Soccer
NZSS Girls’ Tournament, Christchurch, August 2011.
Craighead 1st X1 took away bronze at the Gary Sowden Tournament in Christchurch in August. The girls improved with each game throughout the tournament, and all but one game in pool play was very hard fought.
Quarter finals saw us up against Waimea College from Nelson. This was a very even game, but we took the lead after Emma Linton scored from a defensive error. With the advantage of the wind in the second half, we held them out from scoring to win the game.
The semi-final against Papanui was a hard game, with both teams having the opportunity to score several times. Unfortunately for us, Papanui breached our defense, and with them having had a bye in their pool play, theyhad the fresher legs. The score remained at 0–1, with Papanui going through to the final, however, the girls put up a good fight, and the game could have easily gone either way.
In the 3rd and 4th playoff, we faced Cashmere High School. We dominated play, but a goal to Cashmere early in the second half saw us with most of the possession but battling to equalise. With about ten minutes to go, Lily McFarlane came on from a spell on the bench and scored a well-taken goal. The final score of 1–1 meant a penalty shoot-out as the decider. A great save by goalkeeper Keelia Ivamy saw Craighead win the shoot-out 5–4. Penalty takers were Ana Keelty, Lily McFarlane, Toni Thompson, Courtney Buckman and Hannah Beynon. The girls all looked extremely nervous before taking their shots, but very happy on the way back to join the team!
Third was a great achievement for what is still a very young team, including four Year 9 players. They were often facing much bigger and older opposition, and a few of the Christchurch teams, including Cashmere, have been playing in the Premier tournament in past years. We will look forward to another great tournament next year, hopefully to improve on our placing. Coach, Murray Linton, said the girls had an awesome week and that it was a well-deserved result.
Goalscorers: Ana Keelty 5, Lily McFarlane 3, Emma Linton 2, Lola Stoodley 2, Hannah Beynon 1.
Most Valuable Player: Emma Linton