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All the news for Monday 10 February 2018

Hockey Series Open - Lousada 2018 (Men) - Final day
Lousada (POR)

Results 9 September

BLR v SCO (RR)     0 - 4
TUR v GIB (RR)     2 - 3
RUS v POR (RR)     13 - 1

Final pool standings

FIH Match Centre

Russia and Scotland win through to Hockey Series Finals



Russia and Scotland men’s teams will be taking their places at one of the three Hockey Series Finals taking place next year after they took first and second place respectively at the Hockey Series Open in Lousada, Portugal.

The two highest-ranked teams were comfortable overall winners, with Russia (FIH Hero World Ranking 23) not losing a game and Scotland (WR:22) winning all except one – a 4-1 loss at the hands of the eventual champions.

Russia opened their account with a lively 5-0 win over Gibraltar, before thrashing Turkey in the largest result of the competition, a 17-1 goal-fest.

Russia’s form in front of goal meant that Marat Khairullin, who enjoyed a fine event, emerged as the top goal scorer with eight goals – all scored from open play, his lightning quick reflexes in front of goal proving a constant problem for defenders.

The match which decided the title took place on the penultimate day of competition. Russia took an early two goal lead against Scotland, which was reduced to 2-1 when Scotland's Luke Cranny found the net after half-time. As the higher-ranked team pushed to get back into the game Russia were given more freedom and two more goals, from Semen Matkovskiy and Khairullin, put the game out of Scotland’s reach.

The surprise team of the competition was Gibraltar (WR:66), who finished in fourth place, well ahead of their position as the lowest-ranked team at the competition. Despite their opening loss to Russia, Gibraltar rallied well. They lost 4-3 to Belarus (WR:35) but held Portugal (WR:36) to a 2-2 draw and beat Turkey (WR:44) in a 3-2 thriller.

Belarus took third place after some good performances, which included holding Russia to a 2-2 draw. In that match, the Belarus team had gone 2-0 down but they re-emerged after the half-item break and a fighting performance saw them claw back to 2-2 through goals from Yauheni Stsepanets and Ivan Lutsevich.

The next Hockey Series Open event will take place in Santiago, Chile from 18-23 September. It is a joint men’s and women’s event.

The results in Lousada mean that Russia and Scotland qualify for one of three FIH Series Finals which will be played in 2019, offering berths into the Olympic Qualification Events.

Each of these FIH Series Finals will consist of eight teams and will take place throughout the world.

#HockeySeries2018

FIH site

Scotland beat Belarus to secure Hockey Series qualification



A comfortable 4-0 win for Scotland men over Belarus secured progression to the next stage of Hockey Series for the Blue Sticks. Goals from David Forsyth, Cammy Golden and Rob Harwood gave the Scots the victory in Lousada with the colour of Scotland’s medal to be decided by the Russia versus Portugal match later today. Anything less than a win for Russia will see Scotland take gold.

Scotland set about attempting to make inroads down the right in the opening quarter, while Belarus took a more direct approach with big smashes into the D.

The only half chance of the opening quarter came for Scotland when Callum Duke slashed the ball across goal from the right, but it evaded Luke Cranney at the far post.

In the second quarter Scotland sprang into life. From a mistrap at a Belarus penalty corner, Scotland tore forward at pace with Duncan Riddell finding Kyle White in the D, he set up David Forsyth who dived for the ball at the far post to score. A great goal from a lightning counter-attack. 1-0.

Soon after the opener, Cammy Golden made it 2-0 from a slick penalty corner routine. Golden injected, Aidan McQuade payed it back to him and Golden slipped it low into the net to double Scotland’s advantage.

The goals didn’t stop there. Next Rob Harwood pounced on a loose ball in the D to put Scotland 3-0 ahead in the second quarter.

Belarus mounted a fightback and first prompted a good save Tommy Alexander to his right from a powerful shot on the reverse from the top of the D

Then Belarus won a Penalty Stroke. Alexander was the hero again when he saved low at the right post to keep Scotland’s 3-0 lead intact at half time.

The Blue Sticks were in cruise control and never looked in any danger after the break.

The Scottish lead was extended when Cammy Golden scored his second of the match, and his sixth of the tournament, to make it 4-0 for Scotland. The young striker forced the ball home while on the ground and surrounded by Belarussian defenders.

Scotland played the game out professionally and deservedly secured their place in the next round of the Hockey Series.

Schedule

September 4 2018 | 14:30 | Scotland 7-2 Turkey
September 5 2018 | 16:30 | Scotland 2-0 Portugal
September 6 2018 | 14:30 | Gibraltar 0-2 Scotland
September 8 2018 | 14:30 | Scotland 1-4 Russia
September 9 2018 | 12:30 | Belarus 0-4 Scotland

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Hockeyroos Win Four Nations Warm-Up Game

Ben Somerford



The Hockeyroos have beaten Ibaraki City 5-0 in a warm-up game ahead of the Four Nations Women's Ibaraki International Tournament in Osaka.

On a humid afternoon with intermittent rain, Georgina Morgan scored a double, while newcomer Naomi Evans, Savannah Fitzpatrick and Rosie Malone also scored.

Scores were level at the first change, before Evans converted a penalty corner for the opener, with Morgan adding a second shortly after.

Fitzpatrick scored a field goal to make it 3-0 in the third period, with Morgan and Malone adding further goals in the last.

