U15 Sussex Champions March 2016
On Friday 11 March the Eastbourne College U15A girls hockey squad met Hurstpierpoint College in the 2016 County Championship. It was an incredibly exciting game that was finally decided with a round of penalty flicks.
The match started brilliantly for Eastbourne when Lauren Bennett scored from a short corner after just five minutes and the team then dominated the game for the next ten minutes.
The Hurst girls soon picked up that pace and the game became very competitive with good chances at both ends. The Eastbourne College team remained 1–0 up until they made a calamitous error from their 16-yard hit with just three minutes to go. This gave the Hurst centre-forward an unopposed shot at goal.
With a score-line of 1–1 at full time the match moved to penalty strokes.
Hurst went ahead in the first round of strokes after the Eastbourne flick was saved but they then sent one penalty wide of the goal and the Eastbourne goal-keeper Abby McNally saved one. Lauren Bennett stepped up to take the next Eastbourne shot but sadly was unable to send it home.
The match moved to sudden death strokes where both teams scored with their initial shots. The next Hurst penalty was sent straight down the middle and Abby was able to prevent another goal. With the excitement reaching fever-pitch, the Eastbourne College captain, Annie Wilson, bravely took her shot and was right on target.
The Eastbourne College U15 girls were declared winners and Sussex County Champions for 2016.
