FIVE hockey teams from the Far South Coast travelled to Canberra to compete in a long weekend tournament.
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The under 11, 13 and 15s girls and under 13 and 15s boys took part in a huge hockey carnival despite frosty conditions over the weekend.
The under 11s girls faced off against a strong Sydney club first on Saturday.
Despite a solid performance, the locals took a 1-0 loss, with some players having their first go at an artificial turf surface.
The second round saw them take on Wagga Wagga under lights in “chilly” conditions.
In another close contest, the FSC squad lost 1-0.
Learning from their previous clashes, the first game on Sunday saw the girls come away with a draw against Crookwell.
Halle Alcock scored for the FSC squad, but Sutherland proved too strong to claim a 2-1 win.
Playing for a minor finish on Monday against Crookwell the girls left nothing in the tank.
Felicity Dowd, Tayla Smith and Annabelle Cameron each bagged a goal in the 3-0 win.
Jade Allen won best and fairest for the under 11s girls.
The under 13s girls had a strong start to their weekend.
The team combined well, despite having no experience on the artificial turf to defeat Sutherland 3-0.
An early lead in the second round had the FSC looking strong against Canberra 2-0.
However, the home side bounced back to win 3-2.
Unfortunately, the girls were tired by the second day of play and took an early 5-0 loss to Wagga Wagga.
Their second game on the day also favoured the other team.
Lithgow scored a 3-0 win over the FSC girls.
By the third day strong early wins had the FSC in fourth and they played Sutherland to finalise the results.
Despite being tired, the FSC held firm in defence and was able to capitalise to win 1-0.
Meanwhile, the under 13s boys went three from six across the long weekend.
They worked hard in the opening round to secure a 6-0 win over Canberra.
However, in the second round they faced a very skilled Sydney squad and lost 2-0.
On Sunday the boys overcame the Illawarra district 5-1, but then had to face another Sydney side.
Despite their efforts, the FSC boys lost the match 3-1.
On Monday, the boys defeated a second Canberra squad 5-0, but succumbed to Wagga Wagga 4-2.
Meanwhile, coach of the under 15s boys Dave Rodgers said the squad went toe-to-toe with five of the state’s best squads.
Despite taking two losses over the weekend, the boys found themselves in the semi-final.
The semi-final clash was against the Canberra squad that includes five state players.
“Our goal keeper, Conner May, was kept busy as Canberra attacked with high hard hitting shots,” Rodgers said.
The FSC attack made inroads towards the Canberra circle to shoot for goals, but were unlucky to be denied.
Unfortunately, Canberra proved too strong to win 3-0.
“We just ran out of legs.
“It is very hard when one team has no reserves and the other has five.
“This was an impressive team effort by the boys and the score did not reflect the quality of the game,” he said.
In the under 15s girls clashes, a first round match against a strong Sydney squad resulted in a loss.
However, the afternoon match saw the team level to draw with Wagga Wagga.
Organisers said a second loss to Sydney on Sunday morning was “controversial” and fired up the girls for their afternoon game.
An empassioned squad returned to field and thrashed Sutherland 4-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The girls were able to come away witha 2-0 win when they met Sutherland again on Monday.
Organisers of the trip thanked parents and supporters for their help with transport and encouragement.