The Hockeyroos’ opening match of the Four Nations is against Japan on Wednesday 12 eptember.

Follow @Hockeyroos on Twitter for match updates and @HockeyroosOfficial on Instagram throughout the Four Nations.

The Japan Hockey Association will live stream each game online, via this link: https://sompocup-hockey-ibaraki.com.

Hockeyroos team for Four-Nations:
Athlete (Home town, State):
Jocelyn Bartram (Albury, NSW)
Kristina Bates (Mont Albert, VIC)
Edwina Bone (Orange, NSW) *Plays for ACT
Lily Brazel (Sydney, NSW) *Plays for VIC
Jane Claxton (Adelaide, SA)
Naomi Evans (Goulburn, NSW) *Plays for ACT
Ashlea Fey (Sunshine Coast, QLD)
Madison Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW) *Plays for QLD
Savannah Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW) *Plays for QLD
Stephanie Kershaw (Townsville, QLD)
Ambrosia Malone (Burleigh, QLD)
Georgina Morgan (Armidale, NSW)
Hayley Padget (Doncaster, VIC)
Mikaela Patterson (Blackbutt, NSW)
Grace Stewart (Gerringong, NSW)
Renee Taylor (Everton Park, QLD)
Sophie Taylor (Camberwell, VIC)
Ashlee Wells (Morwell, VIC)

Match Schedule:
Wednesday 12 September 2018 5:30pm AEST – South Korea v USA
Wednesday 12 September 2018 7:30pm AEST – Japan v Australia
Thursday 13 September 2018 5:30pm AEST – Australia v South Korea
Thursday 13 September 2018 7:30pm AEST – Japan v USA
Saturday 15 September 2018 3pm AEST – Australia v USA
Saturday 15 September 2018 5pm AEST – Japan v South Korea
Sunday 16 September 2018 2:45pm AEST – Third place play-off
Sunday 16 September 2018 5pm AEST – Final

Hockey Australia media release

Kampong back on track as HGC score big win at Rotterdam


©: World Sport Pics

SV Kampong got back on track in the Hoofdklasse as they came back to beat Oranje-Rood 3-1 in Eindhoven in today’s topper.

The day started off badly for the hosts with goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak suffering a knee injury in the warm-up with Sander van Berkel stepping in.

Ties Ceulemans put the Utrecht side 1-0 up in the first half only for Lucas Martinez to level the game at half-time.

Kampong were more efficient in the second half with Bjorn Kellerman scoring twice in the last 13 minutes from rare chances while Oranje-Rood let a number of corner chances go unconverted.

HGC scored a stunning 6-2 win over Rotterdam with Seve van Ass returning to his former club to net the first two goals. Olivier van Tongeren, Dick Mohlmann, Ashley Jackson and Karst Timmer extended the lead to 6-0 before Rotterdam got two back in the closing four minutes.

Bloemendaal remain top of the standings with a 5-0 defeat of SCHC with Thierry Brinkman scoring twice, keeping their perfect record intact along with a three-point lead. Justin Reid-Ross netted two times in a 4-1 win for AH&BC Amsterdam over Almere.

Tilburg drew 1-1 with Klein Zwitserland while Pinoke tied with Den Bosch.

Kampong and Amsterdam share second place as a result after the double weekend while Den Bosch and Oranje-Rood are level on seven points in fourth and fifth place after four games.

Euro Hockey League media release

Leo still waiting for first win of Belgian league


©: World Sport Pics

Royal Leopold are still waiting for their first win of the Belgian league campaign as they drew 3-3 with La Gantoise on day two of the new season.

French international Gaspard Baumgarten (pictured) gave them an 11th minute lead but the Ghent side equalised before half-time from their first corner from Leandro Tolini’s penalty corner drag.

Alan Sothern made it two goals in two games following an attack down the right but Leo fought back to lead for a second time via Kane Russell’s corner and a Tanguy Zimmer goal. But Tolini had the last laugh, making it 3-3 from a corner.

No further goals meant Leo sit on one point out of six thus far as they continue preparations for EHL ROUND1 in Barcelona next month.

Dragons won their derby with Antwerp 3-1, quickly over-turning an early deficit through two goals from Henri Raes and a clincher from Shane O’Donoghue.

The Waterloo Ducks, meanwhile, hammered Daring 7-2 with William Ghislain having another good weekend with the first two goals.

Braxgata held Racing Club de Bruxelles to a 1-1 draw, Tobias Biekens and Victor Wegnez scoring the respective goals. Herakles beat White Star 5-1 with Nick Haig’s first-half double leading the line. Oree drew 2-2 with Beerschot.

Euro Hockey League media release

Five star Rot-Weiss get one over on Mulheim to go clear in Germany


©: Frank Uijlenbroek / World Sport Pics

Rot-Weiss Koln are the last side standing with a perfect record in the German league as they made it five wins from five with wins over Uhlenhorst Mulheim and Crefeld over the weekend.

On Saturday against Mulheim, they were in trouble at 4-3 behind when Timm Herzbruch scored a penalty stroke as the home side threatened a repeat of their playoffs win from earlier this summer.

But Tom Grambusch equalised in the 52nd minute from a corner and repeated the trick for his third goal of the game to make it 5-4. Christopher Ruhr completed a run of three goals in five minutes for a 6-4 success.

