{"id":73291,"date":"2025-05-25T12:53:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T10:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=73291"},"modified":"2025-05-25T12:53:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T10:53:34","slug":"goals-and-upsets-a-weekend-that-had-it-all-in-the-western-cape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=73291","title":{"rendered":"Goals and upsets: A weekend that had it all in the Western Cape"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_73303\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73303\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-73303 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250501_05-62-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73303\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paarl Gimnasium continued their winning ways on the weekend when they defeated Parel Vallei 3-1 in Somerset. Photo: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lookonimages\/?hl=am-et\">JB \u2013 LookonImages<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Schoolboy hockey is often the topic of discussion in the Western Cape, and rightfully so because the province produces some of the best players and teams in the country.<\/p>\n<p>However, in recent years, the girls&#8217; game has improved tremendously with teams across the province asserting their dominance and putting on a show for spectators every week.<\/p>\n<p>The past weekend&#8217;s action was a testament to how far girls&#8217; hockey has come in the Western Cape with top sides meeting in local derbies and crucial league fixtures and putting on a show.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday night, the matches that stood out were the meetings between <strong>Parel Vallei<\/strong> and <strong>Paarl Gimnasium<\/strong>, and <strong>Rhenish Girls&#8217; High School<\/strong> against <strong>Paarl Girls&#8217; High<\/strong>, in Stellenbosch.<\/p>\n<p>Paarl Gim had a bye the previous week and returned to action seeking to make a statement against coach <strong>Wayne Coetzee&#8217;<\/strong>s Parel Vallei side.<\/p>\n<p>They proved to be too strong for PV, and a brace by <strong>Imke Koegelenberg,<\/strong> followed by a goal from <strong>Anya Swanepoel<\/strong>, sealed a 3-1 win away from home.<\/p>\n<p>In Stellenbosch, Rhenish was on fire in an 8-0 dismantling of Paarl Girls&#8217; High. Rhenish&#8217;s Stellenbosch rivals, <strong>HMS Bloemhof<\/strong>, outclassed <strong>Rustenburg Girls&#8217; High<\/strong> to claim a 4-0 win.<\/p>\n<p>It was a clinical performance from coach<strong> Chris Gerber<\/strong>&#8216;s Rhenish side, who went into Friday&#8217;s clash off the back of an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/rhenish-back-with-a-bang-herschel-wins-herschfield-derby\/\">impressive 6-0 victory over St Cyprian&#8217;s School<\/a><\/strong> the previous week.<\/p>\n<p>They were ruthless in attack and played an expensive brand of hockey but, most importantly, they capitalised on the chances they created inside their opponent&#8217;s circle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Leah du Plessis<\/strong> led from the front with a hat-trick, while vice-captain<strong> Frankie Henn<\/strong> grabbed two of her own. <strong>Lilly Newton<\/strong>, who was on the scoresheet against St Cyprian&#8217;s, scored again, and <strong>Nicola van der Merwe<\/strong> and <strong>Katherine Sickle<\/strong> sealed the comprehensive win.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73304\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73304\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-73304\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ROY11246-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"After suffering a hefty loss against Rhenish, St Cyprian's School returned to winning ways against DF Malan. Photo: Khulani Media\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73304\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After suffering a hefty loss against Rhenish, St Cyprian&#8217;s School picked up a win against DF Malan. Photo: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/khulanimedia.smugmug.com\/\">Khulani Media<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cape Town also hosted Hyundai Friday Nite Lights action, with <strong>Reddam House Constantia<\/strong> facing <strong>Springfield Convent School<\/strong>, and St Cyprian&#8217;s hosting <strong>DF Malan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It was a cracker between Reddam and Springfield, who were both aiming to return to winning ways after defeats against Bloemhof and Herschel Girls School, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>At the end, though, the sides could not be separated after they had played to a sizzling 3-3 draw, with <strong>Courtney Thomas<\/strong>, <strong>Jess Bester<\/strong>, and<strong> Juliet Macgregor<\/strong> finding the back of the net for Reddam.