The University of the Free State may not have had a fairytale finish to their 2015 Varsity Hockey campaign but are happy with the consistent performances they put in over the course of the event.
Kovsies finished the group stage unbeaten in their seven matches – scoring 31 goals while only conceding five – before making light work of defending champions Maties in the semifinal stage to see them host the final against UJ.
Unfortunately for the Bloemfontein ladies, they could not repay the home crowd for their support but goalkeeper Beatrix Westdyk believes they are happy with the performances they put in.
“Everyone would love to win a final and be crowned champions but it was not meant to be for us. In saying that though, we are still very happy with the performances we put in over the course of the competition and we have now managed to lay a solid foundation as we look forward to USSA.
“We proved to ourselves that we can be consistent in our performances and that we can play at a high intensity,” she told varsitysportssa.com.
Kovsies held the majority of the possession and territorial advantage in the first half of the final but failed to make the most of the opportunities they created but Westdyk takes nothing away from UJ’s second half resurgence.
“They [UJ] worked really hard to get the opening goal and I think that is when they dynamic of the match changed. We were not accustomed to having to fight back in a match because were usually the team who scored first. We dominated the first half but just could not convert the chances we created but we did not expect to have to fight back.
“We had changes that shaved the upright, then there was the one chance that hit the upright but that is how the game goes sometime. We will learn from that and implement those lessons in our next tournament,” she added.
Westdyk had plenty of praise for Varsity Sports for helping to grow the sport in the country by giving players a platform to showcase their talents and feels this was the best tournament she had ever played in.
“Varsity Hockey has given us a lot of exposure with this tournament and is by far the most organised and the best tournament I have played in.
“I was fortunate enough to have played in the 2013 edition and I there is a massive improvement in the level of the game. Each team has definitely raised their standard of play because this is such a massive tournament that every player is taking it very seriously,” she stated.