Rot Weiss coach Andre Henning was happy with how his side played, saying: “We showed great strength there. We actually started well but then played two bad quarters where we played with poor risk management, especially against counter-attacks.

“But to pull yourself up and come back is very strong so I am very satisfied with the result and the mental performance today."

They followed up a day later with a 2-0 win over Crefeld with Marco Miltkau and Florian Scholten getting the goals.

Their weekend got even better with the news that Mannheimer HC had dropped points. Mannheim did beat BW Berlin on Saturday with two goals from Felix Schues and one each from Gabriel Ho-Garcia, Timm Haase, Guido Barreiros and Gonzalo Peillat.

But a day later, a pair of Peillat corners was not enough to get over the line against Berliner HC. They led going into the closing stages but Martin Haner scored his second of the game to make it 2-2.

It meant they dropped points for the first time this season and sit two points off Rot Weiss.

Polo, meanwhile, are third with four wins out of five with a 3-1 result over Harvestehuder THC and a 2-0 win over UHC Hamburg.

Euro Hockey League media release

Murugappa Cup: Punjab & Sind Bank outlasts Indian Navy

IOC too good for debutant CHA; ONGC comes up with a thumping win against MHA

K. Keerthivasan


Finding the mark: Jaskaran Singh of Punjab and Sind Bank scores against Indian Navy. Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Sometimes, in sports, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose; what does is the manner in which you compete.

The way the new-comers, Indian Navy and Chennai Hockey Association (CHA) played and lost, they could well hold their head high in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup 92nd All-India hockey tournament here on Sunday.

Former champion Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) had to play out of its skin to overcome Navy 4-2, while a star-studded IOC overcame a determined CHA, making its debut, 4-0.

Earlier, after a lacklustre performance the other day against Central Secretariat, defending champion ONGC put its house in order, with a 4-0 victory over Mumbai Hockey Association (MHA).

There wasn’t much to choose between PSB and Navy as both attacked and defended with gusto.

Change of script

With the scoreline reading 2-2, PSB was awarded a stroke in the 56th minute after Parvinder Singh was stick-checked by Bharat Singh inside the circle. Jaskaran Singh converted (he scored a brace) without much ado and from there on, the script changed.

Navy then earned two penalty corners, but couldn’t convert either. PSB sealed the contest with a wonderful goal that came off the combination of Harmanpreet Singh and Parvinder Singh, the latter striking it home.

The match that was much looked forward to was the one between CHA and IOC. All eyes were on how CHA would be able to stop the marauding IOC forward-line. To its credit, the local team did really well in the deep, leaving nothing to chance. Trailing only 1-0 at half-time was a creditable showing.

As a result of packing its defence, CHA frontline suffered in attack as there was not much support for forward Veera Thamizhan as IOC ran riot in the second half.

The results:

Pool A: ONGC 4 (Shilanand Lakra 17, Gurjant Singh 26, Neelam Xess 38, Jagwant Singh 70) bt MHA 0.

Pool B: IOC 4 (Affan Yousuf 10, V.R. Raghunath 50, Roshan Minz 55, Gurjinder Singh 62) bt CHA 0; PSB 4 (Jaskaran Singh 32 & 56, Gaganpreet Singh 44, Parvinder Singh 66) bt Indian Navy 2 (Rana Pratap 37, Sunny Malik 47).

The Hindu

The 2018 Ford NHL has begun



On Sunday, September 9 New Zealand's 2018 Ford National Hockey League kicked-off with 4 women’s and 3 men’s games around the country.

The Capital men showed a dominant 5-0 performance against Central. The Midlands men left Auckland scoreless to win 1-0 in their matchup and Canterbury also asserted their dominance with a 5-1 victory over Southern.

Two more of the men’s games will be played before all team’s head to Wellington for the remainder of the Ford NHL. North Harbour will play Auckland on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at Auckland’s Lloyd Elsmore Hockey Stadium, followed by Midlands versus North Harbour on Thursday, Sept. 13 at North Harbour.

On the women’s side, Central left Capital scoreless in Hawke’s Bay with a convincing 4-0 win as did North Harbour against Northland (4-0). Canterbury were far too good for Southern winning 9-1 in Christchurch to make a statement heading into the tournament, while the Auckland vs. Midlands game was tied 1-1 at the end of extra time, sending the game into a shootout. Midlands came out on top, 4-2, to give them the win.

The action for the women will continue on Saturday, September 15 at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington. Tickets will be available at the gate.

Click here for the 2018 Ford NHL Women’s draw, results and standings.

Click here for the 2018 Ford NHL Men’s draw, results and standings.

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Give team two-three years under Oltmans: Saqlain

By MIAN ASGHAR SALEEMI


Former captain says head coach has ability to change Pakistan hockey’s fortunes. PHOTO: AFP

LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team coach Muhammad Saqlain thinks the team requires two to three years under new coach Roelant Oltmans to produce better results and win big tournaments.

Saqlain, who is working with Oltmans, said that the new head coach has been successful in improving the game of the team and if they keep on working on the forward line, penalty corners, and player’s fitness then the time is not far when Pakistan will once again be included in one of the top teams of the world.

He also said that the former Olympians will have to sacrifice their personal interest in the favour of national interest. If they are worried about the declining state of hockey in Pakistan then they should improve the state of the game by working with the under-16 and in the player development programs.

