Junior hockey teams excel in SA

Namibia’s junior hockey teams excelled at the annual PSI Hockey National Championships in Cape Town, South Africa, winning numerous awards in the Boys and Girls U11 and U12 age group categories.

Namibia won one gold and two bronze medals competing against the top franchises in South Africa, while they also won some individual awards.

Cele Wessels won the Player of the Series award in the Girls U12 category, while Dunja Meyer won the Player of the Series award in the Girls U11 category.

The Namibian U11 Girls and Boys Eagles teams both won the Spirit Awards.

The Namibian Hawks dominated the Girls U12 category, winning all eight their group matches to finish on top of their pool.

They scored a total of 44 goals, while only conceding three to finish on top of the log on a maximum 35 points.

In the semifinals they beat the Barracudas 3-0, to qualify for the final, where they beat the Cape Seals 2-0 to clinch the gold medal.

The Namibian U12 Eagles team finished eighth overall after losing the seventh place play-off 1-0 against the Sunbirds.

In the Girls U11 category, Namibia’s Hawks team won the bronze medal after beating the Barracudas 4-0 in the third place play-off.

The U11 Hawks were unbeaten during the group stage as they won all seven of their matches, but they missed out on a place in the final when they lost 2-1 to the Boland Foxes in the semifinals.

Namibia’s U11 Eagles girls team finished sixth overall after losing the fifth place play-off 2-0 against the Cape Seals.

Namibia’s U12 Hawks boys team won the bronze medal after beating the Boland Foxes 7-2 in the third place play-off.

Earlier, they had finished fourth in their Pool after winning six and losing three of their matches.

Namibia’s U11 Boys Hawks team came sixth overall after losing their fifth place play-off 4-1 against the Scorpions, while the Namibian U11 Eagles boys team came eighth after losing 3-2 to the Sharks in the seventh place play-off.