Hockey, Sport Results

Jnr Hockey Results vs Riebeek College

Union’s junior hockey teams arrived in Uitenhage on Saturday (18 May), greeted by lovely weather and very welcoming hosts.

The teams had a great encounter against Riebeek College, with the 3rd Juniors winning 3 – 0, the 2nd Juniors losing 0 – 1 and the 1st Juniors winning 5 – 3.

1st JUNIORS MATCH REPORT

Our junior hockey girls travelled to Uitenhage this weekend to compete against Riebeek College. After a hard mid-week lesson against Gill on grass, the girls were much better prepared for this encounter. They turned on the pressure from the get-go, with our first shot at goal coming within the first 15 seconds of the match. From this moment on, a fast-paced tussle for the lead ensued, and while Union were undoubtedly in control of the game, Riebeek were ultimately the first to score. By the time the whistle at the end of the first half went, Union were down 1 goal to 2.

The 2nd half commenced with a renewed effort from our gutsy girls and they worked extremely hard to maintain this pressure for the remainder of the game. Once they took the lead, they never looked back, thus securing a well-deserved victory for themselves. The goal scorers on the day were Soso Mroro (3 goals), Chloe Erasmus (1) and Charlize Vorster (1).

All the girls played very well, but the following deserve special mention: Sadé May (whose phenomenal work-rate was key to the team’s success); Alinda Goosen (whose solid defense stymied many attacks); Soso Mroro (with her 3 timely goals) and finally, Bontle Mashiane (who stepped in at the last minute as keeper for the team and did a sterling job on her first time out).

Congratulations on a fine result girls!

Hockey, Sport Results

Union Learners in EP Hockey Squad

Union learners in EP hockey squad

Hockey at Union High School continues to flourish as is evident by the exceptional performances of the players at the recent provincial trials.

Three learners, Micela Loock, Jenna McNaughton and Sonwabise Mroro, were selected to represent the province at interprovincial tournaments in the coming June school holiday.

Micela Loock, Jenna McNaughton and Sonwabise Mroro

Jenna and Micela will represent the EP u/18A team in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands (15 to 22 June) and Sonwabise the EP u/14B team in Bloemfontein (23 to 27 June).

“Playing at provincial level affords players the opportunity to participate at the highest level and grow their skills through the experience,” said coach Alvin August.  “We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them and wish them the best of luck for the forthcoming tournaments.”

Hockey, Sport Results

Jnr Hockey vs Westering

On Saturday, 4 May, Union High School’s junior hockey teams competed against Westering Primary School.

The 2nd Juniors took to the field first, a little bit later than expected as their opposition was late in arriving from Port Elizabeth.  After the wait, the girls were excited to finally get on the field, but then had a rather shaky start to the game.  They soon settled, however, and quickly started piecing together some fine runs of play.

The teams were very evenly matched throughout the game with possession changing constantly and neither team getting a chance to dominate.  The match was looking to end in a goalless draw, when Westering managed to slot home a lovely goal in the dying minutes of the game, giving them a 1 – 0 win.

The 1st Juniors’ match that followed, started off with an aggressive attack by Union which had Westering on the back foot for the first few minutes of the game.  Westering, however, slowly regained their equilibrium and the match became a ding-dong battle for possession, with both teams showing some fine teamwork and also some lovely individual displays of skill.

Westering was first to score, which galvanized the Union team into action and they soon equalized through a joint effort between Aaminah Steele (who capitalized on a loose ball in the circle) and Leshay Fourie (who finished it off).

Throughout the rest of the game, Westering pieced together many attacks and managed to score three brilliant goals, while Union responded with another joint effort between Xarah Hoffman (who drove the ball into the circle) and Chloe Erasmus (who added the finishing touch).

Union had more than a few opportunities that they didn’t utilise and the team will need to concentrate hard on the basics in the weeks to come.  Mention must definitely be made of Sadé May, who worked like a Trojan throughout the match and made many game-changing tackles and passes.

Sethu Vena – in the goal-box – was also instrumental in making sure the score-line was restricted. Without her composure while under attack, the outcome would most certainly have been very different.

A word of thanks is also extended to Kyle-Luke du Preez who has been offering valuable assistance with the coaching and umpiring of these two teams.

Bulletin, Hockey

EPHF Umpiring Course

UHS learners Kyle-Luke du Preez and Kendall Krige recently attended an umpiring course hosted by the Eastern Province Hockey Federation (EPHF) in Port Elizabeth.

After successfully completing the course and the online examination shortly thereafter, each candidate was awarded an official SAHA “Level 0” umpire’s certificate.

This is in effect a “learner’s license” for umpiring which gives the newly-qualified umpire access to a number of opportunities within the province for gaining practical experience and receiving further coaching from umpires’ coaches.

 

Hockey, Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results – UHS vs Collegiate

A tough encounter against Collegiate for UHS!

On Friday afternoon, 26 April, UHS met with Collegiate Girls’ High School in what turned out to be a very tough encounter for the Union teams.

It started with the U/16Bs facing Collegiate’s U/14As, which proved to be a huge miss-match.

The U/16As then showed real courage and determination in their match, to restrict their opponents to a 3 – 0 victory. Union’s players failed to convert their chances but delivered a really good performance overall.

In what was a very hard-fought encounter, the first team started their match on the back foot which resulted in them having to defend from the very first minute onwards.  With slick passing, Collegiate managed to score two goals in the 1st quarter.

