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All the news for Monday 15 October 2018

3rd Youth Olympic Games - Finals
Buenos Aires (ARG)

Men's Results

7-8 BAN 2 AUT 2 (SO 0-2)
5-6 POL 4 AUS 4 (SO 2-1)
Bronze ARG 4 ZAM 0
Gold IND 2 MAS 4

Final standings

1. Malaysia
2. India
3. Argentina
4. Zambia
5. Poland
6. Australia
7. Austria
8. Bangladesh
9. Mexico
10. Canada
11. Kenya
12. Vanuatu

Women's Results

7-8 NAM 1 POL 3
5-6 AUS 3 AUT 0
Bronze RSA 0 CHN 6
Gold ARG 3 IND 1

Final standings

1. Argentina
2.. China
4. South Africa
5. Australia
6. Austria
7. Poland
8. Namibia
9. Uruguay
10. Zimbabwe
11. Mexico
12. Vanuatu

YOG Official site

Malaysia and Argentina win historic Youth Olympic Games gold


Argentina women won gold in front of a capacity crowd in Buenos Aires Photo: FIH/WSP

Malaysia men and Argentina women won their first ever Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s gold medals in Buenos Aires today.

Malaysia men defeated India 4-2 in their gold medal match, while Argentina beat India 3-1 to take the women's title.

With India men and women picking up silver, Argentina men and China women secured the bronze medals following wins earlier in the day.

The men's gold medal match saw India go ahead after only two minutes through captain Vivek Sagar Prasad. However, just over two minutes later Malaysia levelled through Firadus Rosdi, but their lead was short lived as Prasad grabbed his second goal of the match for India in the fifth minute as India took a 2-1 lead into half-time.

After the break Malaysia came out all guns firing as Akhimullah Anuar drew the teams level again in the 13th minute before Amirul Azahar edged Malaysia in front three minutes later. With only two minutes left on the clock, Anuar secured their gold medals by scoring Malaysia's fourth and final goal and in doing so winning their first ever Youth Olympic Games medal.


In winning gold, Malaysia men won their nations first Youth Olympic Games hockey medal Photo: Buenos Aires 2018

In the women's final, Argentina were inspired by yet another capacity crowd. Having not lost a match in this event, Argentina were stunned as India took an early lead after only 49 seconds through Mumtaz Khan. After the early nerves had settled, Argentina got into their stride and Gianella Palet levelled after six minutes. Sofia Ramallo then edged Argentina ahead with nearly nine minutes on the clock to take Argentina into a 2-1 half-time lead.

Within a couple minutes of the restart Brisa Bruggesser made it 3-1, and whilst India tried their best to get back in the game Argentina held on to win their first Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s gold medal in front of a jubilant home support.

Speaking afterwards, Argentina's Victoria Miranda said: "I cannot not believe it. It is a unique experience to get the chance to win such a title and share it with all my friends and family! This happens once in a lifetime! We are a strong group and if we stay as unified as we are now we can go really far!"

Despite India's loss in both finals they will be pleased to have picked up the silver medals - their first hockey medals in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.

Earlier in the day China won the bronze medals by defeating South Africa 6-0. Two goals from Zou Meirong and a goal each from Gu Yangyan, captain Ma Ning, Yu Anhui and Cai Wenqian proved the difference between the two teams.

In the men's bronze medal match, Argentina were inspired by the home crowd against a passionate and resilient Zambian team. Facundo Zarate was a two goal hero on the day, with Facundo Sarto and Ignacio Ibarra also getting their names on the scoresheet to win Argentina men their first hockey medal in Youth Olympic Games history.

A number of classification matches were also played on the final day of the men's and women's events in Youth Olympic Park.

In the women's event, the 7th-8th match saw Poland defeat Namibia 3-1 while Australia won 3-0 against Austria in the 5th-6th match.

In the men's event, two shoot-outs determined final placings.

Austria beat Bangladesh by shoot-out after the two teams drew 2-2 in the 7th-8th match. Poland meanwhile defeated Australia to win the 5th-6th match after an eight goal thriller saw the teams end the match 4-4.

Today's medal and classification matches concluded the Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s events in Buenos Aires.

The next summer Youth Olympic Games are due to take place in Dakar, Senegal in 2022.

#YOG2018

FIH site

Malaysian Junior hockey squad win gold at YOG

By Jugjet Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: The national boys' under-18 team upset the odds to beat India 4-2 for the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires on Sunday.

The gold was Malaysia's second at the YOG after shuttler Goh Jin Wei's victory in the girls' singles of the badminton competition.

Making their debut at YOG, Malaysia came back from behind in the five-a-side final to snatch the historic title.

Vivek Sagar Prasad handed India the lead in second minute, but Firdaus Rosdi equalised in the fifth.

Vivek again gave India the lead, but goals from Akhimullah Anuar Esook (14th, 18th) and Amirul Hamizan Azahar (17th) earned Malaysia the win.

For the record, Akhimullah scored a total of 22 goals in the tournament.

New Straits Times

Malaysia creates history with boys' hockey gold at Youth Olympics Games

By Aftar Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia created history by winning the boys' hockey gold in the Youth Olympics Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

National coach Wallace Tan said Malaysia defeated India 4-2 in the final at the Parque Polideportivo Roca Stadium on Sunday (Oct 14).

This was the first time the Malaysian hockey team qualified for the five-a-side tournament in the Youth Olympic Games.

Muhd Akhimullah Anuar Esook was the hero for Malaysia when he scored two goals in the 14th and 19th minutes.

Mohd Firdaus Rosdi (eighth) and skipper Amirul Hamizan Azahar (17th) delivered the other goals for Malaysia.

Both of India's goals were scored by captain Vivek Prasad in the third and sixth minutes.

The 18-year-old Muhd Akhimullah, who was the top scorer in the tournament with 22 goals, was thrilled with his efforts.

"We created history by upsetting India in the final to win our first Youth Olympics Games gold," he said.

The Star of Malaysia

Las Leoncitas and Malaysia won the Gold medal in Youth Olympics, India settled for Silver medals in both categories

By B.G.Joshi (Sehore-Bhopal, India)


Argentine (Gold), Indian (Silver) and Chinese (Bronze) Girls with their medals in group in Buenos Aires (courtesy-YOG)

In maiden appearances Indian Girls and Boys won the silver medals in 3rd Youth Olympics Hockey.

In Praque Polideportive Roca stadium in Argentina, Malaysia took the revenge of Bangkok 5s Olympic Qualifier. In April 2018 India beat Malaysia in Olympic Qualifier’ final match in shoot out (full time 4-4, shoot out 2-1).Malaysian boy Anuar Akhimullah scored the goal within 30 seconds against Zambia in semifinal   in his tally of 21 goals in the tournament. Indian girl Mumtaz also scored in 49 seconds in final versus hosts Argentina, but her team won the silver only.  Here are final standings of the tournament:

 Fieldhockey.com

India lose in final of men and women hockey 5s, earn maiden silver medals


The victorious Indian hockey 5s teams on Sunday , Twitter (@IndiaSports)

India failed to script a perfect finish to its Hockey5s campaign at the third Youth Olympic Games as both the men and women teams lost in the summit clash to settle for their maiden silver medal here.

While the men lost 2-4 to Malaysia on Sunday, the women's team suffered a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Argentina later in the day. Malaysia men and Argentina women scripted history by winning their first-ever Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s gold medals.

Argentina men and China women secured the bronze medals respectively following 4-0 and 6-0 wins over Zambia and South Africa earlier in the day. In the men's gold medal match, India took the lead after only two minutes through captain Vivek Sagar Prasad.

However, just over two minutes later Malaysia levelled through Firadus Rosdi, but their lead was short lived as Prasad grabbed his second goal of the match for India in the fifth minute as India took a 2-1 lead into half-time. After the break Malaysia came out all guns firing as Akhimullah Anuar drew the teams level again in the 13th minute before Amirul Azahar edged Malaysia in front three minutes later.

With only two minutes left on the clock, Anuar sealed the gold by scoring Malaysia's fourth and his second goal of the day to win their first-ever Youth Olympic Games medal. Later in the day in the women's final, hosts Argentina were inspired by yet another capacity crowd. Having not lost a match in this event, Argentina were stunned as India took an early lead after only 49 seconds through Mumtaz Khan.

