Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
GCC Under-21 ladies strike Gold in Trinidad
The winning team before the championship game; Back row from left:Dominique DeGroot, Thalia Fiedtkou, Ashley DeGroot; Centre Row from left: Briawna Gordon, Trisha Woodroffe, Gabriella Xavier; Front from left: Marzana Fiedtkou, Alysa Xavier.
The Georgetown Cricket Club’s under-21 indoor ladies hockey team surprised all in attendance by taking the Gold medal in the recently concluded Magnolias Indoor Hockey Tournament played in Port-of-Spain Trinidad over the weekend.
Despite being the underdogs to leaders of the opposing pool, Raiders, the GCC girls came from one goal down to pull off an exciting and well-deserved 2-1 victory.
Raiders fielding a strong line-up littered with a number of national under-21 players, who recently competed in the Pan American Junior Championships in Mexico, had the advantage of experience and age on their side.
However, the young GCC team consisting of 4 players under the age of 17 succeeded in withstanding a nervous opening five minutes, before bringing the game onto an even keel.
Raiders went ahead first through skilful forward and eventual Most Valuable Player Krezia Layne, but GCC’s captain Trisha Woodroffe and Dominique DeGroot managed to pull off the victory for GCC.
Woodroffe’s goal came from a well placed penalty, but it was DeGroot’s goal in the dying minutes of the game that brought the house down. She received a pass from Gabriella Xavier high in the left corner and swiftly guided the ball past the retreating Raiders right back, before slamming it through the narrowest of spaces to beat the advancing goalkeeper.
Earlier, in the tournament GCC girls drew 2-2 and then defeated tournament favourites Carib Magnolias by a 2-1 margin in their pool round clashes and then beat Harvard Maritime Checkers 2-1 and 5-0.
Gabriella Xavier received a prize for the best forward of the day for Friday 21st while her sister Alysa Xavier received the best goalkeeper award and Marzana Fiedtkou the most promising player award of the competition.
Coach of the team Philip Fernandes was proud of the team’s performance and noted:
“I knew that we had a strong young team and that is what prompted the decision to go in the first place. There were many factors however that stacked the odds against us, not the least of which was Trinidad’s reputation of being the strongest regional nation in indoor hockey.
“The lack of adequate training facilities, always top the list whenever preparations of this nature are required also as time on the country’s only quality indoor facility, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, is dominated by basketball and table-tennis.
In our favour however was the fact that this team has been playing together for a couple of years as a developmental group and so despite their tender ages which range from 20 down to 13, they understand each other and have good synergy.”
“I expected us to give a good account of ourselves but thought it may have been a bit ambitious to expect to win it all whilst playing against teams comprised of 19 and 20 year olds. As it turned out I was very pleasantly surprised.”
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