Aluredian
59
Girls
Hockey
Under
15s
Virginia Nash launches
another attack during the
Under 15s' 2-1 victory over
Wells Cathedral School
T
he Under 15s' season started
brightly against Wellington,
where we dominated the first
ten minutes, without being
able to find the net. Poor
concentration allowed
Wellington to score two soft goals, but
Hannah Cartwright was outstanding in goal,
as she was all term. Olivia Taylor too worked
tirelessly in midfield in every game, no more
so than against Taunton School.
Half asleep in the first quarter at Queen's, it
needed a flash of individual skill from Alice
Konstam to spark the team into life, and take
us just 2-1 down into the interval. In the
second half it was all King's - Alice Konstam
put away a reverse stick finish, and we very
nearly found the winner, eventually having to
settle for a 2-2 draw.
The second half against Bryanston was another
highlight, with some neat one-touch passing
and aggressive pressing. Hollie Bell converted
a great move, Olivia Taylor and Kate Taylor
pressured in midfield, and Alice Konstam was a
constant threat up front. We saved our best
though for the 2-1 victory over Wells Cathedral
School, in an excellent all-round team
perofrmnace.
Ginny Nash impressed all season, and against
Canford was joint player of the match with
Alice Konstam. You could always rely on
Harriet Johnstone for some stout defending, as
well as both Hollie and Milla Bell, particularly
against Blundell's. We often started matches
brightly, and need to work on gaining more
consistency.
F
or many of the Bs this was our
first competitive hockey season
for King's. It was a season
which was a steep learning curve
for the majority, with many
players keen to try new positions
to find their perfect place on the pitch. No
more so than Alice Davies who bravely
volunteered to try out for goalkeeper.
In the first match against Wellington the team
lacked the confidence to really attack the
opposition. Luckily we were strong in defence,
with Alice Davies making several excellent
saves and showing much of the talent she was
to display for the rest of the season: a natural!
Lucy Chapman was player of the match for
showing the pace and determination that was
to prove important all season.
The season had many highs and lows: against
Taunton School we were swamped by strong
opposition, but against Bryanston we enjoyed a
great 4-0 victory. We kept pressure on
Bryanston all game, showing more confidence
in attack than previously and managing to pick
up many loose balls. Excellent play by Elle
Domellof ensured the game was played deep in
opposition territory.
Up and down the scorelines went. We were
faced with much stronger opposition at
Canford, but we never lost heart. We were
always upbeat about our matches as there
were times of excellent play in them all. Spirits
were always kept high by Olivia Farmer who
never stopped smiling!
We did return to our winning ways before the
season was out with an excellent win against
Blundell's. Lucinda Smyth showed great skill
at stopping the ball in midfield and returning it
to the forwards. Confident passing all the way
from Izzy Arliss in defence led to Chloe
Simpson sweeping the ball into the net to score
the winner just before half-time. This was a
well-deserved 1-0 victory with the whole team
contributing and working hard together.
Many of the girls made huge improvements in
their play during the season, Jodie Keily especially,
and Alice Brooksbank who was recruited to play
up in the As for a match. However, the most
improved player of the season was certainly
Phyllis Chow, who developed a fearsome style in
defence. Although results were varied, morale
was always high and it was a thoroughly
enjoyable season. Look out for some great results
for the 2nds, 3rds and 4ths next year!