On Friday 10 May the U13s set off for their National Finals at Beeston Hockey Club. Having no idea of what was to come the group decided to embrace everything that came before them and have fun whilst doing it. Absolutely in the spirit of LHS!

The girls kicked off their finals campaign with a well contested game vs Alleyns School. Two quickfire goals from A. Perez and a third from I. Snelson gave them a 3-2 win and the perfect start to the day.

The second game was against Kings School, Winchester and despite an early setback the girls regrouped and came out with a comfortable 3-1 win with two goals from A. Perez and one from A. Glasby. This result meant that the girls would definitely come away from the day with a medal, but they still had more to give.

The final pool game was against RGS Newcastle, a team they have previously encountered (when they lost 5-3). With both teams on 6 points this game became a winner takes all, with a place in the National final up for grabs. The game started in a similar fashion to the last one, with Newcastle taking a quick 2-0 lead and maintaining that into half time. However, a quick two-minute team talk and confidence boost saw the girls step up in the second half and play their best hockey of the season with some big saves coming from H. Whelband as well as scoring 3 goals in the process from R. Beer, I. Fennell and A. Perez to secure a 3-2 win and a place in the final.

The girls came up against Kingswood School in the National Final. In a game that was played in 24-degree heat both teams struggled to produce the same amount of energy as before and the game was a cagey and close affair with limited chances on either end. Kingswood struck first just after half time and our girls had to dig deep in order to find an equaliser. They did this with 3 minutes left in the game, R. Beer popping in a rebound from a short corner. Both teams pushed for a winner but neither were successful and so it all came down to the dreaded penalty strokes. I. Burns, I. Fennell and A. Perez stepped up for LHS and all three held their nerve to convert. The competition went to a double sudden death with I. Fennell putting us ahead before H. Whelband came up with her biggest save of the year to eventually seal the deal and crown us as U13 National Champions!

Miss Grieve, Mr Willars and the whole PE department are incredibly proud of this young group of girls. We are so happy that they have been rewarded for all their hard work and commitment over the past two years. They have truly written themselves into the history books here at Loughborough High School!