06-05-2025
Hillcrest outscores Curro in Monday night hockey doubleheader
Curro Salt Rock's 1st team hockey sides suffered back-to-back defeats to Hillcrest High School at home on Monday night.
The hosts returned from the holiday period 'rusty' and lethargic, while old foe Hillcrest looked sharper under the floodlights.
Curro's girls' 1st team – coming off an impressive 1-0 victory over Gelofte last week – played first, losing a close-fought contest 1-0. Afterwards, the boys went down 2-0 in an end-to-end match against their Highways opponents.
Both Curro teams created chances but failed to convert them.
Earlier in the season, Hillcrest's girls beat Curro 4-0 in a 40-minute match. On Monday, the match could have gone either way but for some superb defending by the visitors.
In the first match, Curro's girls conceded from a penalty corner just after halftime. Later, in the fourth chukka, they had a shot cleared off the line that led to a penalty. However, Hillcrest's goalkeeper stood firm, saving the penalty to give her side a second win of the season against their hosts.
Curro's boys' 1st team beat the visitors 2-1 in both matches earlier in the season. The sides then drew 1-1 at St Dunstan's Sports Festival, but Hillcrest prevailed 2-1 in the shootout.
Curro boys' 1st team head coach Kevin Mason was concerned with his team's performance, citing lethargy from the holiday period.
'We were not at our best today – a bit rusty. We seemed to still be recovering from our holiday,' he said.
'We tried hard, but they were too good. We need to work on our play, but we have a match against a touring team from India on Thursday to prepare us for Saturday's hockey tournament.'
The Curro Salt Rock Sports Festival takes place on Saturday, featuring hockey, rugby, and netball.
Both hockey teams will look to get back to winning ways in front of their home support when the school takes on Scindia School from the sub-continent in a warm-up game before the weekend.
The Curro hockey tournament will begin at 8am, with teams playing a group stage format before the playoffs. Matches will consist of two 12-minute halves to accommodate the full fixture list.
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