St Mary’s D.S.G. were crowned champions for the 14th time in the Highway Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Saturday 8 March. Pic:Rogan Ward
 

In the blistering heat, defending champs, St Mary’s met Kloof High School in the regional final. This was the second time in the fifteen years of the tournament that the two teams faced each other in the concluding game, the last time in 2019 where St Mary’s dominated the clash. 

 
On Saturday, Kloof had a superb day on the turf, netting their first victory in the opening game against host school, Curro Hillcrest. They won four of their six round robin games, drew against eventual third place Thomas More College and narrowly last to Saints. Their first meeting ended in a 3-1 loss, with one of the Kloof defenders accidentally kicking in an own goal. Their goal by Yolanda Gumede against the defending champs was the only one that found the back of the Saint’s box the entire day. 
 
In the regional final, St Mary’s camped in the Kloof half orchestrating wave after wave of attack. The backline for Kloof worked tirelessly in swatting off the endless attempts by the slick pack of forwards. Led by keeper, Snothile Madlopha - the Kloof defenders dug deep and managed to prevent six of the seven well-crafted short corners, and a barrage of fast-moving runs by the Saints front line. 
 
Saints extended their phenomenal control in this area, cruising to majestic wins throughout the day. They knocked in a commendable 23 goals in their six games and only allowed a single goal against them.  In the final, Captain, Nicola Forbes led by example, opening up the Saints account in the seventh minute, receiving the ball in their third short corner, cunningly drifting left before launching a low flying missile into the Kloof net. Jaime da Silva found some rare undefended space and neatly scooped in her team’s second goal after another surge down the middle. 
 
With the clock winding down, only 76 seconds remaining, Sarah Patterson followed up a spilled ball mere meters away from the goalline, side-stepping around a diving Madlopha and popping in her team’s third goal, wrapping up their victory in the fierce finale. 
 
Most Promising Umpire was awarded to Westville Girls’ High School’s Alicia De Bruyn. Hillcrest High School’s Bella Momoh was presented with a new Princess hockey stick after a fun lucky draw. Thanks to Glenore KWIKSPAR for sponsoring the hampers for the third place Thomas More College. 

Saints representing the Highway Regional, is the first team to secure a spot at the Grand Finals that they will be hosting. Joining them is Maris Stella from Durban Central Regional. Eight more winning teams from around KZN will travel to participate in the grand conclusion to the annual challenge this July.
 

Results

Regional Final
St Mary’s D.S.G. 3 vs Kloof High School 0
 
Round Robin 
1 St Mary’s D.S.G. 24pts; 2 Kloof High School 17pts; 3 Thomas More College 14pts; 4 Curro Hillcrest 13pts; 5 Hillcrest High School 8pts; 6 Westville Girls’ High School 4pts; 7 Waterfall College 0pts