The curtains came down closed on the second annual Smalta/iCool Water U-14 Indoor Hockey League on Friday evening at Marian Academy with the host team and HHC Team Uzzi once again emerging victorious in the girls’ and boys’ competitions, respectively.
The GCC Warriors gave the defending girls champions an early scare in the semi-finals when striker Kirsten Gomes, who had been outstanding for the Warriors, scored in the 2nd minute of the game. It wasn’t until the seventh minute that tournament top-scorer, Sarah Klautky, was able to equalize.
Klautky doubled her tally in the 15th minute leaving Marian to defend their 2-0 lead until the end of the match to advance to the final.
Marian Academy Girls pose with their awards following their successfully title defence
In the other half of the draw, SHC Spontaneous edged out St Joseph Divas 2-1, with the Divas putting up a tough fight. The St. Joseph teams are relatively new to the game of hockey, debuting last year in this tournament, and have vastly improved since.
Marian had a much easier go in the finals against SHC Spontaneous with Klautky scoring three times guaranteeing herself the most goals prize and Madison Fernandes scoring once to defeat Spontaneous 4-0.
HHC Team Uzzi rallied to consecutive Smalta/iCool U-14 Hockey titles
HHC Team Uzzi dominated in their boys’ semi-final blowing away SHC Slayers 9-2. Baraka Garnett, top Scorer for two years running, scored five goals while MVP Samuel Garnett scored four goals.
SHC Supreme closed the first half of their semi-final against SHC Scorpions 2-0 and responded to Robert Marcus’ lone goal to close the game 3-0 and move on to face the defending champs. HHC Team Uzzi had a much more difficult go in the finals, failing to score on multiple occasions despite being awarded 2 penalties during the match. In the end, it was Baraka’s goal in the 5th minute that secured Uzzi’s victory for a second year.
Girls:
Most Promising Player – Selena Ajudia (GCC Warriors)
Most Goals – Sarah Klautky (Marian Academy -15 goals)
MVP – Charlia Webb (SHC SPONTANEOUS)
Boys:
Most Promising Player – Vladimir Woodroffe (GCC War Dogs)
Most Goals – Baraka Garnett (HHC Team Uzzi -11 goals)
MVP – Samuel Garnett (HHC Team Uzzi)
