Western Province wrap up impressive double at SASHOC U-16 Nationals
Delivering standout performances, Western Province closed the annual SA Schools Hockey (SASHOC) Nationals in style by lifting both A-section trophies at the U-16 inter-provincial tournament in Bloemfontein.
Shining on the Kovsies Astro turf on Wednesday, the Western Province girls' team had to dig deep in a hard-fought final against Southern Gauteng.
With the scores level at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, the WP squad grabbed the title with a 3-1 victory in a shootout.
In the third-place playoff, Boland beat host province Southern Free State 2-1 to secure bronze the medals.
Though her team narrowly missed out on the trophy, Amber Fairon managed to finish the six-day tournament as the top goal scorer, hitting the back of the net 11 times for Southern Gauteng.
In the boys' A-section, Western Province left nothing on the line, delivering a spectacular performance to beat KZN Inland 6-2 in the final.
Southern Gauteng secured third position after earning a 3-1 win against Boland in the playoffs.
Playing a key role for the national U-16 champions, Litha Kraai netted 10 goals for Western Province to finish as the top scorer of the competition.
There were also titles on offer in the B-section tournaments, with KZN Inland and Eastern Province emerging triumphant.
The KZN Inland side (Pictured above) defeated Western Province 3-2 in the girls' final and Eastern Province beat Northern Gauteng 4-2 in the boys' final.
The SASHOC Nationals schools hockey festival - which featured U-13, U-16 and U-18 tournaments over the last few weeks - was made possible by multiple key partners including, Sportsmans Warehouse, Grays Hockey, Trompie Sport, SPAR, Ikhoka, Airlink and SuperSport.
Supplied.