St Mary’s Waverley, Rustenburg Girls’ High, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (Affies), and Somerset College all secured semifinal spots on Friday, day two of the Challengers’ Cup, which is being held in Paarl, in the Western Cape.
The tournament, which kicked off on Thursday morning is being hosted at La Rochelle Girls’ High School and Paarl Girls’ High.
It will conclude with the final on Saturday at 13:10.
Catch it LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
Heading into the second day of action, coach Cindy Brown’s St Mary’s side was in a strong position in Pool B. They looked like a potential title-winner after recording impressive results on day one.
They played three matches on Thursday, winning two and drawing the other. Then, they began day two with a comfortable 3-0 win over Gqeberha’s Pearson High School, courtesy of goals from Lucy Viljoen, Erin Kruger, and Zara Colyn.
By the time they were held to a goalless draw by DSG Makhanda in their final pool match, coach Brown’s team had already secured a place in the final four.
“I’m happy for the girls. I think we’ve played good hockey at times. We haven’t played our best, but we’ve managed to get results, so that’s a positive,” Brown told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“The one characteristic about this team is that we play well as a unit. No matter what the situation is, we dig deep. We’ve been up against it many times, and we’ve come out on top, which is pleasing.”
The Johannesburg side entered the tournament on a high after winning the Pullen Trophy last month, defeating Hoërskool Monument 2-1 in the final.
They endured a challenging start to the season but have flourished of late, and Brown believes stacking wins has added an extra spring to her players’ step.
“It was a tough beginning to the season, but I think in the past six weeks we’ve been playing some brilliant hockey,” she said.
“From the Pullen Trophy into this, there’s a sense of belief in the team that we know our capabilities. Everyone fights hard and believes in the process, and in the semifinals, we just need to continue doing what has worked.”
St Mary’s will face one of the local sides, Rustenburg Girls’ High, for a place in the final.
Coach Olu Ncukana‘s side is one of only three teams that remain unbeaten at the Challengers’ Cup.
After five matches, they’ve won three and played to draws against Affies and Bethlehem Voortrekker, two tough opponents.
Rustenburg finished second in Pool A, tied with Affies on 11 points, and separated by goal difference only.
It will be Rustenburg’s second semi-final this year. In their first one, they were beaten by Hoërskool Middelburg at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament.
“It’s always pleasing to make it to a semi-final, but we also understand that the tournament starts now, and we have put ourselves in a position to play for a medal twice,” Ncukana told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“On the back of some inconsistent form coming into the tournament, one of our key things was togetherness and playing for each other. We want to play our brand of hockey and trust each other,” he added.
The second semi-final will see one of the favourites, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria take on Somerset College.
Affies are also unbeaten, while Somerset College beat Paarl Girls’ High 2-1 in their final pool match to sneak into the last four.
Both teams will be on the hunt for their second trophies this season.
Somerset College won the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament in March, while Affies defeated Rhenish to claim the top spot at the All Girls Festival in Potchefstroom.
Results | Day 2
Pool A
Rustenburg Girls’ High 2: Tatum Malherbe, Kate Naiker. York High 0.
Affies 1: Mia Pretorius. Bethlehem Voortrekker 0.
Parel Vallei 5: Elrie Pienaar, Michaela Birch, Zelda Rosenstrauch, Anna-Rose Cock, Grace Taylor. Hoërskool Middelburg 1: Jaden Muller.
Rustenburg Girls’ High 0. Bethlehem Voortrekker 0.
Parel Vallei 1: Skylar Bougaard. York High 0.
Hoërskool Middelburg 1: Lume Smit. Affies 1: Simone Botes.
Pool B
St Mary’s Waverley 3: Lucy Viljoen, Erin Kruger, Zara Colyn. Pearson High 0.
DSG Makhanda 2: Lucy Holderness, Alex Ovendale. Paarl Girls’ High 0.
Somerset College 3: Annabelle Hamel (2), Caroline Morris. Fairmont High 0.
DSG Makhanda 0. St Mary’s Waverley 0.
Pearson High 2: Tanna Cuff, Jody van Aardt. Fairmont High 0.
Somerset College 2: Caroline Morris, Julia Brown. Paarl Girls’ High 1: Lisa Craven.
Day 3 fixtures
08:00 – Hoërskool Middelburg vs DSG Makhanda
08:00 – Parel Vallei vs Pearson High
09:10 – Affies vs Somerset College – semifinal 1 @La Rochelle
09:10 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Rustenburg Girls High – semifinal 2 @Paarl Girls’
Play-offs
@La Rochelle
10:50 – 11th/12th play-off
12:00 – 3rd/4th play-off
13:10 – Final
@Paarl Girls’ High
10:20 – 9th/10th play-off
11:30 – 5th/6th play-off
12:40 – 7th/8th play-off
Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism qualification from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, and video editing.
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