Lower Women's Season Summary 2022/23:
Overall, it's been a hectic season for the women's sides but we have some fantastic things to be proud of, some fabulous new joiners and a great club comradery with players supportively playing for several teams as and when needed. A lot to be proud of!
W3s didn’t have the season we wanted but we put our hearts into every game, no matter how low the odds of winning. There were some dramatic games for W3s, and some cracking hockey. We bonded as a team and are fantastically set to shoot for promotion back into div 3 next season! As for the individuals – genuinely this is a collection of extremely quirky, strong minded weirdo’s yet wonderfully lovable and delightful at the same time. 3s top goal scorer was tight but even though she scored a hattrick not for our team, the winner is Rox Slatford!
To quote captain Erica “we didn’t win many matches but we certainly won each other’s hearts.”
W4s - Our once veteran W4s had a very new team this season, and had a different line up every week. Paired with some cracking injuries, (captain JT's hamstring keeping her out all season, Ruth's ankle / totally bruised leg, KPs one of many - the girl gyms too hard - and more) they managed to field strong teams, give the oppo a run for their money and spring miraculously away from relegation into a fantastic 8th place in the league. I don't know about you, but I'm fairly certain if Ruth had instructed Ness to "score more goals" earlier in the season, things could have been different!
W5s - It would be fair to say that the L5s have had a somewhat frustrating season on the pitch. Having started strong and finishing 4th before Christmas, the second half of the season saw them falter somewhat and a bad run of luck saw them lose games they should have won. But it's not all bad news - we welcomed some brilliant new players to our team and Amy back from maternity leave. We have watched Carla go from strength to strength and said a tearful goodbye to Lola as she leaves us for uni. But above all this season we have built the foundations of a fantastic team which will be pushing for promotion next season - you heard it here first!
W6s - The season has seen the 6s go from strength to strength - starting with certain team members falling out of taxis and running onto the pitch (after the game started) to having a really strong team who turned up ready to win each week. And win they did! 2 11-0 wins, 2 10-1 or 10-2 wins and plenty of other healthy wins. New to the div 6 after relegation last season, W6s are back up in div 5 next season with a stunning top of the league end to the season with a +42 goal difference.
W7s - Our W7s welcomed plenty of new joiners, and juniors pushing into womens' hockey into a hard league - including playing against our W6s. Despite having different team each week with movement throughout the club, we put forward a strong team for every game and came away with great wins. I'm delighted that the W7s have ended the season in 5th place, including an 8-0 win over Remnants! Here's to next season being even stronger!
Vintage (master O'35) - THD women's O35 team were hungry to repeat our successful victory in the London Masters league. After a great summer season, we settled into the rhythm of the league with our first game over in Teddington and a bit of a loss. A few more league games and some cup games. Some wins, some loses, some walk overs and some excellent Roast dinners. We end the league, maintaining our victorious position, top of the league for the second year. We will be celebrating when we head off for our first tournament. And what happens on tour, stays in Harrogate!