Our U14s kicked off the new season in style at the Mizuno Cup & Plate, hosted by Surbiton Hockey Club across the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Bringing together some of the strongest junior sides from across the country, the tournament provided a fantastic early-season test, with 50-minute matches making it a real challenge of quality, fitness and endurance.
U14 Girls – Mizuno Cup Silver Medalists
The girls started superbly, recording impressive wins over Guildford, Old Cranleighans and Hockey Mentors.
Heading into their final group match on the second day, they needed to beat Sevenoaks by eight goals to reach the final – and produced an outstanding performance to win 8-0 and book their place!
Against a strong Surbiton side in the final, EG raced into a 2-0 lead before the hosts fought back to level with ten minutes remaining. A late Surbiton winner eventually decided a thoroughly entertaining, high-quality contest, with the girls finishing as Mizuno Cup runners-up following a 3-2 defeat.
A special mention to C. Craig, who was named Player of the Tournament!
U14 Boys – Mizuno Plate Silver Medalists
The boys' achievement was equally impressive, particularly after starting the opening day with just 11 players.
They battled to a 1-0 victory over Wimbledon before falling to a strong Old Cranleighans side.
Day two began brilliantly, with victories over Surbiton (2-0) and Ipswich (3-1) securing their place in the final.
With limited numbers and a huge amount of hockey already in their legs, the boys produced a monumental effort against Ipswich once again. An equaliser with just two minutes remaining took the final to shuffles.
Despite some incredible goalkeeping from T. Neil-Smith, who saved four shuffles, EG narrowly lost the shootout 3-2 to finish as Mizuno Plate runners-up.
Two finals. Two silver medals.
A fantastic start to the season and a brilliant effort from every player involved. The resilience, quality and team spirit shown across all three days gives us plenty to be excited about for the season ahead.
Well done, U14s!
U14 Girls Squad: A. Watson, S. Moore, E. Wood, I. Gould, B. Hillsdon, O. Fraser, F. Lock, E. Hiietamm, C. Craig, C. Long, M. Lowe, E. Cairns, G. Holder, D. Hollis, P. Lambert, E. Poate
Coaches: W. Denny and M. Lewis
U14 Boys Squad: T. Neil Smith, L. Singer, L. Donaldson, A. Poate, Y. Chen, E. Kelly, L. Arvan, D. Laurie, E. Fraser, B. Chapman, O. Arvan, A. Powley-Mapp, R. Selleck, M. Chen
Coaches: M. Lewis and F. Jackson