Girls’ Hockey

QMH

The QMH girls have had a fantastic season of hockey with all girls partaking in fixtures. The U13As put on a strong performance in friendly fixtures and Hampshire tournaments with special mentions going to Heidi Klein and Jocelyn Earl who consistently displayed outstanding hockey skills and game play. As a team, the girls worked hard in training, showing progression throughout the season to achieve wins against schools including Barrow Hills and Duke of Kent. Following the lead of the U13As, the U13Bs, Cs and Ds also showed fantastic progress, with many girls playing in multiple teams throughout the season. In defence, Neve Mayell-Middleton and Anita Mitsova made an impact in a variety of teams showing commitment and determination against tough opponents. Supporting the second form girls, the first formers fit into the U13 teams, proving vital in supporting a successful season. The energy and commitment in every game from first formers Sophie Mills and Holly Gray was rewarded with fantastic results against Duke of Kent, winning 5-1 & 8-1, and St Teresas winning 3-0. Alongside this, an unstoppable duo that needs a mention is U12 girls Matilda Sumner and Elessia Currie. Their partnership up the pitch and support for their team did not go unnoticed. At the end of the hockey season, it is clear that every girl in QMH played a part in the success of the season and if we had time to mention everyone, we would. However, the final mention needs to go to our goal keepers, Lily Purcell, Ilana Meyer and Elisa Kinghorn all of whom showed commitment, resilience and determination to help our teams have an enjoyable and successful season.

U15’s

A healthy number of girls across third and fourth form allowed us to put out three teams at the U15 age group, which was great to see. The C team, made up of girls who had barely picked up a stick before arriving at King Edwards, showed great spirit and determination in their games. The rules may have been a little alien to them but the progress they made in their game play was fantastic and it was great to see them competing in House hockey recently and some of them play up in the B team too. Special mention must go to Natalia Voitenko, Mia Penkova, JoJo Masters and Claudia Porteceli Delgado for their commitment to learning the game.

The B team shared their nine results evenly across wins, draws and losses. The girls worked hard to improve their understanding of the 11 aside game, a big step up from the 7 aside version with much more strength needed on the passes and much more running required. Impressing us on the pitch and in training was Abi Attwell, Ava Lowe and Molly Marsden. A total of 31 girls have played for the U15A team this term due to injury, illness, unavailability, and challenging players from this age group to play higher. Congratulations to Tilly Vautier, Jess Combes, April Klein, Robyn Kersey, Leonor Povoas who have represented the 1st XI. Sadly, Bernice Onojeide, who also represented the 1xt XI, picked up a knee injury at half term, which was a huge loss to the team.

That said, each girl who has had the opportunity to play in the A team has shown true grit and determination. There has been a lot of progress amongst the squad and a desire to play and improve their hockey. As such many of the girls are now training in the mixed Hockey afterschool session which will heighten their level of skill and game play. Special mention to Abbie Strachan, Martha Lawlor and Bea Aneja for their progress.

The first team girls have had a tough season, with a small squad made up from players from all ages of the school. Key highlights are beating Charterhouse 2nd XI away 1-0, beating Ryde with the last touch of the game to seal a 3-2 win and beating Tormead 4-3. A huge well done to all the girls who have stepped up and played above their age group, Heidi, Jocelyn and Lily from 2nd form, April, Robyn and Leonor from 3rd form and Tilly, Jess and Bernice from 4th form. Fleur Marren finished as top goal scorer.

KESW Sports Department