Echuca Moama Hockey Club’s William Kerr scored three goals for the North Central under-18 boys at the Hockey Victoria Junior Country Championships.
Seven members of Echuca Moama Hockey Club competed at the Hockey Victoria Junior Country Championships in Melbourne last weekend, with six featuring for Goulburn Valley Hockey Association and one for North Central Hockey Association.
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Olivia Thompson, Georgia Thorpe and Zara Thorpe played in every match of the GVHA under-14 girls’ campaign, the side posting a perfect 3-0 record from its pool games and finishing second after the first phase to qualify for the semi-finals.
Thompson would go on to score the winning goal in the last-four match-up against Geelong Hockey Association, setting the team up for a gold medal match with Hockey Central Victoria.
The trio tasted its only defeat at the championships in the decider, where GVHA went down 2-1 to claim the silver medal.
Elsewhere in the under-14s, Jack Thompson also represented GVHA, playing each match as the side finished sixth with two wins and two losses to fall three points off a semi-final spot.
It would go on to finish fifth at the tournament after thrashing Hockey Ballarat 5-0 in a fifth-place play-off.
The Echuca Moama player was a key contributor in the campaign, with two goals in pool matches, scoring in a 2-1 win over North Central Hockey Association and in a 3-0 win over Wimmera Hockey Association.
Three River Rats also featured in the under-18 section of the championships, with Isobella Keillor and Stella Keramaris representing the GVHA girls and William Kerr suiting up for the North Central boys’ side.
Keillor and Keramaris played in every match as the under-18 side matched its under-14 counterparts, also finishing second in pool play.
Four wins from five in the six-team division qualified it directly for the gold medal match against Geelong, where GVHA fell just short in a 1-0 defeat and claimed silver.
Isobella Keillor (pictured) and Stella Keramaris played every match as the GVHA under-18 girls claimed the silver medal.
Kerr’s North Central outfit also performed well in Melbourne, having a somewhat easier task in making the semi-finals given it was in a division with only five teams.
One win from four pool matches — the other three being two draws and a loss — ended up being enough for North Central to finish third, with the side going on to defeat East Gippsland 3-0 to reach the gold medal match.
Ballarat proved too strong in the final, condemning Kerr’s team to silver with a 3-1 win.
Despite it ending on a sour note, the River Rat had an excellent tournament, scoring in pool matches against Hamilton Hockey and Hockey South West, and netting a crucial goal in the East Gippsland victory.
Kerr’s three goals also ended up being the equal best tally on the team.
GVHA will resume its usual scheduling this weekend, as each of the seven players return to their Echuca Moama duties, though only the senior women and under-13s will be in action, with the men and under-16 having byes.
