ICC Open Women’s Div 2 wrap up

The Open Div 2 Women’s Indoor Club Championships were held over the weekend, with 10 teams competing across 3 days at MSC Parkville and Monash University.

There were a total of 47 matches played across the three days and we saw a whopping 141 goals scored in the Girls competition, with Waverley’s Bianca Zurrer leading the way with 11 goals.

Women’s Competition

In Pool A, Waverley & Essendon progress into the Semi-Finals from Pool A, while Mentone and Yarra Valley would make it out of Pool B. Semi-Final 1 between Waverley and Yarra Valley would go the way of Waverley, as two goals early in the second half would put them out to a 4-1 lead, which Yarra brought back to 4-2 before the final siren. Semi-Final 2 saw Mentone out to a 2-0 lead, which was erased by Essendon with goals in the 26^th and 31^st minute. Things were tense for the remainder of the match, as an Essendon goal would put then through to the final. But Mentone managed to hang on, and escape with the draw, seeing them as the higher seed progress to meet Waverley in the gold medal match.

In the Grand Final match between Waverley and Mentone, things were tight for first 17 minutes, with both teams trading attempts but neither managing to convert on the scoreboard. However, a penalty stroke awarded to Waverley, would see Majella Hine net her 5^th goal of the tournament, and giving Waverley the momentum heading into the 2^nd half. The strong display of defence would then continue early in the second half from both sides, but Waverley’s star Bianca Zurrer found a way to add to her goal tally, scoring two goals in two minutes to put Waverley up 3-0, which remained the score at full-time. Congratulations to both teams for their display of hockey this weekend, and congratulations to our Gold Medal winners Waverley!

The 3^rd place play-off between Essendon and Yarra Valley would be a heated battle with the score tied 1-1 at half time. However, a couple cards awarded to Essendon would give Yarra Valley their opportunity to break the deadlock, as they scored 2 unanswered goals in the second half, giving them 3^rd place overall. 5^th place would go to the interstate visitors Border Indoor Hockey, as they powered over PEGS2 4-0, with all their goals coming in the second half. The 7^th place-playoff was locked at 2 all at half-time, but Casey would score 2 and shutout PEGS in the second half, enroute to claiming 7^th. Finally, 9^th place was a tight contest, with a tie at half-time, but Hawthorn would edge past TEM 4-2 to finish 9^th.

View the full photo album here.

The final standings were as follows:

A massive thank you to Border Indoor Hockey and team manager Vanessa Flanagan for their efforts in making it out from Albury-Wodonga this weekend. Congratulations on finish 4^th overall!

To check out all the results from the weekend, please use the following links:

Women’s Competition - https://hockeyvictoria.altiusrt.com/competitions/123

A huge thank you to our dedicated officials for their tireless work across the weekend. The Event truly would not have been possible without you all. A special mention to the following for their appointments:

That wraps up the 2023 Indoor Club Championships! Firstly, thank you to all the officials that helped over the last 5 weeks. Most of the officials were there for multiple weekends, and without them these events would not exist! To the team staff and club volunteers that assisted in coordinating the teams to get them playing in these weekends, we know how much work goes on behind the scenes are we are so grateful for your efforts in getting the teams involved. Finally, to the teams and players, thank you for participating and putting on a high-level display of hockey and sportsmanship.

However, the fun does not stop here, as we are back after a weekend off, for the U14/U16 JIC, followed by the U12 JIC the weekend after. Be sure to keep an eye on the HV website and social channels for updates.