Chronicle 687

53 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Hockey By Ed Ellis, Head of Hockey

Autumn Term The 2024 season for the girls’ Hockey Club was marked by significant growth, resilience and a strong sense of togetherness. With 161 matches played across both outdoor and indoor formats by 14 teams, the Club demonstrated impressive depth and consistency in its performances. An overall win-draw percentage of over 60% was an impressive achievement. The season began in August with pre-season tournaments in Cardiff and Rugby. We also welcomed back an OSE team for the third year in a row, setting a strong foundation for what would be an eventful and successful year. To finish the term, the Club maintained its traditional week of festivities: the 1st XI girls played against the XV rugby team and then against the staff (a tight 3-3 cracker), and we held the annual House hockey tournament. Corfe came out on top in Senior House Hockey, while Jubilee retained their junior title. The 1st XI and 16Bs won their respective County tournaments, with the 16As, 14As, and 14Bs finishing as runners up. The 1st XI also excelled on the indoor circuit: having entered for the first time in

against Queenswood in the National Cup, although the team bounced back showing their resilience, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Congratulations to Freya Heath, Martha Withers Green, Aimee Diab, Flick Fitzpatrick, Lily Rose Brepoels and Rosie Prior who all received their Full Hockey Colours. The Club’s junior teams also enjoyed success, with several teams achieving excellent results. The U14A team made impressive strides, finishing second in the County tournament and showing notable progress. Alongside the County Cup, their key highlights were performances against Bromsgrove and Tudor Hall. The U15A team also developed both as individual players and as a team, making great strides in their technical and tactical play. The team only lost one fixture in the standard blocks with draws against Cheltenham, Wellington and Bradfield and wins vs Kimbolton and Stowe. The U16As had a slightly turbulent season, but one with certainly more positives than negatives. The highs were wins against Bradfield, Cheltenham, Stowe and Rugby – an impressive set of schools to beat – setting the girls up perfectly to take on senior hockey next year. In the rest of the Club, the U16Bs had the most successful season, winning seven games. The other teams chipped in with unforgettable moments - the 5th XI got their first win of the year against Rugby, the 4th XI had a four-match winning streak after a tough start, the U16Cs bounced back admirably after their loss to Bradfield, coming away 6-0 victors in the re-match, and the U15Cs won 2-0 vs Rugby. The success of the Hockey Club cannot be attributed to the players alone but also to outstanding contributions from the teaching and coaching staff. Their commitment and guidance have been vital in shaping the Club’s progress this season. Thank you to all players, coaches and supporters for making this season one to remember. Our Upper Sixth Leavers have set a high standard for future generations and leave the Club in a stronger position than ever before.

years, they won five out of five games in the County Cup, and advanced to the regional finals where they competed valiantly, with a close set of results to show for their day. On the national stage, the 1st XI made it to the last 16 of the Tier 2 Championship for the second consecutive year, and the 16As reached the round of 16 in the Tier 2 Plate. The season was marked by several key performances for the 1st XI. The County Cup final ended in a dramatic penalty shootout and goalkeeper Lottie Allen saved four out of five penalties, and Flick Fitzpatrick and Lily Rose Brepoels scored crucial goals, to secure the first of their two County Cups. The 1st XI played in a number of ‘Friday Night Lights’ fixtures, the first ending with a dominant 5-1 win over Pangbourne, with Martha Withers Green scoring four goals. Martha finished the season with 26 goals in total, concluding a successful three years in the 1st XI. She led the team with Freya Heath, a stalwart of the team who also scored numerous short corners. The team finished the year unbeaten in block fixtures with excellent results vs Bradfield, Stowe and Cheltenham. The only loss came

The U14A Girls' Team