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Field Hockey: finals at the Provincial Championships

11 November 2008
Tony Crossley
After winning the quarter-finals against Sentinel School, Brentwood advanced to the semi-finals and met arch-rival Collingwood School, the team that Brentwood had defeated in the recent ISA final. Brentwood had a great start to the game and immediately went on the attack.  Unfortunately, halfway through the first half, the Brentwood players were caught too high and Collingwood had a breakaway and scored.  Nerves were a factor in this game – the girls were focussed, but put too much pressure on themselves.  Timing was off, as was trapping, and even though the team had many scoring opportunities, they could not put the ball into the net. The girls were extremely disappointed with the result, but their attitude and effort could not be faulted.  Brentwood then met Crofton House School to play for the bronze medal. The coaches were extremely impressed with how the team rebounded from their disappointing loss. The girls picked up each other’s spirits and were determined to come home with a medal. They did themselves and their coaches proud when they outplayed their opponents and won the game 2–0. Collingwood went on to win the final 2-1 against Little Flower Academy.
The coaches are so very proud of all of the girls.  The captains: Alex Hatton, Brigid McCormack and Mary Nielsen led by example both on and off the field. Brigid summed it up: “We played awesome”. Mary, in particular, made a huge sacrifice. Having trained with the national team on the Tuesday, she was expected to attend a practice on the Thursday evening as selections were being made for the national team which would be touring next year. Mary had just played four games for her school and knew that the semis and finals were the next day; she opted, therefore, to watch the national practice instead of playing, knowing that this could affect her chances of making the team. Mary said “this team needs me and the team comes before me”.  What more can anyone ask as a coach?  Alex said “You are going to miss us next year!”  Without a doubt, we will miss them, but we will cherish the memories.

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