Month: October 2014
After being county champions and making it through to Regionals last year at U16 level, the girls (& I!!) knew the pressure was on as we couldn’t afford to lose!! From the starting whistle against Northgate, the girls ensured their performance was slick – defending tightly and intercepting any loose balls. Lily Felton and Laura Marshall had a solid game shooting, only missing 1 or 2 goals at the most. Next was Ipswich School. This performance can only be described as fantastic! Esmee Scott, Freya Cooney, Ella Burdett and Imogen Bacon defended like there was no tomorrow and pressurised the attacking players. Imogen Bacon’s interception from their first centre changed the whole game! St Joseph’s followed and enabled us to change the whole team, allowing some players to rest for the other 3 games ahead. Olivia Woodmansee and Laura Marshall were faultless in their shooting (as the score reflects) and Verity Jackson and Imogen Craig fed the circle effectively. Tara King and Ellisse Morey’s defending was superb, preventing St Joseph’s from scoring any goals. The last 3 games were upon us. Copleston, Kesgrave and Ipswich High.
The final game – the decider was against Ipswich High, who had won all of their matches too, so the heat was on along with the pressure. Although we were a little sloppy with our passing down court, a stern word at half time ensured the girls were not going to lose this so they had to give everything. With the score being 7 – 5 going into the 2nd quarter and Ipswich High’s centre, we had to defend. Unfortunately, they broke away and outplayed us, therefore scoring to bring the score to 7 – 6. The pressure was then on. The ball went up and down the court, goals being missed but rebounds being made, until we managed to break away with Imogen Craig intercepting the ball and finding Bella Chater in the air, who fed the circle perfectly, passing to Lily Felton who scored. This changed the whole game and we looked like we wanted to win. The second half performance can only be described as fantastic – and nerve-racking (especially from me umpiring!!) and the girls should be extremely proud of how well they played as a team. With a squad of 12, definitely indicates the depth we have at a senior level. Well done girls!! We look forward to the County round on Saturday 15th November.
Player of the tournament – Imogen Craig. She played with 100% effort and determination. Intercepting everything in the air and playing flawlessly.
V Northgate w 15 – 0
V Ipswich School w 12 – 3
V St Joseph’s w 21 – 2
V Copleston w 12 – 5
V Kesgrave w 16 – 6
V Ipswich High w 10 – 6
Lost 0-3
The 2nd team showed some very good passing hockey despite losing the game. Tate Turnbull marshalled her troops from the back, keeping them moving and supporting each other. Good interplay between the midfielders made for an attractive and open match. Felsted had more clear cut chances and took these well. Woodbridge defenders, Rosie Streat, Francis Poulter and Ella Jerman-Riddell stepped up well, winning the ball and distributing well. Tate was also a crucial part of this defensive unit.
Woodbridge had more attacks in the second half and got more balls through to their forwards but could not break through a stubborn Felsted defence. Several players impressed with passages of play throughout the match, and naming all would be a list of 12.
Rosie Streat delivered a player of the match performance, being steady in defence and ensuring posession when she won the ball.
Year 4 had an exciting time at Tesco Martlesham, discovering just how far some of their food could have travelled. They loved the cheese tasting as well as having a good look at the fish display, but the best part had to be filling their own doughnuts and rolling them in sugar!
Woodbridge took 4 teams to the regional heats in Bromley on Sunday 21st September. The teams were U19 girls, U19 boys, U14 Girls and U14 Boys. Many of the squad were new to racing this year. Our U19 girls team qualified for the National Finals and for the National Open held on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
64 schools entered 1000 competitors in the heats originally, with around half of those schools entering an U19 girls team. The Woodbridge U19 Girls finished an incredible 7th nationally! The team members were Alex Lillywhite (15), Lucy-May Turner (15), Beth Turner (11) and Jess Bowers (13). Collectively they were the youngest U19 squad in the competition with Beth being the youngest overall representative in an U19 squad in any of the teams.
A particular mention must go to Jess Bowers who skied out of her skin and bravely threw herself over the finish line. All in all, extremely encouraging for the next couple of years!
In the Open on Sunday which was all Under 19s, we saw the very best of the English schools competitors (68 boys and 68 girls).
Alex Lillywhite came 6th and Lucy-May Turner and Beth Turner both placed respectably in the middle of the group. Again, our racers were young in comparison (skiing against 17 and 18 year olds in many instances) with Beth Turner the youngest racer on the day at 11 years old.
Congratulations to everyone on a great weekend of skiing!!