“It has been only five months after this new management took responsibility of the team. Despite that, the national team is improving day by day. The fitness level of the players has increased by 50 per cent,” Saqlain told Daily Express.

“In the past we have been losing the matches against teams like Australia and India by big margins, but now we play neck to neck against them. Recently, we defeated Olympic champions Argentina, defeated Malaysia 4-1, drew against Belgium and also played well against India.”

He however said that a few things still need to be worked upon. “Like in some important matches at the Asian Games the forward line couldn’t score goals. In the semi-final and position matches the team received eight penalty corners but couldn’t convert into goal.”

“If we succeed in improving the forward line, penalty corner conversion rate and fitness of players then time is not far when once again we will be one of the top teams,” he added.

He then accepted that the team didn’t attack enough in the semi-final match against Japan.

“We don’t have any back up. We had to take the captain of the junior team with us at the Asian Games who also didn’t perform as per our expectations.”

Saqlain said that being the former captain and coach of the team, he is observing each and every team in the world and if the team keeps on doing the same hard work they will succeed.

“Oltmans is one of the top coaches in the world and if he stays with the team for two to three years then Pakistan can win big tournaments in coming years,” he concluded.

The Express Tribune

PHF asks AHF to assure teams travel to Pakistan

By Nabil Tahir


PHOTO: PHF

KARACHI  :  Host of the upcoming six-nation hockey tournament, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), is optimistic for the teams to visit the country and have also written a letter to the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) seeking their assistance.

The national game of Pakistan is set on its path of revival of international competitions in the country as they will be hosting five other nations at the end of this month.

The hockey federation has invited Sri Lanka, Oman, Qatar, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan, out of which the three teams have refused to participate citing financial crisis and busy schedules.

Following this, the PHF has written a letter to the AHF and asked them to convince all six teams to come and play in Pakistan.

The secretary of the PHF, Shahbaz Ahmed Senior, told The Express Tribune that they are optimistic that the teams will travel to Pakistan. “We have stated all the facts and all the security measures in the letter. We have told them about the security preparations that will be in place during the tournament and also gave them reference to the previously held international matches in Pakistan,” he said.

PHF hosted a World XI team in Karachi and Lahore after which they invited eleven goalkeepers to participate in the nine-a-side tournament. “We have organised the tournaments successfully and are ready to host again with the help of the Pakistan Army. The security is perfect and we are ready,” he said.

He further revealed that if the teams have their national and international commitments then the dates of the tournament can be shifted to when all teams are available. “The AHF has supported us before and they will do it now to make this tournament a success in Pakistan,” he said.

He added that the tournament will not only help the national team in preparing for the World Cup, but will also revive the interest of the game among youngsters.

“This is our national game and we are on a journey towards the revival of this game in the country and we will be putting in our maximum efforts to do this. As the team will start winning international tournaments, the interest in the young generation will increase,” he added.

The Express Tribune

Beatty reflects on whirlwind World Cup experience


GIllian Pinder and Emily Beatty at the launch of the Dublin Sportsfest. Pic: Inpho

Emily Beatty said “it was like she never left” when she arrived into the team hotel the evening before the World Cup final following her late call-up.

“Whirlwind” hardly describes it for the Pembroke player who was “devastated” to initially be left out of the Green Army panel but had to stay very much on our toes for her opportunity to come.

Prior to the World Cup, Graham Shaw said the speedy midfielder was incredibly close to making the cut, scoring a classy winner against Chile and impressing in the draw with Italy in the warm-up series.

With Roisin Upton carrying a hamstring injury and Megan Frazer a question-mark due to her knee issues, it was a very tough call to leave her out. Shaw, though, knew the circumstances were such that he would probably need to call on his reserve panel at some stage.

“It was the most devastating setback in my hockey career,” Beatty told the Hook – at the Dublin Sports Fest this week – about the moment she learned she would not be part of the World Cup panel of 18.

“To go do so far, put so much work in and then come agonisingly short was very tough. With the girls doing so well, it was unfortunate for one of them to have an injury and never what you want. When the girls did go away, Graham did say there is always a chance.”

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the funding to bring the reserves along to the tournament. So we had a fitness and gym schedule to do on our own time in case anything was to happen.”

Along with Sinead Loughran and Naomi Carroll, Beatty headed away to Spain to get away from things but resisted temptations to cut loose.

“The World Cup is such a major event, you would be mad to do anything jeopardise yourself and your position. We just relaxed and did our fitness sessions!”

The trio crowded around screens to watch the early games; after that, there were a few times when the phone buzzed before she eventually got the call for the final.

Indeed, she had her bag packed with supporter’s kit but soon had to swap that out for her playing gear.

“Over the tournament, I thought I might be brought in after the quarter-finals but Gilly [Pinder] got the all clear.

“When they got to the final, you do think the chance is probably over. I saw Gilly and Megan getting strapped up on tv. With hockey, with everyone playing every match, there’s always that chance and we always had to be ready!

“After the semis, I was supposed to be heading over just to support the girls but I got a message there was an injury and they didn’t really know what the story was! I ended up having to change my flight to Saturday and on Sunday morning got told Megan was unfortunately injured and so I was in and playing!

“For me, to get out there and play after all the years of hard work, was a fantastic opportunity and the girls were so welcoming.

