Tasmania made a dream start to the girls’ under-15 indoor hockey championships in Wollongong.
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Goals by Priya Bourke and Hayley Lennon gave Alissia Pearson’s team a superb 2-1 win over Victoria.
After a 5-0 loss to Queensland, the same two players hit the scoresheet against ACT, Lennon striking an early equaliser and Bourke in the 25th and 35th minutes, but it couldn’t prevent a 4-3 defeat.
Goals from Lennon and a quickfire double from Caitlin French were not enough in Monday’s game as Western Australia won 6-3.
In the boys under-16 tournament, Joshua Brooks gave Tasmania a perfect start with a third-minute penalty corner goal in their opening game, but Victoria came back to win 6-1 before Queensland (7-0) and ACT (6-0) piled on big wins with just a four-hour window of rest between them.
Brooks was voted best on ground against Queensland when Harman also made two excellent penalty corner saves while Vincent Harman, Jacques Draschkowitz-Wade and Harrison Lester did a great job applying pressure and creating attacking opportunities against ACT with Liam Yeomans unlucky not to score on his reverse.
In Monday’s game against Western Australia, Brooks and captain Ashby Bingham were on target but could not prevent a 6-2 loss for Jayden Pearson’s team.
Team manager Colin Pearson reported that the boys had started the tournament in a positive fashion with good intensity and attack.
He said Bailey Grace, Vinnie Harman, Josh Demarco, Brooks and Bingham had led from the front with some sound defending while Max Larkin had been resolute in goal.
Both teams concludes their pool matches against NSW on Tuesday.
Tasmania finished sixth of the seven teams at the under-18 girls’ championships, captain Olivia Canning scoring a 40th-minute winner in a 1-0 defeat of South Australia.
Hayley Vimpany then claimed the consolation goal in the concluding 4-1 loss to NSW.
The boys finished their fixtures with a creditable goalless draw against South Australia before Shaun Redman and captain Thomas Wylie scored their first goals of the campaign in a 9-2 loss to undefeated eventual winners NSW.
“The boys walked away knowing they had given their all in each match and couldn’t be questioned about their intensity and commitment,” Pearson said.
The players’ award, voted over each match of the championship, went to Henry Chambers and Luc Redman received the coaches’ award.