Sussex champions again
The Sussex U16 Girls Hockey Trophy returned to the College on Monday 26 September once again when Eastbourne beat Hurstpierpoint College 3-1 in the final. This victory means that in the last fifteen years (2002-2016/17 ) Eastbourne College girls hockey teams have won an incredible 41 of 71 Sussex hockey finals, the gateway to regional and national representation.
On Monday, Eastbourne started the day with a very powerful short corner strike by Lauren Bennett against an enthusiastic team from Bede's, while Charlotte Chatterton and Ella Reynolds played superbly at the back. Final score 1-0 to the College.
The second game was more clear cut with both goals coming from skipper Annie Wilson on her return from the quest for regional honours. Eastbourne then had a stunning period of play and tore into a solid Worth side and scoring three times through Bennett, Wilson and the flying winger Ella Goddard. Final score 3-1.
The semi-final was a dour battle with Seaford College that finished 0-0 and went to penalty strokes, providing considerable tension for everyone! The first barrage of five strokes each ended at 3-3 with Bennett, Fletcher-Price and Izzy MacIntosh scoring. The drama increased as sudden death penalties loomed. Seaford saw their first stroke brilliantly saved by Abby McNally, but Eastbourne missed theirs and the tension built further. McNally saved again and this time MacIntosh buried her shot and the College secured their place in their third Sussex final in three years, qualifying for the Regional Heats on November 10th.
In the final, the College team were 3-0 up after ten minutes of the game through goals from Lauren Bennett, Holly Fletcher-Price and Annie Wilson in an extraordinarily powerful and impressive bout of play to demolish an able Hurst side that had earned a 0-0 draw against the Eastbourne team in the group phases of the tournament. The match was won through the tight teamwork, thoughtful passing and hard running of Anastasia Barber, Charlotte Chatterton, Freya Cournane, Flo Ferrari, Greta Goldberg, Elisa Houchin, Ella Lloyd, Lucy Martin and Riley Wooten, with Georgie Brown keeping in the final.