After the early nerves had settled, Argentina got into their stride and Gianella Palet levelled after six minutes. Sofia Ramallo then edged Argentina ahead with nearly nine minutes on the clock to give the hosts a 2-1 lead at half-time. Within a couple minutes of the restart Brisa Bruggesser made it 3-1.

While India tried their best to get back in the game, Argentina held on to win their first Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s gold medal in front of a jubilant home crowd. Despite India's loss in both finals they will be pleased to have picked up the silver medals -- their first hockey medals in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.

Daily News & Analysis

Australia Women & Men Finish Fifth & Sixth At Youth Olympics

Ben Somerford



Australia’s women and men have finished fifth and sixth respectively at the 2018 Youth Olympics Hockey 5s following the final matches in Buenos Aires this morning (AEDT).

The Aussie women defeated Austria 3-0 in the fifth-place match, with a double from captain Courtney Schonell and the other goal from Amy Lawton.

Meanwhile, the Aussie men fluffed a 4-0 lead to lose in a cruel shootout 2-1 to Poland after a 4-4 draw.

First-half goals from Lain Carr, Miles Davis and Bradley Marais had Australia firmly in control with a 3-0 half-time lead, before Poland rallied.

Captain James Collins made it 4-0 in the 14th minute but the Polish showed mettle to respond with four goals in the final four minutes to send the game to shootouts.

Collins was the only Australian to convert his attempt in the first three, before the shootout went to sudden death, with Collins unfortunately denied this time after Jakub Chumenczuk scored for Poland.

The Australian men had won all of their group games before a shock quarter-final loss to Zambia saw them bow out of medal contention.

The Aussie women won two group games, lost two and drew one, before a shootout defeat to South Africa in the quarters.

Meanwhile, Malaysia men and Argentina women won their first ever Youth Olympics Hockey5s gold medals.

Malaysia men defeated India 4-2 in their gold medal match, while Argentina beat India 3-1 to take the women's title.

With India men and women picking up silver, Argentina men and China women secured the bronze medals following wins earlier in the day.

Click here to view men’s report

Click here to view women’s report

Australian Schedule (all times AEDT):
Men’s Hockey
Monday 8 October 1am – Australia 7 Kenya 0
Tuesday 9 October 4am – Australia 4 Bangladesh 3
Wednesday 10 October 1am – Australia 6 Canada 3
Thursday 11 October 7:45am – Australia 4 India 3
Friday 12 October 1:45am – Australia 2 Austria 0
Saturday 13 October 5am - Australia 4 Zambia 6 (quarter-finals)
Sunday 14 October 12am - Australia 8 Austria 3 (classification)
Monday 15 October 12:30am - Australia 4 (1) Poland 4 (2) (fifth place match)

Women’s Hockey
Monday 8 October 3:30am – Australia 10 Zimbabwe 0
Tuesday 9 October 1am – Australia 3 Namibia 4
Wednesday 10 October 5:30am – Australia 8 Poland 0
Thursday 11 October 12:15am – Australia 1 China 3
Friday 12 October 5:30am – Australia 1 Mexico 1
Saturday 13 October 12am - Australia 3 (2) South Africa 3 (3) (quarter-finals)
Sunday 14 October 1am - Australia 5 Namibia 1 (classification)
Monday 15 October 1:30am - Australia 3 Austria 0 (fifth place match)

Selected Australian Teams:
Men’s Hockey
Lain Carr (18), Matcham, NSW
James Collins (18), Perth, WA
Miles Davis (17), Sydney NSW
Brad Marais (18), Melbourne VIC
Craig Marais (16), Melbourne, VIC
Alistair Murray (18), Tincurrin, WA
Jed Snowden (16), Melbourne, VIC
Christian Starkie (17), Perth, WA
Ben White (18), Blackburn, VIC

Women’s Hockey
Caitlin Cooper (17), Perth, WA
Naomi Duncan (16), Sydney, NSW
Amy Lawton (16), Emerald, VIC
Morgan Mathison (18), Gold Coast, QLD
Indianna Robertson (18), Bentleigh, VIC
Courtney Schonell (17), Narellan Vale, NSW
Jolie Sertorio (16), Peppermint Grove, WA
Maddison Smith (18), Albion Park, NSW
Grace Young (15), Yowie Bay, NSW

Hockey Australia media release

Malaysian boys blow hot and cold

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) is a yardstick on Malaysia’s hockey future, and in this year’s edition, coach Nor Saiful Zaini’s boys blew hot and cold to finish fifth.

With the SOJC being the only under-21 invitational tournament in the world, teams from across the globe look forward to going to Johor Baru just to play in it annually.

Malaysia emerged first in the inaugural tournament in 2011, last in 2012, and were silver medallists in 2013.

The boys, who also blew hot and cold initially under coach K. Dharmaraj, went on to finish fourth in the 2013 Junior World in New Delhi.

So, there is still hope for the current batch.

The SOJC squad have three players who can play in the 2021 Junior World Cup, while seven from the Youth Olympics are also eligible.

And with this initial set of 10 boys, Nor Saiful Zaini will be

tasked to qualify for the Junior World Cup, and then do better than the 2013 squad.

But Nor Saiful lamented the lack of exposure and the need for more international matches to make his charges match-ready.

His boys were guilty of ball watching and losing 2-1 to India, 6-1 to Australia, drawing 5-5 with New Zealand, losing 5-1to Britain before beating Japan 1-0.

They then peaked to beat New Zealand 6-2, but too late, in the fifth-sixth placing match.

“Yes, we played badly and only came together as a team in the late stages of the tournament.

“We could have done better but lacked international exposure, which we will need more of, to do well in the Junior World Cup qualifier,” said Nor Saiful.

And the right tonic would be if Malaysia's Under-18 squad beat India for gold at the ongoing Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.

Akhimullah Anuar Esook bagged 20 goals in the Youth Olympics, and will be banked on to score in the final against India tomorrow.

New Straits Times

The last mile hurdle for Indian hockey

s2h team

Till a decade ago, Indian hockey was suffering from a deep rooted malaise, malaise of conceding late goals and thus getting knocked out of knock-out stage of major tournaments. With the induction of competent coaches, most of them imports, India largely overcame it to a satisfactory level. Spaniard Jose Brasa, who is genuinely the first foreign coach of Indian men's hockey team, started the process with measurable success.

It cannot, though, be said the shortcoming had been overcome completely, especially against the backdrop of what transpired in the men's semifinal of the Jakarta Asian Games. India was leading by a solitary goal margin till 90 seconds before conceding an equalizer that turned the Indian campaign Topsy-turvy. However, what worries Indian hockey recently is the emerging trend of losing the finals, meaning the most important match of any tournament.

When any country reaches the final of a global tournaments, be it continental or otherwise, the progress needs to be appreciated. That's why India's Silver at Breda, Jakarata, and now Buenos Aires comes in for commendation.

This is for the record.

If one looks deeply and analyse, the winners mostly are not huge pre-tournament favourites, and were dark horse. For genuine reasons, India was expected to do better than the ultimate winners. The battery of recent dark horses includes Japanese men and women in Jakarta, Malaysian men in Buenos Aires to quote a recent instances.

India has invested immensely across all age groups, had the benefit of best of international exposures and incentives.

Therefore India is considered a force to reckon with in the global arithmetic. It stood to the billing in Lucknow, and now its seems an aberration rather than routine.

However, India teams, both men and women, could not do an Argentina, Japan or Malaysia.

Year 2018 is really eye-opener for India to introspect to bug the trend as quick as possible.

Despite being in the final on many occasions, including recent Youth Olympic Games and Sultan of Johor Cup, not to speak of events in New Zealand, Indonesia and The Netherlands, India could not break the last barrier.

That this trend exist across all tournaments and all age-group must worry the Indian think tank.

Whys is that India failed in all the shoot-outs (zero out of three in Men's section), lost the finals in Malaysia, Argentina and Japan and elsewhere need a thorough introspection.

There is no substitute for Gold.

Silver, Bronze and even good performance in the run up are good indicators of the future. But GOLD is the symbol of supremacy.

India is not therefore supreme either in FIH tournaments, which is a tough task, or Continental tournaments, even in invitational arena.

There is no easy way out: like changing and chopping coaches or support staff.

Something is glaringly lacking in our sporting ethos and it needs to be diagnosed, and remedies applied. Sooner or later.

