Union High School’s 1st hockey team has enjoyed an excellent start to the 2026 Cape Town International Hockey Tournament, finishing top of their pool after three convincing victories.
The girls opened their campaign with a composed 𝟮 – 𝟬 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝘂𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹, with Kari Stern and Misha Newton both converting penalty corners. Leigh-Ann Murray was named Union’s Player of the Match for an outstanding all-round performance.
They followed that with an impressive 𝟳 – 𝟬 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀, where the goals were shared around the team. Mecoli Vorster netted a hat-trick, while Alyssa Trollip, Amy Waddelow, Leigh-Ann Murray, Hermon Wolde and Amber Slater all found the back of the net. Mecoli was named Union’s Player of the Match.
Their final pool fixture against Edgemead was played in torrential rain, with the weather making conditions challenging for both teams. Despite the downpour, the girls remained composed and produced another disciplined performance to secure 𝗮 𝟰 – 𝟬 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.
Leigh-Ann Murray opened the scoring from a penalty corner before Amber Slater, Cayla Newton and Katelyn Trollip (from the penalty stroke) added to the tally. Nadine Murray was named Union’s Player of the Match.
𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀, 13 goals scored and none conceded, the girls finished top of their pool and booked their place in the cross-pool stage.
𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺.
Attention now turns to Friday morning, when 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝟬𝟵:𝟯𝟬 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯. We wish the girls all the best as they continue their tournament.