“It was like I had never left; I had played so much of the build-up and practice matches, been with the girls for so many years and so many tournaments. It was only really five matches I hadn’t been around for and had been in the 20 before that.”

Since the final, it has been an incredible month, starting with the homecoming on Dame Street and culminating in a visit to Aras an Uachtaran on Friday and then on to the Late Late Show.

The invite to launch the Dublin Sportsfest is another example of how far their stock has risen with the silver medals a star attraction for young kids at Irishtown Stadium.

Gillian Pinder was also at the launch event and said it has been very different to a normal preseason experience.

“It’s been brilliant, very different from a normal August and September!” she told The Hook. “Everyone wants to talk about hockey. Sometimes, you get home from tournaments and its the last thing you want to talk about. It’s certainly not the case this time!

“Clubs have asked if I could come down and meet their youth players and loads of things like that, invitations to events you would never normally get an invitation to. It’s now about trying to balance that with my training and the other stuff I do with my life!

“I was down the pier in Dun Laoghaire and this lady stopped me, asking if I was part of the team. I wasn’t wearing any Irish gear but she wanted a photo. That was strange for sure but I wasn’t complaining!”

Both will be in Dublin for the upcoming season and so will be star attractions when they hit the turf with Pembroke on September 29 when the EY Hockey League returns.

Beatty will be continuing her studies at RCSI where she has started second-year medicine. Pinder, meanwhile, will head up girls hockey at her alma mater St Andrew’s but does have plans to potentially play abroad in the future.

As such, the Ballsbridge club can look at the new season with plenty of optimism to try and bridge the gap to the top four. Loughran returns to the club as does Avril Dooley-O’Carroll from Trinity and Sinead Clarke from UCD.

Tara Melvin – a member of the Colaiste Iognaid Kate Russell winning side in 2009 – also joins after a spell with Bowdon in the English Premier Division while Lynne Froeschle is an eye-catching addition from Hamburg’s Club an der Alster.

“There’s a lot of players going abroad [from other clubs] which could weaken some of the teams we are playing against,” Pinder says.

“We have gotten stronger with Gavin Groves taking over so it’s exciting; there is a definitely a top-four finish in us and I would be disappointed if we don’t bridge that gap from where we were last year.

“Getting Pembroke into a couple more finals and playing the top teams on a more regular basis would be great!”

** Emily Beatty & Gill Pinder teamed up with Dublin City Council and Dublin City Sport and Wellbeing Partnership to launch the inaugural Dublin Sportsfest, a week-long celebration of sport throughout the City of Dublin which will take place from 23rd – 30th September.

They are encouraging the people of Dublin to ‘Make Some Me Time’ by getting active and enjoying the wealth of sport and recreational amenities that our city has to offer.

Details: http://www.dublincity.ie/sportsfest

The Hook

No. 2 UNC field hockey sweeps weekend set in Louisville to improve to 6-0

By Mark Burnett


The North Carolina field hockey team celebrates during its 5-1 win against No. 5 Michigan on Aug. 25 at Carolina Field Hockey Stadium. Abigail Turner

The North Carolina field hockey team defeated Louisville, 3-1, and California, 6-0, this past weekend in Louisville, Ky., to improve to 6-0 on the season.

What happened?

On Friday, the No. 2 Tar Heels (6-0, 1-0 ACC) played their first conference game of the year against Louisville. The Cardinals (4-2, 0-1 ACC) scored first in the game, but UNC was able to muster enough energy to pull in front with three goals in the first half. Neither team scored in the second half, allowing the Tar Heels to pull out a 3-1 win, their first ACC victory of this season.

Following Friday’s game against Louisville, the Tar Heels were scheduled to play against California at 3 p.m. on Saturday. But due to forecasted weather, the game was moved up to 1 p.m., giving the Tar Heels less than 20 hours of rest.

However, the lack of rest didn’t hinder UNC too much, as it was able to crush California (2-2) with a 6-0 win. The Tar Heels scored three times in each half, with four goals scored off nine penalty corners.

Junior Catherine Hayden led the way with a two-goal performance against the Golden Bears.

Who stood out?

Hayden stood out the most this weekend. With one goal against Louisville and two against California, she did not let up. With seven minutes left in the first half against Louisville, Hayden received a pass from senior midfielder Eva van’t Hoog, turned, and scored UNC's second goal of the game.

In the game against California on Saturday, Hayden scored the first and third goals of the contest. Hayden’s fist score was a reverse-stick shot four minutes after the start of the game and her second goal right before halftime was on a deflected shot that van't Hoog had sent towards the goalie.

When was it decided?

The game against Louisville was decided with 2:51 remaining in the first half, when senior defender Ashley Hoffman scored the Tar Heels' third goal. Neither team made a shot in the second half.

However, the game against California was decided at the 4:02 mark of the match, with Hayden’s first goal. The Golden Bears were unable to get on the scoreboard and lost to the Tar Heels, 6-0.

Why does it matter?

The win over Louisville was the Tar Heels' first ACC victory of the season and the domination over California gives UNC positive momentum necessary moving forward with the season.

North Carolina head coach Karen Shelton said that it is harder to play away games, especially when one of the back-to-back games gets moved up, as was the case on Saturday.

Shelton also noted that Louisville has one of the best goalies in the country and that scoring three goals against the keeper highlights the potential and strength of the Tar Heels this season.