Some vital stats:
Indian men loses Champions Trophy final
Indian men loses semifinal at Jkarta
Indian Youth lose final of YOG
Indian U-21 team lose the final of Sultan of Johor Cup
Indian girls lose the final of Asian Games
Indian girls lose the final of YOG

Stick2Hockey.com

Great Britain ‘passion’ hailed for Sultan of Johor Cup hockey success

By The Hockey Paper



Great Britain under-21’s 3-2 success over India was their “biggest achievement” as a team for three years as coach Jon Bleby hailed his squad’s “commitment and passion” for their Sultan of Johor Cup success.

Bleby is a well-known figure in Malaysia these days, having been at the helm of the under-21 side since 2013 and witnessed a second Sultan of Johor title success on Saturday after another come-from-behind win to beat India, who’ve had three coaches in that time.

“I would say this was our biggest achievement as a team since we won here in 2015,” Bleby told The Hockey Paper.

“The SOJC is an incredibly tough tournament to win and the players did a fantastic job to perform so well and win the gold medal in a really tough final against India.”

There were several notable performances over the last week as Britain went one better than last year after losing to Australia in the final.

Scotland’s Cameron Golden finished the event as Britain’s top scorer, with five goals, James Oates scored a crucial double in the final and was awarded player of the match, and Ollie Payne was handed goalkeeper of the tournament.

“One of the great aspects we get out of this tournament is the players get to experience playing in and dealing with the emotions that come with big pressurised games,” added Bleby.

“I would say we performed much better in this year’s final than last year when we won silver I believe the learnings and experience the players got from last year’s game was significant to being better this year.”

Britain were reliant on Japan failing to score plenty against Malaysia to qualify for the final.



But it was their superb fightback against Australia – in a match which also saw their commitment in a fractious ending – which gave GB a helping hand towards another final placing.

Bleby added: “The players commitment and passion throughout the tournament was excellent. The Australia game was a high intensity affair and a great game.

“I think for the young players who are aspiring to be future Olympians learning how to cope with and perform well in the big games is a priceless experience; learning to win is part of the process of becoming a top player.

“The GB elite development programme is a huge influence on allowing the players to reach their potential and win tournaments like the Johor Cup. The frequent high quality training environment where the players are consistently learning good habits under pressure is the foundation of successes like winning the 2018 Johor Cup.”

The Hockey Paper

South Africa Men to take on France in a Four Match series



The South African Mens Hockey team are furthering their preparation for the Hockey World Cup in India in December. South Africa will be competing for the sixth time at the 14th staging of the event and will be hoping to emulate or better the class of 1994 and 2010.

In building up for the World Cup, South African hockey are pleased to be hosting France in a four match test series to be played at Wits University in Johannesburg. France secured the final spot at the 2018 World Cup when they finished 7th at the Hockey World League Semi-Finals at the same venue, so it will be bring happy memories to the French.

For South African coach Mark Hopkins, it will be the first time that the South African Hockey supporting public can see him preside over a home fixture, before heading off to India for the World Cup.

With the World Cup now just under two months away, both France and South Africa, ranked 16th and 15th in the world respectively, will field most of their World Cup squads with the impetus largely on fine tuning rather than recreating.

The final fixtures for the series, including time of hit-off, will be released shortly.  

South Africa’s Mens squad to play France (Caps after names)

    Tim Drummond (captain) - 131
    Dayaan Cassiem – 17
    Taylor Dart – 18
    Tyson Dlungwana – 18
    Jethro Eustice – 95
    Rhett Halkett – 148
    Tommy Hammond – 68
    Keenan Horne – 34
    Julian Hykes – 122
    Gowan Jones – GK – 42
    Peabo Lembethe – 0
    Mo Mea – 14
    Owen Mvimbi - 28
    Bili Ntuli – 26
    Taine Paton – 104
    Rassie Pieterse – GK – 133
    Austin Smith – 158
    Nic Spooner – 1

SA Hockey Association media release

Shahbaz asks govt to spend directly on players and game

Hafiz Imran



Lahore - Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Shahbaz Ahmad Senior has asked the government to directly pay to the players and handle expenditures incurred on their lodging boarding instead of giving funds to the federation.

He said that by doing so, nobody would point finger on the PHF regarding misappropriation of the funds and the government would know how much it is needed to spend on the game.

Talking in Waqt News program “Game Beat”, the PHF secretary alleged that those, who have played hockey, are defaming the same game, which gave them name. The same people also levelled accusations of misuse of funds when Khawaja Junaid was the head coach and now again, they were leveling the same allegations through baseless propaganda.

Shahbaz said that they were spending money cautiously and only where it is needed. He said he never made tall claims and when he took over the charge, he had said that Pakistan lacked far behind in hockey’s world.

“We cannot compete with the best teams of the world without proper planning and organised system. The national game has given me respect and honour but some people don’t like my face.”

The PHF official said that when he was a player, these people didn’t get chance to criticize him as he remained always on top of his game but now such jealous people have got opportunity to sling mud at me, when Pakistan team didn’t perform.

He said the PHF has been trying for years now to get enough funds so that the players can play the game with a peace of mind.

He said when the money matters would be on a player’s mind, he couldn’t perform up to his potential and he deserves to get his due right in time to exhibit his prowess.

He hoped that Pakistan would fare well in the World Cup and said the federation’s target is improve the ranking of the team, which is currently sitting on the 13th place in world.

The Nation

Wins For All States, Last-Gasp Tassie Winner

Ben Somerford



All four states recorded wins on a dramatic Sunday in the Australian Hockey League (AHL) where James Dick's last-minute PumpPlay goal for the Tassie Tigers clinched a thrilling win over the NSW Waratahs 5-4.

Elsewhere, the Canberra Lakers stunned the Queensland Blades 5-2 in the nation’s capital, with braces from James Day and Garry Backhus.

In the women’s, the NSW Arrows remained top of their pool with an 8-1 win over the Tassie Van Demons in Hobart, while the Queensland Scorchers bounced back from their opening round loss to record a 5-1 win in Canberra over the Strikers.

Canberra hosts NSW in the capital next weekend, while Queensland entertains Tassie in front of an expected sellout crowd in Brisbane. The AHL Finals are due to take place on the Gold Coast from 25-28 October.

Tassie Van Demons 1 (Lawrence 60’) NSW Arrows 8 (Watterson 13’, 13’, Jenner 26’, Stewart 30’, 30’, 55’, 55’, Johnston 54’), Hobart

The NSW Arrows are top of Pool B in the Australian Hockey League after Grace Stewart led them to a healthy win away to the Tassie Van Demons at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre on Sunday.

Jess Watterson opened the scoring in the first quarter with a converted field goal.

Kate Jenner doubled NSW’s lead with a 26th minute penalty corner goal, before Stewart made it 5-0 on the stroke of half-time with a converted field goal.

The third term was more even, before Sarah Johnston added a sixth from a short corner, before Stewart grabbed another two.

In the dying stages, Tasmania netted a consolation from Samantha Lawrence.

Tassie Tigers 5 (Read 7’, McCambridge 50’, 50’, Dick 60’ PP) NSW Waratahs 4 (McEwen 2’, Hayes 15’, 55’, 55’), Hobart

The recalled James Dick scored a last-minute PumpPlay goal to secure a thrilling 5-4 win for the Tassie Tigers over the NSW Waratahs at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre on Sunday.

Nicholas McEwen had netted a second minute short corner for the visitors, before Ben Read squared it, only for Jack Hayes to restore NSW’s lead before quarter-time.

Sam McCambridge scored a converted field goal to make it 3-2 at the start of a chaotic final quarter.

Hayes levelled and then took his conversion with five minutes left to put the Waratahs ahead again.

But Dick had the last laugh, when his 60th minute short corner goal settled the contest, with Tasmania taking their PumpPlay when their goals were worth double.

The result sees Tassie move clear on top of the pool after back-to-back wins.

Canberra Strikers 1 (Taseska 10’) Queensland Scorchers 5 (Taylor 22’, 40’, Greiner 60’ PP, 60’), Canberra

The Queensland Scorchers have bounced back from their Round One loss in Sydney to record a come-from-behind 5-1 win over Canberra Strikers at the National Hockey Centre on Sunday.

Tina Taseska put the hosts ahead with a 10th minute goal from a penalty corner.

