Bounty Supermarket National Indoor Hockey Championships: Tigers, Woodpecker Hikers highlight Night 2 action

Night 2 of the Bounty Supermarket National Indoor Hockey Championships was an exciting one, with wins for Old Fort, GBTI GCC Tigers, Woodpecker Hikers and Bounty GCC.

John Abrams (Old Fort) taking a shot at goal but blocked by GCC goalkeeper Philip Fernandes

The opening match was a second division one played between Old Fort Top Form and Saints Scorpions. The Old Fort boys thoroughly represented their name “top form”, as they whipped their opponents 6-1. The youthful and talented Simeon Moore showed great energy and scored 3 field goals, 2 in the 22nd minute and the other 3 minutes later.
Moore’s teammate Shaquan Favourite opened the scoresheet, followed by team mates Daniel and Nandalall. Ezekiel Springer was the lone scorer for the Scorpions.
Matches in the ladies’ division proved competitive, with both winners defeating their opponents by a slim 3-2 margin. The first ladies match featured Old Fort Igniters vs GBTI GCC Tigers. It was exciting, and captain Gabriella Xavier marked her name on the scoresheet in the 3rd minute. However, Igniter Kayla Duncan levelled the scores for her team with a field goal.

OldFort Omar Hopkinson gets ahead of a GCC player

Captain “Gabby” wanted to ensure her team’s victory, and placed another shot past goal keeper Keziah to keep her team ahead. Sarah Klautky braced Gabby with a goal off a penalty corner; however, 3 minutes later, in the same penalty corner opportunity, Minosodia Culpepper sent the ball past the goalkeeper.
Both teams continued to fight for ball possession, with the Igniters having a chance in the last minute to score, but the ball went wide, giving the Tigers the victory.
In the other ladies match, with Woodpecker Hikers and GBTI GCC Spice, Ashley Khalil scored the first goal of the match on a rebound shot corner, but minutes before the halftime, Maria Munroe answered for her team with a shot past goalkeeper Empress Charles.
The second half started with Spice having more ball possession, as Hikers played a more defensive structure. In the last 6 minutes of the game, most of the action, as in the 6th minute before the game expired, saw Munroe intercepting a ball in the right back and racing towards the circle, earning her team a short corner and an eventual stroke. That stroke was taken and scored by Munroe.
Three minutes later, Kenisha Wills dribbled the baseline of the circle and reversed past into the goal, giving her team a 3-1 lead. The Spice ladies kept their heads up and played to the end of the whistle, securing a goal in the 39th minute. The game ended 3-2 in favour of Woodpecker Hikers.
In the men’s division, Bounty GCC edged Saints Splinters 5-4. Mark Sargeant and Kareem McKenzie scored a double, but Kevin Spencer sealed the victory in the final minute of the game.
In the other match, GCC The Sequel and YMCA played a game similar to that of the earlier men’s match, as GCC edged Saints 4-3. Goals came of the stick of Devin Hooper (double), Dwayne Scot and Seth Jeffory for the winning team.
The lone veterans match, and what can be deemed the match of the night, was between YMCA Old Fort and Bounty GCC, who played the same type of game and obtained the same results as the men and women. The GCC men barely got past the Old Fort men 3-2. Kevin Spencer scored a double, while Devin Hooper confidently scored on a penalty stroke to secure his team’s victory.
The Bounty Supermarket-sponsored tournament continues tonight with the National Men’s team hosting a mini fundraiser to support their travel next year for CAC Games, commencing at 5pm this afternoon.