Category: Hockey

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to Union High School’s 1st hockey team who emerged as the champions – 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝘄 – of the highly-anticipated annual ECHS hockey tournament held in Bloemfontein this past weekend.

𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 18 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

During the 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀, they faced off against Hoërskool Kimberley and secured an impressive 3-0 win. They followed that up with a 2-0 win against Bergsig Academy, ending up at the top of their pool.

The winning teams in each pool then competed against each other. The girls held Merrifield College to a dynamic 1-all draw and beat Lyndenburg 2-0 and Marais Viljoen 2-1. Their journey to the finals was sealed with a 1-0 triumph over Hoër Volkskool and a 3-0 victory over Hoërskool Dinamika.

The 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 saw the Union girls face off against Merrifield College once again. This time around the Union side emerged victorious, with a final score of 0-1 in their favour.

Special 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗧 to Leigh-Ann Murray who was recognised as the ‘Best Midfielder of the Tournament’ in the u/19A Girls’ category.

Well done, girls!

This past weekend was an exciting one for Union High School, Graaff-Reinet‘s 𝗨𝟭𝟲𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠, who joined the other Union teams in participating in the ECHS coaching tournament held in Bloemfontein.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 15 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱.

The tournament saw its fair share of challenges, including unpredictable weather that affected gameplay.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀:

• In their opening match against 𝗢𝗠𝗦 𝘂/𝟭𝟲𝗖, the game ended in a draw due to the weather conditions.

• Continuing on, Union faced 𝗞𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 and emerged victorious with a solid 2-0 win.

• The team then squared off against 𝗦𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, securing another win with a narrow 1-0 score.

• In a tightly contested match against 𝗦𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹’𝘀, Union faced their first defeat, losing 1-0.

• Bounce back they did, with a dominating performance against 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗷𝗼𝗲𝗻, clinching a 2-0 victory that reignited their momentum.

• Union continued their winning streak with a well-earned 1-0 win against 𝗛oë𝗿𝘀𝗸𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗸𝗮.

• In their final match against 𝗦𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹’𝘀, the teams battled hard and while it ended in a 1-1 draw, Union’s perseverance throughout the tournament was commendable.

Special 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗧 to Onika Jantjies who was recognised as the ‘Best Forward of the Tournament’ in the u/16 Girls’ category.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to Union High School’s u/13A hockey team on an outstanding performance at the annual 𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (where they were entered in the u/14 Girls’ category) in Bloemfontein this past weekend!

Starting off with a tough 2-all draw against OMS u/14B on Thursday afternoon, they quickly found their rhythm, securing victories against Hoërskool Duineveld’s u/14A side (3-0) and Hoërskool Dinamika’s u/14A team (1-0).

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 in the cross pool matches, where they continued their winning streak against Bergsig Academy (2-0) and Curro Aurora (3-0).

Despite a narrow 1-0 defeat to Marais Viljoen’s u/14A side, they bounced back in the semi-finals with a strong win, earning their place in the final.

A hard-fought 0-0 draw against Bergsig Academy in the final was enough to claim the overall winners’ title, thanks to their previous success against the same team in the pool rounds.

A special 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗧 to 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 for being named the u/14 Girls’ ‘Defender of the Tournament’ and to 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁 for being recognized as the ‘Best Player’ in the u/14 girls’ category!

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴!

The first weekend of the school holiday saw Union High School’s u/13A hockey players travel to Gqeberha to participate in the annual 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 & 𝗥𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 hosted by Clarendon Park Primary School.

In their first match, the 𝘂/𝟭𝟯𝗔 𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 secured a 3-0 victory against Hurbert Hurd. The girls followed this up with a 1-0 win against Hudson Park. In a highly competitive match against Clarendon Park, Union managed to secure a hard-fought draw with a score of 0-0. The team then faced two challenging matches against Stirling and Westering, losing both 1-0.

𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 & 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘣𝘺 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to all the Union High School hockey players who have been selected to represent the 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘 this year!

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲 will take the field as the u/14A team’s goalie, with 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 and 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀 representing the u/14B side.

𝘈 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴: 𝘈𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢y𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶/14 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘢, 𝘜𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪, 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯-𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘒𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶/16 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮.

We are also proud of the players selected for the u/18B side, 𝗔𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲 and 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁 and 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶/18 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦.

Epic clash of the sticks at Greg Belling Festival

On Friday, 13 March, Union High School’s 1^st hockey team travelled to East London to participate in the annual Greg Belling Festival.

The first game was against Kingswood High School, the travel to East London appeared to show that the girls were fatigued and although they tried their best, but they could not convert opportunities.  This resulted in them losing their first challenge 3 – 1, with a great goal converted by Chloe Shires.

After a good-nights rest the girls came prepared for an early morning start against Eldoraine High School.

The challenge was set and the girls were caught off guard by finding themselves 1 – 0 down.  This was short-lived as Jade Shires equalized to take the girls into half time 1 – 1.

After a brilliant team effort, the girls found themselves 2 – 1 up in the third quarter with a great finished goal from Sonwabisa Mroro. The fourth quarter was a continuous battle which ended with Eldoraine equalizing with a tied final score of 2 – 2.

The afternoon brought the almighty challenge of Hoёrskool Menlopark from Pretoria. Clearly the underdogs, Union took to the field with pride and managed to hold the girls to a 6 – 0 defeat, showing endless grit and heart to keep the tough competition at bay.

Union’s final encounter on Sunday was against local Eastern Cape school, Collegiate Girls High School. A tough final competitor, but the girls were adamant for a good result.  The competitive edge clearly showed as the girls held the Collegiate strikers to a 1 – 0 defeat.  This after over 20 short corners defended by the team.

Overall the girls showed amazing sportsmanship and comradery, the school community can be very proud of their results as well as their attitude during play.

Junior hockey girls start season off well

On Saturday, 14 March, Union High School’s 1^st junior hockey team travelled to Lorraine Primary School in Port Elizabeth to participate in their annual sports festival.

The Union girls were fixtured to play against Priory, Sunridge, Westering, and Lorraine, with all the matches being played on grass.

The girls took some time to get going as expected in their first matches of the season. The more hockey they played, however, the better the girls got.

They pulled together nicely as the day went on and played some quality hockey in stages.

The final results saw the Union team draw 0 – 0 against Priory, Sunridge and Lorraine, beating Westering 1 – 0 through a goal scored by Lisakhanya Menos.