Our Year 6 pupils have just come back from an amazing journey through time – back to the Victorian era. They were servants for the day at Audley End House. They were taught how to do the laundry, lay the table and even iron the newspaper. Perhaps they can try out these new found skills at home!
After a testing time against Norwich on Saturday it was good to bounce back with a resounding win. Our assured handling and elusive running put Holmwood under pressure throughout the game. The centre partnership of Hugo Thomas and Harry Rennell was at the heart of our victory scoring 4 tries and 2 tries respectively. Charles Tetley performed well at half back and capped a strong performance with a brace of tries and it was good to see Adam Cubit powering over late in the game to give the forward pack, who had worked tirelessly to secure quality ball for the backs, a try too. Charles Tetley also looked good with the boot scoring 5 of our 7 conversions.
Final Score: Woodbridge 59 Holmwood House 12
During an extensive afternoon of matches against Norwich on Wednesday 1 October, the junior teams all competed hard, with close wins and losses to report: the seconds were defeated 3-5, caught too often on the counterattack, but could take comfort in the expert shooting of scorers Neve Walker (2) and Verity Hobday; the fourths gained revenge, winning 3-1 with goalkeeper Lucy Hudson and defenders Lucy French (player of the match) and Sophie Weston earning high praise for resisting fearsome attacks in the first half, thus giving the forwards the chance to win the game in the second. This they took, scoring through Charlotte Bowers and Isabelle Bolton-Smith (2). The sixths, many playing their first ever match, had a fantastic time, Lauren Wilkes scoring in the first half to take them to the whistle 1-a-piece. The second half was also tightly fought, all our girls playing very well, but in the end Norwich pressure told, and the vital goal was conceded for the narrowest of defeats.
Final scores:
Junior Firsts: Won 2-0
Junior Seconds: Lost 3-5
Junior Thirds: Lost 1-2
Junior Fourths: Won 3-1
Junior Sixths: Lost 2-1
The under fourteens excelled in the recent Suffolk competition: game one in the pools, against St Joseph’s, was notable for a huge rush of adrenalin from the team – they ran and ran like things possessed. Soon enough the goals flowed, first to Flora Johnston, and then three to Georgia Harrold to seal victory by 4-0. It was tighter against Ipswich High, but 2-0 sufficed, Chloe Outen scoring her first for the day on the way, as the girls proceeded to a thrilling semi-final against RHS. Chances at both ends and great play from both teams kept things never less than exciting, and all too soon it came down to the dreaded penalties… Five shots each… Four goals for us, and two amazing saves by Sophie Little later, and the win – and a place in the final – was ours, earned the hardest of ways! Brilliant, not least for the guaranteed qualification for the Regionals. Framlingham looked good, though, and so it proved as the final was one game too far in the end, but the girls gave it their all even in defeat, clearly eyeing the chance for revenge as they left the pitch with heads held high.
Following on from just three after school water polo training sessions in the School swimming pool, the Y7’s faced their first ever water polo fixture against the TeamIpswich club team at Crown Pools in Ipswich on Sunday 5th October.
Woodbridge played as a team and showed they had picked up the skills to perform amazingly well winning the game 7-2.
Hat tricks from Tetley and Eaton, and a goal from Betteridge secured the victory.
Congratulations to all!
Woodbridge girls 1st hockey team showed great character in defeat against Wymondham this week. Woodbridge’s match preparation was not ideal, having only limited time for warm-up and drills. However this did not deter the players and they started the match seemingly the stronger team. Captain, Lorna Bennel, leading from the front and opening the scoring with some good elimination skills and strike at goal.
Woodbridge was a bit naive in defence at times, allowing Wymondham too much space and time in dangerous areas. Despite a player-of-the match performance from goalkeeper Eloise Mabey, Wymondham scored three goals.
Woodbridge’s second goal was a good team effort with the forwards combining well. Olivia Woodmansee was again in the right place at the right time, calmly putting away the rebound from the initial save. Olivia nearly levelled the match at the death, her attempt going just over the cross bar. Woodbridge may have been awarded a penalty stroke and Perhaps this chance could have levelled the scores. Having to settle for a penalty corner, the team kept pushing for the equaliser but was beaten to it by the final whistle.
Despite the loss, the team can take confidence from their performance. Many chances were created, players played well in different positions, and the work rate cannot be faulted.
Thanks to the parents who made the trip to Wymondham to support the team.
Final score: Wymondham 3 Woodbridge 2