Queensland levelled through Hockeyroo Renee Taylor in the 22nd minute although she failed to score her conversion attempt.

Taylor made up for the miss when she scored a penalty stroke in the 40th minute.

Rebecca Greiner, who netted the first-ever PumpPlay last round, did it again with a 60th minute strike, before taking the conversion to seal a big win.

Canberra Lakers 5 (Day 2', 3', Backhus 40', 40', Kershaw 54') Queensland Blades 2 (Crane 51', 51'), Canberra

James Day and Garry Backhus scored doubles as the Canberra Lakers produced a 5-2 win over the Queensland Blades in Sunday’s Australian Hockey League clash at the National Hockey Centre in Lyneham.

The Lakers were always in control with Day scoring a second minute penalty stroke, which under the new rule introduced this week, allowed him a conversion attempt which he took to make it 2-0.

Queensland, minus several Kookaburras away for the pre-World Cup national training camp in Perth, pushed for a reply but it remained 1-0 at half-time.

Backhus made it 3-0 in the 40th minute with a field goal, which he converted to pull the lead out to four goals.

Oliver Crane netted a converted field goal for the visitors to keep the pressure on late, making it 4-2.

But Aaron Kershaw settled the contest with a 54th minute goal from field play, although he failed with his conversion attempt.

Hockey Australia media release

ROUND-UP: English Men's Hockey League


Beeston's Richard Lawrence and Elliot Hibell. Credit David Kissman

Hampstead & Westminster produced an excellent 2-0 away win at Sevenoaks to maintain their 100% record and keep pace with league leaders Holcombe in the Men’s Hockey League Premier Division.

Hampstead got off to a fast start when Josh Kelly opened the scoring in the sixth minute from open play, and he doubled Hampstead’s advantage in the 26th minute to secure the points.

Holcombe maintained their position at the top of the table with a 2-0 away win at Wimbledon.

The league’s top scorer Nick Bandurak took his season’s tally to nine goals so far with a field goal after nine minutes, and Alistair Bray sealed all three points for Holcombe from a 47th minute penalty corner.

Beeston performed well at home, running out 3-0 winners against the University of Exeter.

Henry Croft opened the scoring in the fourth minute from open play, before Elliot Hibell scored a quick brace to secure Beeston’s third win of the season.

Elsewhere, in-form Surbiton bagged a 7-2 victory at Brooklands Manchester University.

Alan Forsyth scored a hat-trick for Surbiton to take his tally to seven for the season.

James Royce and Ben Boon both scored a brace for the away side, while Dan Vincent and Richard Slater scored one apiece for Brooklands.

Reading leapfrogged East Grinstead in the table as they won 3-1 at home.

Charlie Ellison opened the scoring for Reading in the 13th minute from a penalty corner.

Lee Morton scored Reading’s second in the 38th minute before East Grinstead hit back quickly in the 39th when Tijn van Groesen scored from open play.

Jack Clee sealed the win for Reading in the 65th when he found the net from open play.

Men’s Conference West

Cardiff & Met secured their first win of the league campaign with a convincing 4-0 win at home to Havant in the Men’s Conference West.

Goals from Alf Dinnie, Ellis Robson, Jack Pritchard and Ioan Wall, ensured that all three points went the way of the home side.

Oxford Hawks moved to the top of the table with a 4-1 home victory against Chichester.

Kit Cutter and Andy Watts both scored a brace to leave Hawks top of the table on goal difference.

Elsewhere, Fareham and Team Bath Buccaneers played out an entertaining 3-3 draw, Olton & West Warwicks won 4-2 away at the University of Bristol and the University of Birmingham won 3-1 away at Isca.

Men’s Conference East

Unbeaten Oxted remain top of the Men’s Conference East table on goal difference thanks to a 5-3 home victory against Richmond.

A brace from Sam Driver and goals from Martin Scanlon, Max Gilbert and Jamie Batten ensured that the home side remained top of the pile.

Southgate clinched their first win of the season with a convincing 4-0 win at home to Teddington.

Sam Mee scored a brace for the home side and goals from Matthew Allister and Adam Grout ensured that Southgate opened their account for the campaign.

Elsewhere Brighton & Hove narrowly beat Cambridge City 3-2 at home, Canterbury secured their second win of the campaign with a 6-1 victory against City of Peterborough and Old Georgians produced and excellent display at home to Old Loughtonians winning 7-1.

Men’s Conference North

Preston came from three goals down to win 4-3 in an entertaining game at home to Sheffield Hallam in the Men’s Conference North.

Goals from Nick Hale, Akshay Ahitan and Matthew Godden gave the visitors a good lead going in to the break.

But Preston didn’t give up and four goals in the last 11 minutes saw them take the win. Sam Sinclair, Nick Jeffs and two from Julian Lopez gave them the win.

The University of Durham made it three wins from three as they ran out 3-1 winners at home to the University of Nottingham.

A brace from Max van Laak and a goal from Richard Jackson was enough for the home side to secure all three points.

Elsewhere, Leeds won away from home at Doncaster 3-1, Loughborough Students won by the same scoreline away at Belper and Bowdon moved top of the table with a 5-4 away victory at Alderley Edge.

RESULTS

Men’s Hockey League

Premier Division: Beeston 3, University of Exeter 0; Brooklands Manchester University 2, Surbiton 7; Reading 3, East Grinstead 1; Sevenoaks 0, Hampstead & Westminster 2; Wimbledon 0, Holcombe 2.

Conference West: Cardiff & Met 4, Havant 0; Fareham 3, Team Bath Buccaneers 3; Isca 1, University of Birmingham 3; Oxford Hawks 4, Chichester 1; University of Bristol 2, Olton & West Warwicks 4.

Conference East: Brighton & Hove 3, Cambridge City 2; Canterbury 6, City of Peterborough 1; Old Georgians 7, Old Loughtonians 1; Oxted 5, Richmond 3, Southgate 4, Teddington 0.

Conference North: Alderley Edge 4, Bowdon 5; Belper 1, Loughborough Students 3; Doncaster 1, Leeds 3; Preston 4, Sheffield Hallam 3, University of Durham 3, University of Nottingham 1.

England Hockey Board Media release

Irish Mens EYHL Weekend Round Up

Banbridge moved into top spot on their own at the head of the men’s EY Hockey League as they dug out a 2-1 win over basement side YMCA, showing the small margins between top and bottom.

Both sides saw penalty strokes saved in the tie but Johnny McKee did score one early in the tie to put Bann in the lead. They remained one clear for long periods until David Rae made the game safe. Grant Glutz pulled one back in the closing minutes for the Y.

Glenanne remain the only unbeaten side in the division with a 6-2 win over Pembroke. The game was level at half-time at 2-2 after Shannon Boucher and Keith O’Hare scored two corners each.

The Glens pulled away in the second half when Gary Shaw finished off a fine move, David Keogh netted a stroke and Brad Venter shot a rocket into the top of the goal in the third quarter. Jason Rogan completed the victory.

Three Rock Rovers returned from their Euro Hockey League exploits full of confidence to beat Lisnagarvey 4-1 with something to spare at Grange Road. Corner goals from Luke Madeley and Conor Empey made it 2-0 at half-time before Mitch Darling guided in the goal of the game.

Matthew Nelson pulled one back with 90 seconds to go but Mark English’s reverse on the final whistle closed out the Rovers win.

Monkstown got their second win from three games with a comprehensive 6-1 win over Cookstown at Rathdown. Davy Carson’s hat-trick helped turn a 2-1 half-time lead into a strong victory.

They will play Three Rock on Thursday night in their back match; whoever wins will move into a share of top spot with Banbridge.

Saturday also saw the opening day of EYHL Division 2 with Pool A and B taking on wildly different dimensions. In Pool A, Bangor came back from 2-0 down against Bandon to win 3-2 thanks to Rhys Cunningham’s goal. Railway Union and UCD drew 0-0.

While that group was close fought, Pool B saw Instonians win 8-0 against UCC while Corinthian were 6-2 winners over Kilkeel on the Mourne coast.

