School sports: VJC, RI assert dominance

The usual suspects came to the fore at the Schools National A Division hockey finals yesterday.

The Victoria Junior College (VJC) girls refreshed their legacy, earning their 13th consecutive title. They prevailed 3-0 against St Andrew's Junior College (SAJC).

VJC defined the outcome almost instantly, with Heather Lee scoring their first goal early in the first half.

SAJC pressed hard for the equaliser but hot favourites VJC ultimately delivered on opportunities during penalty corners - and won.

Vice-captain Teresa Teo bagged the second goal while Heather also scored the third.

It was a bittersweet victory for VJC captain Hannah Tan, who had to sit out the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

She said: "It (the injury) was a bit disheartening but at least I got to play a few minutes today.

"I'm so proud of us. We had lots of ups and downs this season, in terms of game chemistry.

"(But) today, we played to our fullest potential."

For SAJC, appearing in the final was already a prize.

After a six-year drought, they returned to the Sengkang hockey pitch as finalists.

In between happy tears, goalkeeper Sabrina Jaya said: "When we made the final, it was a wild feeling."

In the boys' final, defending champions Raffles Institution (RI) proved their mettle again, taking home their fourth title in the past five years after overcoming Anglo-Chinese JC 4-0.

Adam Aniq Amir and Ryan Jay Naidu gave RI a 2-0 lead in the first half while Gurveer Singh and Mohamed Haseef got on the scoresheet in the second.

Said forward Ryan: "Our biggest opponents were always ourselves. We had to defeat our nerves, any poor preparation and not lose our focus."

liminc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 08, 2015.
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