HC Knole Park girls are U14 National Champions, again!
On Sunday HC Knole Park’s U14 girls completed the England Hockey league and cup double after securing the National Supra-League title with a superb 3-1 win against Surbiton HC.
On another memorable day at Lee Valley National Hockey & Tennis Centre the U14 Girls beat Bowdon (Manchester) 4-0 in the semi-final. Goals from Biba, Evie W, Isla, and Evie S in a comfortable win.
In the final the team faced Surbiton (who had won their semi-final 3-0 against Clifton). In a superb performance the girls stormed into a 2-0 lead. Captain Evie was on fire as she scored one and set-up another for strike partner Biba, as well as hitting the post with a phenomenal solo effort. Boadicea, Lilly, Betsy, Rose, and Ines were amazing in defence throughout.
In the second half, the girls were hit on the break by Surbiton as they scored a well worked goal. However, in a dominant final five minutes the girls continued to push for the third goal and were rewarded when Biba had a shot saved on the line by a field player. From the subsequent penalty stroke, Biba slotted the ball into the corner and the girls had done it! Double National Champions! A phenomenal effort!
Girls U16B win silver at Regional Finals
The U16B Girls qualified for the Regional Finals through their league matches this season. In the semi-final they beat Fleet and Ewshot A-team 9-1. Mackenzie scored a hat-trick and Phoebe B scored twice. Alessia, Amy WD, Talya, and Cara all scored once.
In the final the girls played Canterbury A-team. In a very close contest, the Canterbury GK was excellent and managed to keep the score line down at 0-0 for most of the first half. Just before the break Canterbury scored with a breakaway for 1-0 lead.
The second half followed a similar pattern as Canterbury were able to stop all the Knole Park attacks. Canterbury scored another well taken breakaway. The Knole Park girls’ final scored on the full-time whistle as Cara rolled in from a well worked penalty corner between Amy WD and Talya. A fantastic game played by both sides.
Second place in the Tier 2 South East Finals is a phenomenal effort from everyone involved and shows the strength in depth at HC Knole Park. Well done to all that have been involved this season.
Men’s 1s seal promotion spot!
The Men’s 1st team got their opportunity for a celebration with an amazing 3-1 win against Canterbury. With five players stuck in the M2 traffic, despite a short delay offered by Canterbury to wait for the players to arrive, the game had to start with Knole Park only fielding 8 players! The team conceded early on, however once we had worked out how to defend with 8 players, the young team grew into the game and started to create some chances. Duncan scored the equaliser with a fantastic solo effort, before Isaac scored a penalty stroke after a penalty corner was illegally stopped on the line by the Canterbury field player.
Into the second half and Knole Park had a slowly increasing number of players! After ten minutes they were up to 9, before two more arrived with about 15 minutes to go to take us up to 11! Finally, up to a full complement, Duncan scored a late goal to seal the match and the promotion! Knole Park even had two subs by the end of the match! This win means the Men’s 1st team are promoted to Invicta Division 3 for next season.
Women’s 1s wrap up season with perfect record!
The Women’s 1st team wrapped up their season with their 22nd win from 22 matches as the team beat Edenbridge 13-1. A hat-trick from Mackenzie, as well as a two each for Bella, Jess W, and Annabel were the picks. Alessia, Amelie, Phoebe GC, and Polly all scored once. This completes the Women’s 1st team season and confirms their promotion to Invicta Division 1 for next season.
Women’s 2s are through to the National Semi-Finals!
The Women’s 2nd team played in the quarter finals of the England Hockey Tier 4 Cup. In a brilliant performance Evie S and Mackenzie starred with a sublime hat-trick each in the 9-0 win against Spencer 6s. Bella scored two very well taken goals at the start of each half showing her quality. Summer rounded off a fantastic individual performance with a super goal too!
The team move onto the National semi-finals this Saturday against Wootton Wanderers from Northampton.
HC Knole Park’s chair, Ruth said: “This has a brilliant end to an amazing season. The U14A Girls have been superb all season. To win both competitions was unthinkable at the start of the year! We are equally proud of our U16B girls for winning their silver at their Tier 2 Finals in a tough competition where they have played A-teams for most of the season. For all three adults sides to be promoted is also amazing too. The EH Tier 4 Cup for the Women’s 2nd team has been great so far too as they have had so many conceded matches this season. Also, this week we had six of our juniors represent England or Wales in European matches, as well as others playing for Kent or at the England Hockey Performance Centre. There’s always so much going on! Well done to everyone at Knole Park.”