EY Hockey League - day 4 results:

Cork C of I v Annadale - postponed; Banbridge 2 (J McKee, D Rae) YMCA 1 (G Glutz); Three Rock Rovers 4 (L Madeley, C Empey, M Darling, M English) Lisnagarvey 1 (M Nelson); Glenanne 6 (S Brownlow 2, G Shaw, B Venter, D Keogh, J Rogan) Pembroke 2 (K O’Hare 2); Monkstown 6 (D Carson 3, G Sarratt, R Quirke, R Nichols) Cookstown 1 (J Haycock)

EYHL Division 2, Pool A: Bangor 3 (M Willis, C Barnes, R Cunningham) Bandon 2 (F O’Leary, D Jennings); Railway Union 0 UCD 0

Pool B: Instonians 8 (M Watt 2, S Kelso 2, W Robinson, B Palmer, B Rose, W Carey) UCC 0; Kilkeel 2 (A Niblock, G Russell) Corinthian 6 (I Stewart 2, J Perdue 2, A Sutton, J Roberts)

Extended EYHL day four reports

Glenanne 6 (S Boucher 2, G Shaw, B Venter, D Keogh, J Rogan) Pembroke 2 (K O’Hare 2)

Glenanne continued their unbeaten start to the season as they scored the last four goals to pull away from Pembroke at St Andrew’s, making it two wins and two draws to date.

The hosts went ahead from their second corner, Shannon Boucher dragging low. Pembroke replied with a corner of their own two minutes later, a Keith O’Hare low drag. That exchange was repeated before half-time with Boucher and O’Hare scoring one apiece for 2-2 at half-time.

The Glens, though, pulled away in the second half. Johnny McCormack got to the baseline and pulled back for Gary Shaw to first time home. From their fourth corner, Cedric Jakobi’s flick hit a body on the line, leading to a stroke that David Keogh scored.

Eddie O’Malley turned the ball over high and played in Brad Venter and he slapped a rocket from close to the baseline into the top corner over the keeper’s shoulder, his first for the club.

Pembroke dominated the ball in the closing quarter with Glenanne trying to hit them on the counter. They did so with a lovely sixth, a break finding Gavin Gibney at the top of the D alone and he waited for Jay Rogan to arrive, drew the keeper then slipped it left where the former Skerries man finished into the empty goal.

Banbridge 2 (J McKee, D Rae) YMCA 1 (G Glutz)

Banbridge won a battle loaded with penalty strokes to remain top of the table with YMCA left frustrated as they remain bottom despite putting it up to the Co Down side.

Johnny McKee opened the scoring from the spot in the first quarter in the lashing rain and they remained with the narrow lead into the half-time break. They bossed the possession stakes but found it tough to break through the compact YM defence with Jakim Bernsden keeping out Josh Moffett and Fraser Mills.

Mills was fouled for a second stroke but McKee did not catch his effort and Bernstein saved. Within a minute, YM had a stroke of their own but this time, Luke Roleston was the man to save it.

Bann strengthened their position when Eugene Magee showed great strength to set up David Rae at the back post to knock home. Grant Glutz got one back for YM in the last 10 minutes from a spectacular flick. In a fractured endgame, both sides ended with 10 players but Bann stayed ahead for their third win from four games.

Three Rock Rovers 4 (L Madeley, C Empey, M Darling, M English) Lisnagarvey 1 (M Nelson)

Three Rock Rovers returned from their Euro Hockey League exploits full of confidence to beat Lisnagarvey 4-1 with something to spare at Grange Road. Garvey did have the first big chance when Matthew Nelson robbed the last defender and seemed to have worked a clear sight of goal but fired over the bar.

Rovers started to control the play after that and they went ahead from their second corner with Luke Madeley shooting home. It was 2-0 on the half-hour when Conor Empey whipped in another corner and, but for a couple of top James Milliken saves, it might have been more comfortable.

Ten minutes into the second half, it was 3-0 from the move of the game. Two drop-off passes on the right wing were quickly transferred to the left where Ben Walker slapped into the circle. Mitch Darling, who started the move, deflected the bouncing ball home.

Garvey did have a strong last ten minutes with Peter McKibbin’s run only denied by Kevin Mullins clearing off the line while Nelson scored with two minutes to go. Mark English, though, replied a minute later with a first time reverse to Jody Hosking’s slipped pass.

Monkstown 6 (D Carson 3, G Sarratt, R Quirke, R Nichols) Cookstown 1 (J Haycock)

Davy Carson’s hat-trick helped Monkstown record their second win of the season, cutting loose against Cookstown in the second half. After a scoreless first quarter, the Dubliners took the lead in the 23rd minute from a corner won by Ross Quirke which Rory Nichols dragged into the bottom corner.

Cookstown replied quickly from a set piece with Jack Haycock scoring for the second week running on the rebound. They only stayed level for four minutes as Carson gobbled up another rebound for 2-1 at half-time.

The Rathdown hosts moved further ahead from yet another penalty corner in the 44th minute, won by Kyle Good who combined with Guy Sarratt to roof a flick. The fourth came before the end of the third quarter when Carson’s shot was touched in by Quirke. Carson added two more in the closing quarter to complete a confident win.

EYHL Division 2 round-up:

The opening day of Pool A and B of the newly introduced EY Hockey League Division 2 produced two wildly contrasting ties with the former characterised by two close-run battles while Pool B saw big scorelines.

Game of the day came at the Bangor Aurora as the home side won a 3-2 classic thanks to Rhys Cunningham’s late goal against Bandon. The two clubs have developed a healthy rivalry in recent times, the Ulster side winning 5-4 in the playoffs last year while the west Cork team won their Irish Hockey Trophy meeting.

Bandon led 2-0 in the lashing rain as Fionn O’Leary and David Jennings hit the net in the first 19 minutes. Matthew Willis got one back two minutes later before Chris Barnes – following a summer move from Instonians – added another to his incredible career tally of goals for 2-2 at half-time. Cunningham scored the only goal of the second half to seal the win.

They lead the way after Railway Union – and Stephen O’Keeffe in particular – held UCD to a 0-0 draw at Park Avenue.

In Pool B, Instonians and Corinthian stamped their authority on the group with 8-0 and 6-2 wins respectively over UCC and Kilkeel. Olympian Mikey Watt set Inst on their path with a touch to Ben Palmer’s low flick and Watt’s reverse made it 2-0.

Stephen Kelso had the third by half-time before a William Robinson stroke and further goals from Kelso, Palmer, Ben Rose and William Carey stretched out a big win.

Corinthian won their road trip at Kilkeel with a comprehensive performance. Andrew Sutton deflected a corner into the net for 1-0 and Ian Stewart’s strike from the top made it two. Jack Perdue and a second Stewart goal made it 4-0 at half-time while Perdue’s second and a Jonathan Roberts goal had them six clear.

Kilkeel rallied via a Gareth Russell stroke and an Andrew Niblock goal from Neil Stevenson’s assist.  The second round of EYHL2 fixtures will be played on November 3.

Irish Hockey Association media release

Irish Womens EY Hockey League Weekend Round Up

Aine Connery’s instant impact at Old Alex has seen the Milltown club make an excellent start to life in the women’s EY Hockey League since promotion.

They beat the other promoted side Muckross 5-1 in Donnybrook to make it six points from nine so far with Connery scoring four times in two games.

The former international thumped home a third-minute penalty corner and added an exquisite second soon after for a 2-0 lead. She completed her hat trick in the second half in addition to goals from Emma Russell and Lisa Jacob for a strong result.

UCD became the first side to breach the Loreto defence as Abbie Russell’s goals earned a 2-0 win for the students. She applied two neat finishes in the first 25 minutes for the students who had to soak up plenty of pressure but defended deep to limit clear openings.

Cork Harlequins got their first goals and first points of the season, winning 3-0 at their namesakes from Belfast at Deramore Park. Olivia Roycroft fired in the first before Michelle Barry and Zara Bowles – four minutes into her debut – made the game safe in the second half.

Pembroke also got their first win of the campaign as second-half goals from World Cup silver medalists Emily Beatty and Gillian Pinder ran up a 2-0 derby win over Railway Union.

Pegasus lead the way with three wins from three thanks to a comfortable 4-0 win over Ards, Alex Speers scoring twice for a second week running.

In EYHL2, Corinthian and Queens both made it two wins from two in Pool A, beating UCC (4-3) and Greenfields (1-0) respectively.

In Pool B, Monkstown are flying high courtesy of a 5-2 win over NUIG while Catholic Institute got off the mark with a 3-2 victory against Lurgan.