“You know it would be great if we could earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament," Shelton said. "We haven’t done that yet, so we took our first step this weekend by beating Louisville."

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels face Appalachian State on Sept. 11 at home in the newly constructed field hockey stadium at 6 p.m.

The Mountaineers' head coach played as a defender for the Tar Heels under Shelton, but the UNC coach knows once her team takes the field the only objective is winning.

The Daily Tar Heel

No. 3 Maryland field hockey knocks off No. 17 Harvard, 3-1, in another dominant showing

By Matthew Gilpin


Forward Sabrina Rhodes makes a pass during Maryland field hockey's 3-1 win over Harvard at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex on Sept. 9, 2018. (Alex Chen / The Diamondback)

Not even the first cold day of the season and an undefeated opponent could cool down the No. 3 Maryland field hockey team, which entered Sunday off to its best start since 2013 and stayed perfect with a 3-1 win over No. 17 Harvard.

The Crimson took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, but the Terps responded shortly after and added two second-half goals to win their seventh game to start the year.

Coach Missy Meharg was pleased with the team's performance, which included outshooting the Crimson 15-7.

Harvard came out of the gates strong, however, spending the first few minutes around the net and eventually scoring in the 18th minute.

Maryland found its footing 10 minutes later, nearly connecting on a penalty corner. Harvard goalkeeper Ellie Shahbo made a sprawling save to keep the Terps off the board, but she couldn't do the same in the 30th, when midfielder Linnea Gonzales tied the game off Maryland's sixth corner.

"It was just beautiful," Meharg said. "The amount of running she had just done … was just amazing."

With the rain falling harder and footing becoming even more of an issue, the second half began and Maryland continued to put shots on Shahbo, who made 10 saves on the afternoon. After consecutive chances off of corners, forward Sabrina Rhodes scored on a penalty shot in the 43rd minute to give the Terps their first lead.

"I'm so impressed with her variety of skills," Meharg said of Rhodes, who is her "go-to" on penalty corners. "She's a great defender and a great eliminator.

Even with star defender Nike Lorenz still unavailable while she's in Germany dealing with a family matter, Harvard's attack couldn't get anything going, and their frustration became visible.

Maryland midfielder Madison Maguire iced the game for the Terps in the final 10 minutes by scoring a wide open goal on a beautiful cross from midfielder Brooke DeBerdine.

"She did all the work," Maguire said. "I just kind of finished it."

Meharg commended the work of her defense, led by Bodil Keus, after allowing five shots in the team's final game before Big Ten play.

"Our second layer defense is outstanding", she said. "Bodil is extraordinary. She'll make the decision to tackle you so hard you don't even know what's coming."

The Diamondback

Bulldogs open season with three straight wins

Angela Xiao


Yale Athletics

The weather in New Haven cooled off over the weekend, but the Yale field hockey team extended its hot start with a pair of wins on Johnson Field.

Although they conceded first on Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs (3–0, 0–0 Ivy) scored three straight goals against Hofstra (1–5, 0–0 Colonial) to earn a comfortable 3–1 victory. On Sunday, Yale again drew on the combination of strong defense and a multifaceted offensive effort to defeat Drexel (4–2, 0–0 Colonial) 4–2 in a back-and-forth match and extend its undefeated streak to three, its best start to a season since 2010.

“We [initially] played [Hofstra] as the team they used to be rather than the team that stepped onto the field that day,” captain and back Jackie Kisa ’19 said. “We adjusted quickly though, beginning with us focusing on the game and our own play rather than the uncontrollable factors. Upping the communication and just reminding ourselves that we are far better when we play as a team really brought us out of our lapse.”

Coming off last weekend’s 2–1 overtime victory against Michigan State, the Bulldogs entered Friday’s match against the Pride, who had lost three straight, with the upper hand. The Elis got off to a slow start, but hit their stride late in the first period to equalize before a pair of late-game goals from forward Imogen Davies ’21 handed the Bulldogs the victory.

Despite taking the first shot and penalty corner of the match, Yale struggled to find the back of the net for most of the match’s first. Goalie Sydney Terroso ’21 — who went eight for nine against Michigan State — and the defense kept the Pride off the scoreboard with two blocks and a diving save from Terroso after two consecutive Hofstra penalty corners. The Pride, however, managed to find the back of the net five minutes later to grab a 1–0 lead.

But the Elis continued to generate offensive opportunities after Hofstra’s opening goal. In the 10 minutes immediately thereafter, six Yale players combined to register six shots and a penalty corner, while the Pride settled for just one errant penalty corner. The Bulldogs’ inability to convert on those opportunities finally came to an end with just 35 seconds left in the first period. Midfielder Bridget Condie ’20, a second-team All-Ivy pick last season, hit a laser into the back of the net to close the period tied at 1–1 and set the tone going into halftime.

Although neither squad could pull ahead for most of the second half, the Elis took early offensive control and maintained it through the period, taking five shots and drawing out four penalty corners while limiting Hofstra’s offensive efforts to two attempts at the net and a lone penalty corner.

Despite the efforts, however, the score remained knotted at one until halfway through the period, when Davies, a veteran member of Yale’s penalty corner unit who finished last season second on the team in points, took a corner for the Elis. Condie took the shot off the corner, but Hofstra goalie Betty Bosma saved it. Davies, up by the post, quickly grabbed the rebound before Bosma had properly recovered to hand Yale the 2–1 lead.

