Superb field play and then two penalty shutouts from Gabrielle Williams led Springer Memorial to a repeat senior title in the CRS Building & Maintenance National Sports Council Indoor Hockey Championship, which was played at the Wildey Gym on Tuesday.
As in the final in 2011, Springer battled Combermere with standout player Vanessa Chewitt threatening to take the crown to Waterford.
With great speed and skill, Chewitt gave Combermere the advantage in the third minute of the first half.
After Springer’s pint-sized Aleina Stanford equalized in the fourth minute, Chewitt reclaimed the dominance with a strike one minute after the start of the second half.
However, in spite of battling a terrible headache, Williams caused some grief for Combermere by levelling the scores two minutes and 12 seconds from full time.
With no break in the deadlock, the teams played the sudden death five minutes with no one scoring in spite of threatening runs from both teams.
Springer Memorial goalkeeper Cateisha Johnson proved to be a heroine just ten seconds before the end of sudden death when she blocked a point-blank shot from Chewitt.
That was a sign, as in the penalty shootout the versatile Williams assumed the keeper’s position to deny Chewitt and Combermere captain Richanne Gaskin.
When Ayana Wilson and then Stanford scored for Springer, it was time to celebrate a repeat title.
The boys’ title returned to Waterford, but it was the Combermere ‘B’ team and not the ‘A’ that transported the silverware this time around.
Both teams played to a scoreless draw after regular and sudden death time.
Alrick Fanus, Corey Fanus and Kyle Brathwaite scored penalties for the ‘B’ team. However, ‘B’ keeper Theo Farley blocked Carlyle Wilson after Davier Atherley and Akil Craig-Browne had converted for the ‘A’ team. (KB)