EY Hockey League: Belfast Harlequins 0 Cork Harlequins 3 (O Roycroft, M Barry, Z Bowles); Pembroke 2 (E Beatty, G Pinder) Railway Union 0; UCD 2 (A Russell 2) Loreto 0; Muckross 1 (K Fitzgerald) Old Alex 5 (A Connery 3, E Russell, L Jacob); Ards 0 Pegasus 4 (A Speers 2, S Thompson, K Gourley)

EYHL Division 2

Pool A: UCC 3 (A Collins, J Clein, L Ryan) Queen’s University 4 (C Whiteside, E McStea, T Hastings, J McMaster); Greenfields 0 Corinthian 1 (J McGrane)

Pool B: Monkstown 5 (R Moore, S Moore, A Barnwell, L Grehan, R Carrigan) NUIG 2 (M Corcoran, B Anderson); Catholic Institute 3 (R Upton, K Daly, L Foley) Lurgan 2 (L McNeill, S McClure)

Women’s EY Hockey League – day 3 reports

Ards 0 Pegasus 4 (A Speers 2, S Thompson, K Gourley)

Pegasus continued their perfect start to the season as former Irish captain Alex Speers scored twice for the second successive week. She opened the scoring in the first minute from a penalty corner in the Ulster derby and they were two up by the end of the first quarter with Steph Thompson on the mark, too.

Speers added the third goal in the second quarter when her drive took a defensive deflection. The third quarter was more even as Ards got to grips with their Ulster rivals with Amy Benson and Francesca Brown causing problems but a Hannah Craig tap-in in the fourth quarter saw Pegs nab a fourth.

Muckross 1 (K Fitzgerald) Old Alex 5 (A Connery 3, E Russell, L Jacob)

For the second week running, Aine Connery scored early to propel Old Alex to victory as they saw off fellow promoted side Muckross 5-1. A week ago, Connery had scored a fourth minute goal to beat Cork Harlequins and she had one to her name on Saturday by the sixth minute in a sterling performance.

She had already hit the backboard from a corner three minutes in and then finished off a brilliant move, swapping passes with Emma Russell before bashing home soon after for a 2-0 lead with precious little time gone.

Muckross began to find their rhythm to build attacks as Rachel Cuddy made a welcome return from injury and they got one back in a relentless first half. It followed an Emma Mathews drive into the D before switching the ball wide to Niamh Gowing who returned it to the middle for Katie Fitzgerald who sent the ball into the net.

Muckross had the better of the third quarter with Sophie Barnwell and Caroline Mathews influential in midfield. But Alex stormed back in the closing quarter, forcing Ellie McLoughlin into a series of saves.

From a corner rebound, Emma Russell made it 3-1 with 15 minutes to go and they grazed the outside of the post. Connery got her second with six minutes left and Lisa Jacob closed out the victory for Alex who have made an excellent start to life in the top tier.

Belfast Harlequins 0 Cork Harlequins 3 (O Roycroft, M Barry, Z Bowles)

Cork won the battle of the Harlequins with their first goals of the season leading to their first points. It was a great contest, played in atrocious conditions saw the home side concede to a 22nd minute snapshot goal by Olivia Roycroft from the right of the circle. Belfast had several good chances but couldn't finish while Linzi Hamilton saved a chance off the line to deny Cork a second.

The visitors added to there tally with breakaway goals from Michelle Barry and Zara Bowles. The latter scoring four minutes into her first team debut since moving from Mildeton in the summer having been an unused sub a week before against Old Alex, netting at the left post.

Belfast Quins pressed most of the last quarter having taken their goalkeeper off but could notbreak down a resolute Cork defence with captain Cliodhna Sargent and Irish international Yvonne O’Byrne outstanding.

Pembroke 2 (E Beatty, G Pinder) Railway Union 0

Pembroke got their first win of the season with a derby win over Railway Union at Serpentine Avenue with goals from World Cup silver medalists Emily Beatty and Gillian Pinder.

Railway had the better chances of a scoreless first half but things changed in the second. Beatty opened the scoring in the second half with a lovely lob as they stepped up their tempo in the second half with Sorcha Clarke and Sinead Loughran impressing in attack.

Railway’s first corner was taken off the line by Hayley O’Donnell, denying them an equaliser. They threw everything into getting back on terms but were caught at the end when they had swapped out their goalkeeper with Beatty’s mazy run ending in a foul and a stroke. Pinder converted for 2-0 and the points.

UCD 2 (A Russell 2) Loreto 0

UCD put in an extremely composed performance to keep Loreto at bay, defending relatively deep to limit circle entries while striking twice through Abbie Russell in the first half.

Along with Niamh Carey, Russell caused plenty of problems on the counter for Miles Warren’s side. The first goal saw UCD work the handball phase well and, after a few quick passes, Ellen Curran fired a ball into the D from the right. It found its way to Russell at the back post and a quick trap and flick into the goal.

The second quarter saw Loreto hold a lot more possession but Orla Patton, Suzie Kelly and Leah McGuire kept the Beaufort side at arm’s length.

The second came from a big clearance from the back which Sarah Young and then Niamh Carey touched on for Russell who was in behind the defence to score on a reverse over the on-rushing goalkeeper Liz Murphy.

The third quarter was much the same with the Loreto keeper having to come out twice to tackle a UCD forward who got in behind the last defender.

With 10 minutes to go, Loreto pulled their goalkeeper and won a penalty corner which was well saved by Clodagh Cassin. The students received a card to make 11 v 9 outfield but Cassin made two more saves to retain the clean sheet and the points.

EYHL Division 2 round-up

In Pool A, Jessica McMaster scored the odd goal in seven for Queen’s in a 4-3 win, striking seven minutes from the end at the Mardyke. They had led from the first minute when Claire Whiteside was on the mark but UCC fought back with Jenny Clein making it 1-1.

Emily McStea and Tori Hastings put Queens in pole position with half an hour to go but UCC were level before the end of the third quarter with quickfire strikes from Aoife Collins and Lauren Ryan. Irish international McMaster, however, won it from a corner.

Corinthian made it two wins from two on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Greenfields, Jessica McGrane getting the only goal from the penalty spot in the second quarter.

In Pool B, Catholic Institute started off their campaign with a 3-2 win over Lurgan. Roisin Upton broke the deadlock in the 27th minute from a corner before Lurgan fought back via Lydia McNeill in the second half.

But the Limerick side got their key goals between the 53rd and 60th minute to take the game out of sight when Lurgan were down to 10 players. Kym Daly put them back in front and Laura Foley made it 3-1 off the back of Leah Cleary’s good work. Lurgan got one back in the final minute but now have two single-goal defeats on their record.

Monkstown made it two wins from two with four goals in the first 23 minutes putting them on course for a 5-2 win over NUIG. Amy Etherington’s pass to Sophie Moore and on to Rachel Moore in the third minute set the tone. Sophie Moore tapped in the second and a corner rebound from Amber Barnwell put them 3-0 up in the first quarter. Rosie Carrigan set up Lara Grehan for the fourth.

NUIG got one back before the break from Meadhbh Corcoran but Carrigan’s shot in the 50thminute copper-fastened the victory in spite of Becky Anderson’s goal for the Galway side. The wins gives Monkstown two from two and they head the table.

The next series of EYHL Division 2 games take place on November 3.

Irish Hockey Association media release

Munialo nets twice as Wazalendo bag maximum points

Wazalendo rally to beat Sikh Union at City Park

By Elizabeth Mburugu


Wazalendo Wycliffe Ongori possesing the ball when they played Kisumu Young-stars. Jenipher Wachie,Standard

Visitors Bay Club and Nakuru ladies leave Nairobi heartbroken after suffering double losses in their respective fixtures.

Wazalendo inflicted more pain on former Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) men’s Premier League champions Nairobi Sikh Union after subjecting them to a 3-2 defeat at City Park.

The unrelenting Wazalendo twice came from behind before netting the winner in the dying minutes of the game.

Wazalendo captain Kennedy Munialo led from the front with a brace and Elly Mwanzi scored once for Wazalendo while Davis Wanangwe and veteran Inderjit Matharu were on target for Sikh Union.

Captain Munialo lauded his charges’ fighting spirit saying it was their desire to maintain their top three spot that saw them fighting to the final whistle.

“We have had very good performances this season and this was one of the best. We twice came from behind before sealing victory against a very tough side that has won the title before,” said Munialo.

