U21 North vs South series comes down to wire

SATURDAY

Saturday’s match day at St Paul’s Collegiate concluded with both U21 Men’s and Women’s games finishing in a 1-all draw.

The source of the action for the women’s game all happened within the opening fifteen minutes. 

The first goal was scored by Jaimee Eades, doubling her tally for the weekend, from South off a penalty corner. The leveller was scored within the final minutes of the quarter by Greer Findlay from North.  

During the second quarter the match was back and forth, but with the South making some advances later in the quarter meaning the North having to hold up with some well-fortified defence. 

The second half saw more of a stalemate with both teams continuing their resolute defence. 

However South were awarded three late penalty corners, giving them a shot at for a winner, however they weren’t able to put anything away with the game ending 1-1.

The first goal for the men’s match was also scored within the first quarter with a field goal from North player Aiden Bax. 

North had to do a lot of defending in the second quarter as South took part in some rigorous attacking, looking to level the scores.

During the third quarter a penalty corner was awarded to the South U21 Men’s team, with some good saves from North’s goalkeeper Matthew Ruetsch. 

With just twelve seconds left in the quarter, South evened the score with a fantastic goal from Daniel Torr. 

The score remained tied at the end of the match with a final result of 1-1. 

SUNDAY

The North vs South series went out with a bang on Sunday at St Paul’s Collegiate with the North U21 Men’s team and the South U21 Women’s team sealing the series victory.

The opening goal of the Women’s match was scored by the South’s Tessa Reid from a penalty corner halfway through the first quarter to bring the team a 1-0 lead.  

In the second quarter, the South faced sustained pressure from the North with the team’s attempts to even the score, but the scoreline remained unchanged going into the halftime break.

Two penalty corners were awarded to North in the final quarter with some incredible defence from the South team’s goalkeeper, Kate Kominik Fraser. 

After some further attempts to win back the game, the North conceded a field goal to South player Mezzy Surridge, bringing the final game score to 2-0. 

The Men’s game started off a little more reserved, with the North only requiring a draw to take out the series. There was some good pressure from both sides, however, the two teams remained nil all at the end of the first quarter. 

During the second quarter, a penalty corner to the South was scored by Jakarta Klebert right into the top corner of the goal, earning a 1-0 lead. A penalty corner to the North was met with some good defence from goalkeeper Xander Redgrave. Another vigorous shot was defended by Redgrave with about a minute left in the quarter.

In the last quarter of the series, South player Jordan Whittleston scored from the field to give a comfortable 2-0 lead.

However, immediately after this, the North was given a penalty corner that was dispatched into the goal by Ryan Parr, allowing the team to start their comeback. 

The heat was on from the North with only one more goal needed to seal the series win. 

Three penalty corners to North followed in the final minutes, with the last one slotted in by Rocco Ludolph to earn a remarkable comeback draw and series win.