Nine goalless minutes later, Davies routed Bosma again. The sophomore swept past a Hofstra defender and, as Bosma charged out, lifted the ball past the goalie to notch the insurance goal for the 3–1 victory.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs followed up their Friday victory with a successful team effort to take down the Dragons that highlighted the importance of penalty corners and quashed questions about the team’s ability to replace the scoring output of Carol Middough ’18.

“We prepared very well for Drexel,” head coach Pam Stuper said. “We adjusted some plays, some set pieces, and the team really took all those adjustments in stride and knew what we needed to do … from what we could see, it was going to be a really competitive match.”

The Bulldogs’ four tallies came from four players, with corners again proving critical in the Elis’ offensive strategy. Yale jumped out to an early lead with a clean stroke off a penalty from the stick of rookie midfielder Theodora Dillman ’22, 16 minutes into play.

Dillman and fellow midfielder Alissa Wong ’22 have proven that they are already critical parts of the Eli offense. Wong tallied Yale’s first goal of the season against Michigan State and stepped up again rebuild the Elis’ lead after the Dragons responded to Dillman’s tally with one of their own just a minute later.

With just three minutes remaining in the first period, Yale found itself tied at one for the second time this weekend. Another corner proved critical in pulling ahead — Davies took the corner and, with an assist from Wong, forward Olivia Levieux ’21 notched her first goal of the season to end the period with the Elis up 2–1.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, another corner extended Yale’s lead when Davies teamed up with Condie again to pull ahead to 3–1. Drexel narrowed the lead back to one after another nine minutes with a goal of its own; but with just two minutes remaining, Condie forced a turnover that she took all the way to the net, handing Yale a 4–2 victory.

Once again this weekend, the Elis put together teamwide defensive efforts, success on penalty corners and depth in scoring. But the Bulldogs will face their most formidable test yet next weekend with a pair of away matches again Stanford and California next weekend.

“We hope to keep building off our success,” forward Brooke Reese ’19 said. “Every new challenge gives us an opportunity to improve and we can’t wait to test ourselves against some very talented West Coast teams.”

Stuper is in her 14th year as head coach of the Yale field hockey team.

Yale Daily News

Field hockey earns weekend split against City Six rivals Villanova and No. 15 Saint Joe's

The Quakers were defeated on Sunday in the driving rain

By Michael Landau


Senior forward Rachel Mirkin continued her strong start to the season, scoring the winning goal in Penn's 2-1 win over Villanova.  Credit: Nicole Fridling

Even Mother Nature couldn’t stop Penn field hockey from playing a full slate of games this weekend.

During a long spell of rainy weather in the Philly area, the Quakers traveled to nearby Villanova on Friday before returning home to Ellen Vagelos Field on Sunday to face No. 15 St. Joseph’s. The weekend ended in a split, as Penn was victorious in a thrilling 2-1 win against the Wildcats before falling 4-0 to the Hawks.

Despite the opposite results across the two games, senior forward/midfielder Rachel Mirkin believes that the team can take away something from both.

“I think we have to build off of both games because there are a lot of things we have to work on, and there are some things we did well,” Mirkin said.

On Friday, those positives shined through. In a game against Villanova (2-3) that was close the entire way, the Quakers (2-2) rebounded from an early deficit to tie the game in the 13th minute on a goal from sophomore midfielder Erin Kelly. The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 for over 50 minutes until a clutch goal from Mirkin in the 65th put Penn ahead for good.

The win was impressive, but the final result overshadowed some troubling statistics from the box score, particularly the 15-13 deficit in shots for Penn. This would foreshadow some of the problems that would arise on Sunday against a tough ranked opponent in St. Joe’s (4-1).

In a driving sideways rain that became heavier and heavier as the early afternoon game wore on, the Quakers never managed to gain any momentum. The Hawks scored their first goal in the 8th minute and never looked back en route to a comfortable four-goal victory. They dominated Penn in the shot count by a 14-6 margin, never giving the Quakers a true chance to get back into the game.

Mirkin recognized many of the issues the team faced and knows that they weren’t simply a product of Sunday’s performance.

“We need to take more shots. We need to play better baseline defense,” she said. “I think having these two games will show us that and help us moving forward.”

From the outside, it may have appeared as though the inclement weather was one of the main causes of Sunday’s struggles, but Mirkin was not using it as an excuse.

“I don’t think it affected the game,” she said. “You have to play through anything. I think some people prefer playing in the rain sometimes.”

Despite the loss, coach Colleen Fink was still feeling positive about the Quakers, emphasizing their youth in her evaluation of their performance.

“I have the utmost confidence in our team. I think we’re a strong team, and I think at times we show our inexperience,” she said. “I’m not feeling negative in the least bit. We just need to work through some of these growing pains.”

Additionally, Fink noted that the team’s even record might not be indicative of its overall success due to its losses to ranked teams in St. Joe’s and No. 2 UNC.

“We’re 2-2 and we have two losses to two very strong teams,” she said. “Some of this stuff is to be expected.”

The Red and Blue will now need to recover fast, as another busy weekend is coming up with games at Iowa on Friday and back at Vagelos Field on Sunday against University City rival Drexel.

With plenty of opportunities to make up for Sunday’s loss ahead for Penn, Mirkin was optimistic about the team’s chances.