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bella Amm<\/strong> put on a masterclass for Springfield, scoring a hat-trick to ensure her side didn&#8217;t take a home loss.<\/p>\n<p>While Friday night&#8217;s five fixtures entertained, the action was far from done and it continued on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Durbanville<\/strong> versus <strong>Tygerberg High<\/strong> match was cancelled, but three others were played. <a href=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/belgotex-sport-easter-hockey-tournament-double-glory-for-fairmont\/\"><strong>Fairmont High School<\/strong><\/a> kicked off proceedings against Rustenburg Girls&#8217; High.<\/p>\n<p>After playing to a 2-2 draw with DF Malan the previous weekend, Fairmont had their eyes set on collecting maximum points at home.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73305\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73305\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-73305\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Ackerman-400x267.jpg\" alt=\" Madison Ackerman received a guard of honour as she walked out for her 100th appearance for Fairmont High School against Rustenburg Girls. Fairmont won that clash 2-1. Photo: Fairmont High School Hockey Team\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73305\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Madison Ackerman received a guard of honour as she walked out for her 100th appearance for Fairmont High School against Rustenburg Girls. Fairmont won that clash 2-1. Photo: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fairmonthockeygreenmachine\">Fairmont High School Hockey Team<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Under the guidance of coach <strong>Bryce West<\/strong>, <strong>Liza Duckitt<\/strong>, and<strong> Jody Lang<\/strong>, the girls in green secured an impressive 2-1 victory, with<strong> Camryn Corner<\/strong> scoring both goals for her side.<\/p>\n<p>It was also a special occasion for <strong>Madison Ackerman<\/strong>, who made her 100th appearance for the school, and celebrated it with a win.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stellenberg High School<\/strong>, meanwhile, shook up things in their match against <strong>Herschel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Coach <strong>Paulene de Bruin&#8217;<\/strong>s side has made massive strides, and they entered their clash against an in-form Herschel after a 7-0 win over <strong>Wynberg Girls&#8217; <\/strong>High last time out.<\/p>\n<p>Herschel had, meanwhile, defeated Springfield in the<strong><em> Herschfield Derby<\/em><\/strong>, so they were confident, and they expected to get the job done.<\/p>\n<p>However, Stellenberg took a page out of their boys&#8217; book. Last week, <em><strong>Stellies<\/strong><\/em> upset Bishops, winning 2-1 at the <strong>Woodlands AstroTurf<\/strong>. On this occasion, the girls stunned Herschel, pulling off an upset 3-2 win.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Juane Meiring<\/strong>, <strong>Stella Zwiegers<\/strong> and <strong>Stephanie Lloyd<\/strong> were the heroes for the Bellville school, who will next turn their attention to a meeting with DF Malan.<\/p>\n<p>Wynberg Girls&#8217; High got back to winning ways with a 3-1 win over <strong>Curro Durbanville<\/strong>. Captain <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/abrahams-reflects-on-a-milestone-100-caps-for-wynberg-girls-high\/\">Jehan Abrahams<\/a><\/strong> scored for Wynberg, as did <strong>Kailin Heath<\/strong> and <strong>Michaela Doyle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>There was also action in George, where <strong>York High<\/strong> beat <strong>Langenhoven Gimnasium<\/strong> 4-1, while <strong>Ho\u00ebrskool\u00a0Outeniqua<\/strong> thumped Gqeberha&#8217;s <strong>Ho\u00ebrskool\u00a0Framesby<\/strong> 4-0.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>York High School 4-1 Langenhoven Gimnasium<br \/>\nReddam House 3-3 Springfield Convent School<br \/>\nHMS Bloemhof 4-0 Rustenburg Girls&#8217; High School<br \/>\nPaarl Gimnasium 3-1 Parel Vallei<br \/>\nSt Cyprian&#8217;s School 7-1 DF Malan<br \/>\nRhenish Girls&#8217; High 8-0 Paarl Girls&#8217; High<br \/>\nFairmont High School 2-1 Rustenburg Girls&#8217; High<br \/>\nWynberg Girls&#8217; High 3-1 Curro Durbanville<br \/>\nStellenberg 3-2 Herschel Girls School<br \/>\nOuteniqua 4-0 Framesby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Schoolboy hockey is often the topic of discussion in the Western Cape, and rightfully so because the province produces some of the best players and teams in the country. However, in recent years, the girls&#8217; game has improved tremendously with teams across the province asserting their dominance and putting on a show for spectators every [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":73303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}