North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Saturday 9 March.

 
Starting the tournament as defending champs, The Wykeham Collegiate met rivals St Anne’s College in the concluding game in the strongly contested regional. At full time, the scoreline was level with both teams unable to penetrate on either end.
 
In the history of this area, these two powerhouses have met annually in the regional’s finale, with St Anne’s hoisting the trophy nine times to The Wykeham Collegiates' two previous victories. Meeting earlier in the day in the round robin stage, St Anne’s showed their intentions with a flawless firm display, winning 1 nil. In the regional final, The Wykeham Collegiate stepped up a gear, not allowing St Anne’s any space to get back into their groove from earlier.
 
Twenty minutes of spellbinding passes had the riveting game flow to all corners of the turf. St Anne’s led the charge with some promising runs resulting in five short corners. In each of these, the visiting team took the direct approach of a no-nonsense attack, peppering the home team’s goals with low flying attempts that either whizzed just wide of the post, or were fabulously defended by the young keeper, Zoe Harper from The Wykeham Collegiate.
 
Small in stature but big in bravery, 17 year old, Harper representing TWC’s first team for the first time was remarkably composed in the regional’s decider. Chatting after the final, the youngster stated, “My favourite moment in the day was during the game against St Anne’s, who were really good! With every goal that I saved, my confidence grew and was eventually through the roof, boosted by all the spectators cheering me on from the sideline.”
 
Moving to an 8 second penalty shootout, The Wykeham Collegiate opted to get the ball rolling. Emily Wilson stepped up but was unable to convert her attempt. First to go for St Anne’s, Ella Shuttleworth knocked in her shot, taking the scoreline up to 1 nil. Erynne Marais was second to take a run at Kgabi Morafo from St Anne’s and levelled the score for The Wykeham Collegiate. Second to go for the visitors, Jasmin Kelly met the steadfast stance of Harper and was unable to go any further. Going into the third round of the shootout, Mary Jellis charged forward for The Wykeham Collegiate and quickly slotted in her shot, nudging the score up to 2 for her team to St Anne’s 1. With the pressure mounting, Jade Kelly bravely went last. Dashing forward, she was met by the committed young Harper who stormed out, stifling Kelly’s valiant assault on her goals, stopping her dead in her tracks and securing victory for the third time for her team. 
 
Umpire of the Day was awarded to Lori o’Bree representing Grace College. Being acknowledged for her determined efforts with the whistle, this is her sixth Pietermaritzburg North Regional that she has participated in.
 
The Wykeham Collegiate join the Durban Central Regional winner, Durban Girls’ College, who are the first team to have qualified for the Grand Finals which will take place at St Mary’s D.S.G. in Kloof in July. In the back to back Maritzburg action, the Pietermaritzburg Central Regional took place on Sunday at the UKZN Astro where St John’s D.S.G. secured their spot for the third time at the Grand Finals.
 
The fourth tournament in the challenge heads to Curro Salt Rock where teams will participate in the Durban North Regional, followed by the Highway Regional that takes place on Sunday at Westville Girls’ High School.
 
For more info like the tournaments’ Facebook page or follow on Instagram 
 
All games will be livestreamed on the SuperSport Schools App or on their website.
  
Overall Results

Regional Final
St Anne’s College 0 (1) vs The Wykeham Collegiate 0 (2)
 
Round Robin Results
1 St Anne’s College 24 points, 2 The Wykeham Collegiate 17 points, 3 Howick High School 13 points, 4 Treverton School 10 points, 5 Grace College 9 points, 6 Riverwood School 5 points, 7 Linpark High School 0 points