“I still feel like we’re a very strong team, and we can come back from it,” she said. “We’ve had some tough go-arounds, but I think we’ve also had some highs, and I think that we can still do well this season.”

If that’s true, the outlook for the Quakers will be a lot more sunny than the Philly weather. 

The Daily Pennsylvanian

Saint Kentigern and Iona College make school history capturing top titles



Saint Kentigern and Iona College have been crowned this year’s New Zealand Aon Secondary Schools champions after their winning performances on Saturday (Sept. 8). It marks the first time in Rankin Cup/Federation Cup history that either school have one the top titles.

How did it go down?

On Friday, the first semifinal of the Aon Rankin Cup featured Saint Kentigern College and Hamilton Boys’ High School. Saint Kentigern left Hamilton Boys’ scoreless to clinch their spot in the final, 1-0. The second semifinal saw Kings College and Christ’s College tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. Christ’s College’s Nicholas Lidstone eventually notched a goal in extra time (2-1), sending the team to face-off against Saint Kentigern in the Aon Rankin Cup final. 

On Saturday, Saint Kentigern and Christ’s College drew a loud crowd for the Aon Rankin Cup final. Malcolm Curley put Saint Kentigern ahead in the 13th minute of play. The remainder of the game saw many close shots, but neither team were able to find the back of the net. At the end of the 60 minutes, Saint Kentigern held their 1-0 lead to take home the 2018 Aon Rankin Cup.

The bronze medal game took place just a few hours earlier where Hamilton Boys’ High School took the lead in the first half. Kings College came back just before the half time whistle to tie the game at 1-1 in the 30th minute.

Kings came out blazing in the first few minutes of the second half to take the lead, 2-1, thanks to Charles Cleal. Hamilton responded with another goal a few minutes later to tie the game again at 2-2. It didn’t take long for Cleal to find the back of the net for the second time in the half to regain the lead for Kings (3-2).

Kings extended their lead, 4-2, after a penalty stroke with just under 10 minutes to go. This was enough to secure the win and the bronze medal.

Charl Ulrich topped the individual goal-scoring table of the Aon Rankin Cup with 20 goals for Westlake Boys’ High School throughout the tournament.

In the girls’ Aon Federation Cup semifinals on Friday it was a match-up of Christchurch versus Hawke’s Bay teams battling it out for their spots in the championship game. Iona College defeated Christchurch Girls’ High School, 2-1, with the help of goal-scoring machine Olivia Shannon who tallied both of Iona’s goals.

In the second semifinal, Napier Girls’ High School edged Villa Maria College with a goal from Lily Verhoeven in extra time, making it a Hawke’s Bay school final and a Christchurch school bronze medal match.

In the Bronze medal match, Villa Maria College took a 1-0 lead early in the first half over Christchurch Girls’ High School. Christchurch responded halfway through the second half to tie the game 1-1. The teams battled back and forth throughout the remainder of regulation time but the score remained tied at 60 minutes, sending the game into extra time.

Although a highly contested battle in the extra 15 minutes, neither teams were able to get on the board leaving it up to a shootout to decide the winner. Christchurch Girls’ eventually came out on top in the shootout to claim the bronze medal of the Aon Federation Cup.



The first half of the 2018 Aon Federation Cup Final saw a convincing effort from Iona College over Napier Girls’ High School in the battle of the Bay teams. Olivia Shannon was back at it, notching the first goal of the game to give Iona the advantage, 1-0. With just under a minute to play in the first, Bella Greig extended the Iona lead off a penalty stroke.

Iona didn’t want to give anything away in the second half as Shannon collected two more goals to finish the game with a hat trick. Napier Girls’ High School weren’t able to find the back of the net by the end of 60 minutes, allowing Iona to take home the Fed Cup silverware for the first time in school history with the 4-0 tally.

Shannon also topped the women’s goal-scoring chart for the 2018 Federation Cup with a total of 16 goals in tournament play.

Hockey New Zealand would like to congratulate all the teams that took part in the Aon Secondary School Tournaments across the country and would also like to thank all the volunteers, umpires, officials and host associations who helped make the tournaments possible.

Aon Secondary School Tournaments – Tier 1 & 2 Medal Match Results

Boys:

Tier 1: Aon Rankin Cup
-        Gold Medal Match: Saint Kentigern College won vs. Christ’s College, 1-0.
-        Bronze Medal Match: Kings College won vs. Hamilton Boys’ High School, 4-2.

Tier 2: Aon India Shield
-        Gold Medal Match: Papaparaumu College won vs. Taupo-nui-a-Tia College, 4-1.
-        Bronze Medal Match: Wairarapa College won vs. Christchurch Boys’ High School, 3-2 AET.

Girls:

Tier 1: Aon Federation Cup
-        Gold Medal Match: Iona College won vs. Napier Girls’ High School, 4-0.
-        Bronze Medal Match: Christchurch Girls’ High School won vs. Villa Maria College, 1-1 (4-2 SO).

Tier 2: Aon Marie Fry Trophy
-        Gold Medal Match: Orewa College won vs. Westlake Girls’ High School, 3-1.
-        Bronze Medal Match: Columba College won vs. Wairarapa College, 2-1 AET.

Click here to see results from the all Aon Secondary Schools Tournaments.

Hockey New Zealand Media release