Underdog story! Illawarra Academy of Sports Girls Hockey team take gold in Wagga Wagga
In a mammoth underdog performance, the Illawarra Academy of Sports Girls Hockey side has emerged victorious at the Academy Games in Wagga Wagga in dramatic fashion. See how it all unfolded.
Illawarra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illawarra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Illawarra Academy of Sports Hockey Girls have emerged dramatic victors at the Academy Games in Wagga Wagga.
In an underdog story, the Illawarra side defeated reigning champions Sydney Metro in the grand final penalty shootout to bring gold medals back to the south coast.
Head coach Alex Mackay was proud and pleasantly surprised by the performance the girls put in over the weekend.
“Going in, we had the goal of just making the semi-finals,” Mackay said.
“To get up in the final, especially against the team that won it last year, I couldn’t believe it, but in a positive way.
“The girls were stoked, it was great to see the joy on their faces.”
Mackay has been coaching at the Illawarra Academy of Sport for 10 years now and this is the first time he remembers seeing success for the side, saying they’ve always been in the mix but never at the top of the mountain.
Nine sporting Academy teams competed in the tournament in Wagga Wagga: Illawarra, Central Coast, Hunter, North Coast, Northern Inland, Southern, South West, Western Region and Sydney Metro.
Teams played six group matches before finals, with the Illawarra side remaining undefeated with three wins and three draws.
Come the final, coach Mackay said he was immensely impressed with the way his side gritted their teeth against their heavyweight opponents.
“They started strong in the final,” Mackay said.
“The ball was up our end a lot, I was a bit worried.
“We grew into the game towards the end of the first half and our girls started to get on top, but we went into the break at 0-0.
“With seven or eight minutes to go, we jagged a goal.
“We held the ball for those last few minutes, getting more and more confident, the boys cheering the girls on from the stands.
“But then with 30 seconds to go, Metro got a short corner, getting to retake it after the first attempt hit one of our player’s feet, and they managed to score off the last shot.”
And so a penalty shootout would decide the gold in 2023.
Illawarra scored their second, third and fifth penalties, while Sydney Metro had a post hit and two shots go in but narrowly after time had run out.
Illawarra’s fill-in keeper from Southern Sports Academy made the all important final save that would seal the deal for the south coast side.
“The penalty takers were ecstatic, the girls off the field all ran on to get around them,” Mackay said.
“It was great to see how happy they all were.”
Mackay identified Tessa Body as a tournament standout for her defensive work, also identifying the midfield work of Grace Healey and Destiny Ferguson as pivotal to the side’s success.
That spells the end of the hockey season at the IAS, with the girls now returning to their various clubs.
“Hopefully they can take the success and skills from the weekend back to their clubs and representative levels and beyond,” Mackay said.
Illawarra sale and auction results, week ending February 2
Illawarra recorded 11 property sales over a million dollars last week, the latest auction and sales results reveal.
‘Anyone can win the comp’: Upsets continue in Brewer Shield return
After a long break, the U18s Brewer Shield returned on Sunday where the upsets continued in the race to the finals. From punishing spells to lone hands, here’s how round 12 played out.