“We are targeting a top three finish and knowing that it is within our reach motivates us to play our hearts out to the final whistle.”

The match was balanced as both sides matched each other in attack and defence. After minutes of a fruitless battle, it was Wanangwe who drew the first blood to put the 2012 winners Sikh Union in the lead after 12 minutes.

That did not dampen Wazalendo’s spirits as they sprung into action in hunt of an equaliser.

Munialo leveled the scores one minute later for a 1-1 score at the end of the first quarter. Matharu restored Sikn Union’s lead in the 18th minute, a lead they maintained to enjoy a 2-1 advantage at halftime.

Wazalendo refused to go down easily and intensified their hunt for a second goal and their efforts paid off through Mwanzi in the 42nd minute before Munialo slotted in the winner in the 57th minute.

In another men’s Premier League tie, champions Kenya Police remained on course to retaining their title following a 1-0 win over Western Jaguars at Eregi Teachers Training College Grounds.

Kenya International Willis Okeyo scored the law enforcers’ all-important goal to give them three crucial points.  With the victory, Police increased their tally to 45 points from 16 outings having won 15 and lost one to Greensharks in the first leg.

The battle for promotion to women’s Premier League between debutants Lakers and their guests Kenyatta University (KU) Titans ended in a 1-1 draw in Kisumu.

Despite dropping two points, Titans maintained their top spot with 18 points while Lakers remained second with 16.

The Standard Online

Despite being outshot, No. 2 Maryland field hockey beats No. 8 Iowa, 2-1

The Terps were outshot 8-5 but never trailed the Hawkeyes.

By Lila Bromberg


Midfielder Madison Maguire looks upfield for a pass in Maryland’s 4-2 win over Rutgers at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex on October 29, 2016. (Reid Poluhovich / The Diamondback)

Maryland field hockey goalkeeper Sarah Holliday dove to the ground in an attempt to stop Iowa’s low penalty corner shot in the 47th minute Sunday. But a series of deflections lifted midfielder Ellie Holley’s initial shot high into the air, off defender Bodil Keus’ shoulder and into the net.

Holley’s goal erased Maryland’s 1-0 lead, but forward Linnea Gonzales and midfielder Madison Maguire ensured the game wouldn’t be deadlocked for long.

Less than three minutes after Holley’s equalizer, Gonzales rocketed a pass into the circle, and Maguire reached her stick just in front of a Hawkeye defender to poke it into the net from close-range. The impressive score would be the game-winner, as No. 2 Maryland dispatched No. 8 Iowa, 2-1.

“We knew that they were going to be there throughout the whole entire game,” Maguire said. “We knew we had to keep our momentum and play a consistent 70 minutes and we were going to win the game.”

The Terps didn’t always look stellar against the Hawkeyes, however. For just the fourth time all year, Maryland allowed its opponent to take the first shot of the game. On Sunday, the Terps didn’t take a shot against goalkeeper Leslie Speight until the 24th minute.

Maryland did score the first goal of the game about 10 minutes later, though. Forward Lizzy Dessoye forced a turnover in Iowa’s defensive zone and passed the ball to forward Taylor Mason. Mason gave Brooke Deberdine the ball just inside the circle on the left side of the goal, and DeBerdine easily scored into the right side of the net, securing the Terps’ lead just before halftime.

“Iowa is just a really good team and they came out with a lot of energy,” Mason said. “We took a deep breath and … we were able to score because we were playing our game and weren’t getting caught up in how much energy Iowa had.”

Still, a week after an inconsistent offensive performance led to Maryland’s first loss of the season, the attack again wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Iowa outshot Maryland, 8-5, and had eight corners while allowing Maryland just two.

A four-save performance from Holliday helped coach Missy Meharg’s squad neutralize those disparities and leave Iowa City with a victory.

“She’s playing to her potential and these are the games that she loves,” Meharg said. “I’m not surprised. I’m super pleased for us that she had such a good day.”

The Diamondback

No. 5 UConn Field Hockey Comes Up Short Against No. 1 North Carolina

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cheyenne Sprecher made seven saves, but the fifth-ranked UConn field hockey team narrowly fell to No. 1 North Carolina 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Boston College.

Sophomore Kourtney Kennedy scored her first career goal for the Huskies (12-3).

North Carolina (15-0) got on the board first off a penalty corner opportunity at 11:27.

Sprecher made four saves in the first half, including a diving stick stop on a Tar Heels corner shot, but North Carolina took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Kennedy scored her goal at the 43:29 mark in the second half, sending in a direct shot, which deflected over the keeper.

Svea Boker and Antonia Tiedtke tallied assists on the penalty corner chance.

Four minutes later, the Tar Heels took the lead again as Marissa Creatore scored off a rebound.

The Huskies pressured in the final 15 minutes, including four minutes with an empty net, but were unable to find the equalizer.

It was UConn's eighth match against a ranked team this season. The Huskies, the defending national champions, moved to 5-3 against top-25 programs this year.

North Carolina held a 7-3 advantage in penalty corners and a 16-9 lead in shots.

The Huskies return to Storrs to host No. 19 Liberty on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.

UConn will travel to No. 24 Boston University next Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Hartford Courant

UNC field hockey remains undefeated after two-game gauntlet against BC and UConn

By Keaton Eberly


Senior midfielder Eva van't Hoog (22) of the UNC field hockey team weaves through a swarm of Syracuse players in a 5-1 win on Saturday, Sept. 29, at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Nash Consing

After matchups with two heavyweights this weekend, the No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team (15-0, 6-0 ACC) will return to Chapel Hill with a 4-1 win against No. 12 Boston College and a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Connecticut.

The Tar Heels secured the outright ACC regular season title on Friday and redeemed last year’s Final Four loss to the Huskies on Sunday.

No. 1 UNC vs. No. 12 Boston College

In the opening minutes of the game, Boston College (9-5, 2-3 ACC) found a rare opening in the UNC defense, resulting in a sequence ending with senior Lucy Lytle tapping the ball into the back of the net. Facing a deficit for only the fourth time this year, the Tar Heels found themselves briefly caught off guard just over 10 minutes into the contest.

That feeling was short-lived as just eight minutes later, junior Catherine Hayden sent a pass directly in front of the cage, allowing junior Marissa Creatore the chance to control the ball and shoot it past the goalie.

In the following minutes, Boston College had chances to retake the lead, most notably in the 23rd minute, when forward Brooke Matherson placed the ball in between UNC goalkeeper Amanda Hendry’s legs. While the shot seemed destined to become the Eagles’ second goal of the day, UNC sophomore Cassie Sumfest came out of nowhere to knock the ball out of danger, mere inches from the goal line.

Shortly afterwards, Hayden smacked in the game-winning goal, giving her team a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime. In the second half, while the game went back and forth in many respects, UNC finished strong.

Senior midfielder Ashley Hoffman stretched her team’s lead in the 40th minute with a goal off a penalty corner, while senior Eva van’t Hoog provided the exclamation point in the 54th minute with a goal of her own. Despite being outshot for the first time all season (Boston College led, 9-8), the Tar Heels were able to prevail in the end to stay undefeated — securing the ACC regular season title in the process.

No. 1 UNC vs. No. 5 Connecticut

In a rematch of last year’s NCAA semifinal, the Tar Heels avenged their postseason loss to the defending national champion UConn (12-3, 5-0 Big East).

UNC placed its mark on the game first during a penalty corner in the 12th minute, as senior Malin Evert passed the ball towards the goal, leaving van’t Hoog with the golden opportunity to tap it in and give the Tar Heels an early lead.

UNC was successful in keeping this lead well into the second half, until the Huskies were able to draw a penalty corner themselves. During the 44th minute, Connecticut forward Kourtney Kennedy penetrated the UNC defense with a powerful strike past the goalkeeper.

Only four minutes later, UNC responded. First-year Erin Matson struck with the first shot of the possession during a counterattack, resulting in a timely save by UConn keeper Cheyenne Sprecher. However, Creatore was able to battle through the chaos and shoot the ball into the back of the cage, giving the Tar Heels a 2-1 advantage that would last for the remainder of the game.

Who stood out?

Creatore and van't Hoog were the stars of the action-packed weekend, as each scored a pair of goals. Shelton credits van’t Hoog as a player that can do it all.

Although van’t Hoog hasn’t been a top scorer this season — she only had two goals heading into the weekend — she came up big when needed.

