The Perse School Cambridge Under-13s secure place in England Hockey In2Hockey National Finals

The Perse School Cambridge’s girls’ under-13 hockey team have qualified for the England Hockey In2Hockey national finals after being crowned regional champions in impressive style.

As well as being unbeaten in the East Finals that were held at Ipswich School last month, the team also kept a clean sheet throughout the tournament.

They opened the competition up with an 8-0 victory over Chelmsford-based New Hall School, with Lottie Denny-Gouldson scoring five goals and Katie Ronco, Olivia Kaser and Amber Smith all chipping in with one apiece.

A 4-0 triumph followed against Gresham’s, courtesy of a Zoe Petheram hat-trick and an Amber Smith strike before a goalless draw with Ipswich saw the squad top their group.

Petheram went on to score both of her side’s goals in a 2-0 win over Haileybury – the runners-up from the other group – in a crossover match to book their place in the final pool to decide the top four placings.

The team met Ipswich again, with Denny-Gouldson netting the only goal in a 1-0 success.

They then produced back-to-back 2-0 wins against Orwell Park School (goals from Denny-Gouldson and Zoe Petheram) and then against Town Close School (a Denny-Gouldson brace) to secure the East title and reach the national finals.

Team coach Laura Sturgeon said of the success: “The girls played consistently well all day in tough conditions.”