The 2nd quarter saw three more goals against Union, but the girls fought their way back, with determination, to only allow two goals in the 3rd quarter and none in the 4th. The final score stood at 7 – 0 in Collegiate’s favour.

Special mention must be made of Sakhe Booi for her excellent agility in the goal box throughout the match.

Hockey, Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results – UHS vs Aliwal North

Union gets the better of Aliwal North

On Saturday morning, 27 April, Union’s hockey teams were in action again, this time against Aliwal North High School.

At the start of the day, Union’s U/16Bs beat Aliwal 5 – 0. The third team drew 1 – 1 and the second team won their encounter 8 – 0.

During the first half of the 1st team’s match, the Union players struggled to find their rhythm and, despite several opportunities and penalty corners, no goals were scored.

In the second half, however, the Union players managed to up their game, with Laetitia Theron scoring a well-worked goal in the first minute.

Shortly thereafter, Laetitia doubled Union’s lead with a goal that was brilliantly set up by Jenna McNaughton.

Union managed to score again in the 15th minute with a goal by Micela Loock. This stretched Union’s lead and sealed the match 3 – 0 in Union’s favour.

Hockey, Sport Results

Jnr Hockey Results – UHS vs Sunridge Primary

In their encounter against Sunridge Primary School in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 13 April, Union’s young hockey teams delivered the following results:

The junior third team won 2 – 0, while the junior second team won 1 – 0 and the junior first team lost 1 – 3.

The junior first team was unfortunate to lose, but learnt a lot.  The game was played in wonderful weather and a friendly spirit.  The first half saw the Union girls pushing themselves in applying tactics they have learned these past few weeks.  Sunridge was, however, first in breaking past their opponents’ defence to score a goal.  Although it was a struggle to, in turn, break past Sunridge’s defence, Union managed it successfully to score a goal – shared by Chloe Erasmus and Leshay Fourie.  The first half ended with the score tied at 1 – 1.

In the second half, the Union team strived to make a breakthrough, but did not succeed.  They soon lost concentration as well as their perspective of the game.  Struggling to pick up the pieces, they allowed Sunridge to convert the score to 1 – 3.  The game ended with Union going down 1 – 3 to Sunridge.

Although the girls lost, the match gave them a fair idea of the areas they need to work on so that they can make the most of the season that lies ahead.

Hockey, Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results – UHS vs VP

Spectators witnessed an extravaganza of goals, when Union’s senior hockey girls competed against Port Elizabeth’s Victoria Park High School (VP) on Saturday, 13 April.

What turned out to be a clean sweep for the teams, started with the U/16B team putting 6 unanswered goals past VP’s defence.

The U/16A team then took to the turf and struggled to find momentum at first with what seemed to be a lack of enthusiasm. It took them 30 minutes to finally break through VP’s defence, but this then seemed to put the spark back into their play – they then continued to press and put a further 5 goals in the back of the net which gave them a convincing 6 – 0 victory in the end.

The 2nd team, too, had a good day on the field as they cruised to a 7 – 1 victory.

Goals didn’t seem hard to come by as the 1st team started their encounter with goals in the 3rd and 6th minute of the 1st quarter by Laetitia Theron.  Sara Kingwill increased Union’s lead to 3 – 0 with a goal in the 2nd quarter.  VP scored a goal in the 3rd quarter and also starved Union of any scoring opportunities during this period.  The 4th quarter saw Rosslyn Sparks and Sara Kingwill each scoring, to put an end to what was a good entertaining encounter. The match ended with the score standing at 5 – 1 in Union’s favour.

“The girls must be congratulated on their results, as well as for remaining humble in their victory and treating their opponents with respect,” said coach Alvin August.

“The girls have a few tough encounters lying ahead and they will need to put in maximum effort to ensure good results.”

Hockey, Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results – UHS vs VGHS

This past Saturday, 6 April, Union High School’s senior hockey teams came out tops in a full schedule of hockey fixtures against Grahamstown rivals, Victoria Girls’ High School (VGHS). A new match format being implemented by SA Hockey, saw all teams playing matches consisting of four 15-minute quarters each.

After the u/16Bs, u/16As and second team beat VGHS 3 – 0, 3 – 1 and 3 – 0 in their respective encounters, it was the first team’s time to shine and continue their winning ways.

The game started off at a good pace with Union dominating possession which lead to a goal in the 5th minute by Laetitia Theron, putting Union 1 – 0 up. VGHS bounced back not long after with an equalizer. With the scores level, the scene was set for a feast of goals.The Union girls stepped their play up a gear with a goal by Henze Japhta in the 15th minute which saw the first quarter end with the score standing at 2 – 1 in Union’s favour.The second quarter saw Union extend their lead to 3-1 with another goal from Laetitia Theron which was as a result of a superb build-up from good accurate passing. Sara Kingwill then put victory firmly beyond VGHS’s reach with a fourth goal in the 35th minute, which ended the third quarter with Union 4 – 1 up.

“The water breaks in-between quarters in the new match format, caused the girls to lose some momentum and concentration which resulted in them missing out on possible goal opportunities,” says coach Alvin August. The fourth quarter only saw one goal by Henzѐ Japhta in the 59th minute to give Union a convincing and well deserved 5 -1 victory.

Hockey, Sport Results

EP Hockey Trials

Congratulations to the following hockey players who have made it through to the next round of EP trails.
U/18:  Jenna McNaughton;  Micela Loock;  Sara Kingwill;  Sakhe Booi;  Laetitia Theron
U/16:  Chloe Shires
U/14:  Leah Marais;  Sonwabisa Mroro