A great big congratulations to Seren Williams & Camryn Birley for their achievements in the Coast soccer tournament.Below is the article that was in the Hibiscus Matters Paper this week.
Guts and determination is behind the recent victory of a Coast soccer team in a national tournament.
The Hibiscus Ice Angels took the title of 10th Grade Norwest National Girl’s champions – a feat that coach Grant Birley says meant playing their heart and soul out for the full three days of the tournament (October 14–16).
The tournament, played at Huapai Reserve, is in its second year, and last year the Ice Angels placed third.
Eight teams, the majority from Auckland and surrounding areas, took part in the championship, which is organised by Norwest Football Club.
The Ice Angels is made up of some of the top 10-year-old players from Hibiscus Coast Association Football Club. The team faced Three Kings in the final, after a semi-final match against Bay Olympic that coach Grant Birley described as requiring all the true grit that the team could muster.
The final was deadlocked at 0-0 at full time and stayed deadlocked for extra time too. Both teams scored their first five penalties, which meant they went into sudden death. It was only on Three Kings 12th penalty that Hibiscus goalkeeper, Camryn Birley, pulled off the first save of the shootout. She went on to save the next two penalties and although Hibiscus also missed their next two penalties, Kara Drinnan stepped up and scored the winning points.
It took a total of 28 nail-biting penalties for the winners to be decided.
As well as the winners’ trophy, team member Aneka Mittendorff was selected as the Player of the Final and Camryn Birley was awarded the Hibiscus team’s Player of the Tournament.
Image: The victorious Hibiscus AFC team, from left, back row: Aoife King, Alyssa Mattson, Meisha Knegt, Aneka Mittendorff, Ashlea Herd, Megan Roe; front row: Kara Drinnan, Camryn Birley, Seren Williams, Sophie Hindley.
The Hibiscus Ice Angels took the title of 10th Grade Norwest National Girl’s champions – a feat that coach Grant Birley says meant playing their heart and soul out for the full three days of the tournament (October 14–16).
The tournament, played at Huapai Reserve, is in its second year, and last year the Ice Angels placed third.
Eight teams, the majority from Auckland and surrounding areas, took part in the championship, which is organised by Norwest Football Club.
The Ice Angels is made up of some of the top 10-year-old players from Hibiscus Coast Association Football Club. The team faced Three Kings in the final, after a semi-final match against Bay Olympic that coach Grant Birley described as requiring all the true grit that the team could muster.
The final was deadlocked at 0-0 at full time and stayed deadlocked for extra time too. Both teams scored their first five penalties, which meant they went into sudden death. It was only on Three Kings 12th penalty that Hibiscus goalkeeper, Camryn Birley, pulled off the first save of the shootout. She went on to save the next two penalties and although Hibiscus also missed their next two penalties, Kara Drinnan stepped up and scored the winning points.
It took a total of 28 nail-biting penalties for the winners to be decided.
As well as the winners’ trophy, team member Aneka Mittendorff was selected as the Player of the Final and Camryn Birley was awarded the Hibiscus team’s Player of the Tournament.
Image: The victorious Hibiscus AFC team, from left, back row: Aoife King, Alyssa Mattson, Meisha Knegt, Aneka Mittendorff, Ashlea Herd, Megan Roe; front row: Kara Drinnan, Camryn Birley, Seren Williams, Sophie Hindley.