College in fightbacks to remain unbeaten

STICK IT: Catriona Foreman (left), of Solway College and Ashleigh Carson of Wairarapa College second XI tussle for possession in a Mary Clinton Trophy match at Clareville which Solway won 2-1.

Wairarapa College produced two spirited fightbacks to post a draw and a win on the opening day of the Rankin Cup secondary schoolboys hockey tournament in Palmerston North this week.

First up, Wairarapa College met New Plymouth Boys' High School and, after taking an early 1-0 lead through a goal to Lucien Burt in the seventh minute, they were put on the back foot when New Plymouth drew level just three minutes later and then scored again in the 27th and 34th minutes to lead 3-1.

The onus was on Wairarapa College to lift their game and they did so impressively, national age group representative Joseph Robertson netting in the 45th minute and Adam Moloney scoring what was to be the final goal of the game in the 49th minute. The final score: Wairarapa College 3, New Plymouth 3.

In the second match against Tauranga Boys' College, Tauranga scored goals in the 22nd and 37th minute to take a 2-0 advantage but Wairarapa College upped the ante when it mattered most and goals to Hamish Finlayson (2) and Robertson gave them a 3-2 victory.

The Wairarapa College squad is: Jake Hunt, Jamie McAnulty, Lucien Burt, Jacob Harp, Adam Moloney, Bradley Annear, Morgan Taylor, Wills Taylor, Zac Hardie, George Whitehead, Michael Brewster, Gus Wakeling, Joseph Robertson, Hamish Finlayson, Ethan Presow, Jake Woolford. Coach: Lance Hare.

Rathkeale College first XI is contesting the second-tier India Shield tournament in Christchurch and they opened with a 4-3 win over Whangarei Boys' after trailing 2-0 and 3-1. Hamish McKechnie scored a hat-trick for Rathkeale and the other goal came from Caleb Boswell-Smith.

Next up, Rathkeale played Auckland Grammar and looked in strife when 3-0 down. However, they dug deep and earned a 3-3 draw through goals to Samuel Kyle (2) and Henry Phelps.

The Rathkeale College squad is: Oliver Mebus-Leckie, Matthew Wilson, Josh Tatham, Ben Whitehead, Will McMaster, Luke McKay, Dylan Price, Henry Phelps, Matthew Furkert, George Sims, Samuel Kyle, Nathan Whiteman, Zac Caldwell, Johnty Tatham and Guy Lewis. Coach: Dave Caldwell.

Also under way in Dunedin is the top-ranked secondary schoolgirls hockey tournament in the country, the Federation Cup and, as has become the norm, among the 16 teams are St Matthew's Collegiate and Wairarapa College who, incidentally, are already through to the final of the Wellington secondary schools premier competition to be played at Clareville on Friday, September 19.

St Matthew's came up against Villa Maria first up and, in a closely-contested match, it was Villa Maria who scored the only goal of the match.

The St Matthew's squad is: Lucy Terry, Kelsey Linton, Monika Lombard, Finola O'Boyle, Petra Hall, Aimee France, Makaylah Julian, Hannah Lang, Rebecca Perry, Sarah Marsfell, Jaimee Hicks-Wilton, Sara-Jane Raleigh, Latesha Smith, Lucy Hewitt, Lucy Griffith. Coach: Charlotte Meo.

Wairarapa College also had an enthralling opening game against Westlake Girls. Wairarapa College scored first through Katie McAnulty but Westlake managed to level at 1-1 and that was to be the final score.

The Wairarapa College squad is: Bridey Kiernan, Arianna Reiri, Billie Rawhiti, Hannah Candy, Katie McAnulty, Bailey McNair-Williams, Emma Smith, Brigette Mossman, Hanna Whitehead, Annabel Butterick, Katie-Anne Saywell, Harriet Gibson, Litia Jane, Heni Metcalf, Monique Edwards. Coach: Catherine Smith.

Meanwhile, Hockey Wairarapa is hosting the Mary Clinton Trophy secondary schools tourney at Clareville this week with Chanel College, Solway College and Wairarapa College second XI among the 14 teams compting. Chanel had two matches on opening day, losing to Sacred Heart (New Plymouth) 13-0 and Feilding High 5-1, with Morgan Maulder scoring the goal in the latter game. Solway College lost to Freyberg 4-0 and Wairarapa College second XI lost to Aquinas College 2-1. Their goal scorer was Aimee McAnulty.

Other results from opening day: Horowhenua 1, Tawa 1; Havelock 6, Wanganui 0; Kapiti 2, Auckland Girls Grammar 2; St Mary's 2, Feilding 0; Horowhenua 1, Sacred Heart (New Plymouth) 1; Havelock 1, Kapiti 0; Auckland Grammar 3, Wanganui 0.

Solway College and Wairarapa College seconds did battle yesterday morning and in a closely-fought encounter Solway took the honours 2-1.