"She hadn’t been scoring much, but now as the season has gone on and we’re getting into stride, she had two big goals on the weekend,” Shelton said. “She’s just a mature senior for us, and I think she’s having a terrific year."

Creatore's impact on both games was huge, especially against UConn as she came away with the game-winner in the 48th minute.

“She’s playing so well," Shelton said. "She brings a lot of energy to our group, so it was fun to see her get a reward with a big banger

Why does it matter?

After beating Boston College on Friday night, UNC secured another ACC regular season title, which has been one of the team’s goals for the entire year.

“We know we still have work to do, but one of our goals at the beginning of the season was to actually get the top seed and earn the bye in the ACC Tournament. We achieved that and we’re very happy where we are now.”

When do they play next?

UNC next plays a senior night rematch against archival and No. 4 Duke next Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium, as the Tar Heels hope to close out their opening season in the team’s new venue with a perfect record.

“It’s always fun to play Duke, whether it’s at their place or at our place, so we look forward to that traditional rivalry,” Shelton said. “It would be nice to go through the regular season undefeated at our new stadium, so that’s another goal of ours as well.”

The Daily Tar Heel

Northwestern loses their third straight game 4-3 against Penn State

Greg Svirnovskiy


Puck Pentenga dispossess an opposing player. The senior midfielder had one assist this weekend. Photo by Alison Albeda

After a crushing loss to Ohio State last week, Northwestern knew the importance of this weekend. A two-game set against ranked Big Ten opponents No. 14 Rutgers and No. 6 Penn State promised to be crucial for an at large NCAA tournament bid.

But the Wildcats could not make it work at Lakeside Field against the Scarlet Knights (11-4, 3-4, Big Ten), despite doubling Rutgers in shots (8-4), and penalty corners (6-3). The Scarlet Knights jumped out to an early two-score lead, with goals from midfielders Linde Van Schaik and Daphne Groothuis in the eighth and 20th minutes, respectively.

But the NU (8-8, 3-4) offense fired on all cylinders, with balls flying everywhere except into the net until senior midfielder Eva Van Agt answered the clarion call in the game’s 23rd minute to cut the deficit in half. Van Agt dribbled past three players into the circle, and her rip beat Rutgers goalkeeper Gianna Glatz for her fourth goal of the season.

The Cats searched the rest of the game in vain to find an equalizer, forcing three saves out of Glatz, but the team could not find an answer to the stout goalkeeping from the other side. Senior midfielder Puck Pentenga paced NU with three shots and one on goal, followed closely by Van Agt’s two shots which were both on target.

Coach Tracey Fuchs said the Cats found a way to respond after going down early, but their firepower wasn’t enough.

“We had a really poor first fifteen minutes and then played a great game the rest of the way, Fuchs said. “But we started poorly and that really put us on our heels.”

On Sunday, NU came out flying against the Nittany Lions (9-4, 4-2), controlling the game’s first ten minutes and firing two shots at Penn State goalkeeper Jenny Rizzo. Junior forward Saar de Breij capitalized on the early success, scoring her fourth of the season to put the Cats ahead in the fourth minute.

“To be honest I don’t really remember it,” de Brej said. “I know that Laken (Berry) had great pressure on the ball and I think she shot the ball on goal and it bounced back off of the goalie and I just shot it on goal.”

The lead did not last. The Nittany Lions scored the game’s next four goals, all coming from scrums directly in front of the net. The Nittany Lions ended the first half with 11 shots to NU’s mere three, with three penalty corners to the Cats’ zero.

Fuchs said NU needs to clean up its handling of defensive rebounds to be more effective in keeping the ball out of their own net.

“We just need to jump on the ball first,” Fuchs said. “We’ll keep working on it. It’s nice to get a penalty corner goal ourselves but we just need to keep fighting and keep working.”

The Wildcats came out of the halftime break with renewed energy, and freshman forward Maren Seidel’s sixth goal of the season cut the deficit to two. Seidel deflected Pentenga’s penalty corner shot at the front of the net to give NU new life in the game.

And the offense kept coming, with sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Keegan deflecting home her second of the season off a pass from senior midfielder Charlotte Vaziri from the penalty corner spot with 13 minutes left to play. But, like against the Scarlet Knights, the Cats were unable to find a game-tying goal.

The loss was NU’s third one-goal defeat in a row. But de Breij said she feels NU — which has lost four of its last five — is closer than ever to finding the formula for winning consistently.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress already,” de Breij said. “The last couple of games, our energy got lower and lower every time they scored a goal and now we came back in the huddle and we just motivated each other. We feel really good for the next couple games.”

The Daily Northwestern

Bulldogs sweep weekend

Lucy Liu

The Yale field hockey team claimed its first two-game winning streak since the start of the season, as they emerged victorious against Dartmouth (4–8, 1–3 Ivy) and Quinnipiac (4–9,1–4 Big East) this weekend.

The weather turned cold, but the Bulldogs heated up the field in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Saturday, defeating the Big Green 4–3 despite a huge shot advantage for Dartmouth. Usually strong on attack, the Big Green’s offense continuously pressured Yale, with three corner plays in the last two minutes alone as they sought a tying goal. The Elis’ defense proved to be sturdy, with goalkeeper Sydney Terroso ’21 making a season-high 11 saves. Sunday’s game against Quinnipiac saw the Bulldogs claim a much more lopsided 3–1 win with clear advantages in both shots and penalty corners.

“My mindset was to do anything I could to keep the ball out of net,” Terroso said. “The defense and I worked in sync. We connected well on the front line and played our game!”

The Bulldogs gained an early lead off a pair of penalty corners in Saturday’s match against Dartmouth. Midfielder Theodora Dillman ’22 and midfielder Bridget Condie ’20 scored in the third and fourth minutes of the game, respectively, to put Yale up a 2–0 immediately into the match.

Dartmouth put up a strong fight, however, finding the back of the net at the 12-minute mark at the hands of forward Gemma Bautista. Forward Gracyn Campbell scored the second goal at 25:43 after a wild rebound scramble following a corner. The tie did not last. Just three minutes later, Yale forward Camille Scheyer ’20 ripped a shot into the top of the net, notching her first goal of the season and bringing Yale back into the lead heading into halftime.

Midfielder Imogen Davies ’21 tallied her team-leading sixth goal at 61:49 by scoring on a rebound that extended the lead to 4–2. Dartmouth responded a minute later, when its top scorer Katie Spanos knocked a bouncing ball into the side of the cage to cut the Big Green’s deficit to one. Dartmouth was not without its chances, outshooting Yale 25–9 and taking 13 penalty corners compared to the Bulldogs’ 5. The Elis held on, however, keeping the Big Green scoreless during the last minutes of the game and emerging victorious in their fourth conference game of the season. This victory marks Yale’s third win in a row against Dartmouth.

“Our entire team was on fire with our connectivity and communication,” forward Anissa Abboud ’21 said. “We really played our very best when it came to stringing passes together. For Dartmouth it really all started with the beginning of the game and how we scored two goals off of corners within the first 10 minutes of the game. Then we brought the intensity of that into the rest of the game.”

Sunday’s home game against Quinnipiac saw the Bulldogs’ first year talent on full display. All five first years saw action in this game, with midfielder Dillman notching two goals and back Katie Pieterse ’22 scoring her first collegiate career goal. Dillman’s first goal came just after the 20-minute mark off a penalty corner, lifting Yale to a 1–0 lead. Quinnipiac forward Brooke Whipkey leveled the affair at 1–1 10 minutes later.

Responding quickly, Yale pulled ahead again when Pieterse knocked the ball into the cage after Quinnipiac blocked Scheyer’s initial shot. The Bulldogs continued to generate offensive opportunities, eventually widening the lead off a second goal by Dillman. Yale won the game 3–1 to propel its season record to a positive 7–6.

This weekend demonstrated Yale’s strong corner play capability, which has played a key role in its recent victories. Those skills will be put to the test in its four remaining games in its season, three of which are conference matches against Penn, Columbia and Brown.

“We capitalized on our chances when we needed to,” Davies said. “The forwards movement and work rate really created a lot of attacking opportunities. [Dartmouth] was a great win for our team, particularly being Ivy.”

The Bulldogs face Penn next Saturday at 12 p.m. on Johnson Field.

Yale News