THE Lower South East Hockey Association women’s side rejoiced in success as it claimed its third title in a row at the Country Championships in Adelaide on the weekend.
There were several new faces this time around to add to the core group, coached by Brayden Burston.
LSE took on Naracoorte for the first game of the competition which would also be a grand final preview.
The sent an early statement to the competition as they downed Naracoorte 3-1, with sisters Billie Jones (1) and Dana Jones (2) sharing the goals.
Billie Jones was in the goals in the second game as well as she scored the opener against a strong Port Pirie side.
Youngster Clare Hopgood scored her first goal in the senior side, with LSE holding on for the 2-1 win to remain undefeated.
The third game of Day 1 was a game of two halves, with LSE dominating early to take a 3-0 lead, only to be reeled in over the space of five minutes by some outstanding offensive play by Riverland to claw back for a 3-3 draw.
However, LSE bounced back on the morning of Day 2, with a convincing 8-0 win over Whyalla.
Kaitlyn Nisbet scored twice while several players also chipped in with one goal each..
Port Lincoln loomed as the crunch match with them also not having lost prior to the game and it was a tight tussle throughout with Dana Jones scoring the only goal to win 1-0.
She was helped by some outstanding defending by Morgan Cooper and midfield running by Olivia Turner, Chloe Boylan and Tess Kenseley.
The final pool game did not matter in the end but LSE wanted to go into the finals full of confidence so pushed hard for the win against their traditional rivals Barossa.
After a midfield arm wrestle, Hopgood slotted the game’s only goal backstick off a beautiful cross by Dana Jones for the 1-0 victory.
The grand final was a cracking contest between two sides who knew each other well and Naracoorte came out the stronger, only narrowly being denied by the post early on after a great early shot on goal.
Lower South East goalkeeper Kate Fabian showed why she is so highly rated with some outstanding defensive work in both halves, with clearance after clearance.
Cooper was at her dominant best at fullback, repelling attacking play after attacking play and Lauren Lunsmann hit peak form in the final, holding firm with some great defence.
Amy Hunt was dominating for her side and Naracoorte finally broke the deadlock and took a deserved lead through Olivia Williams.
The defending champions looked out of sorts, with their offence struggling to penetrate under the pressure of Naracoorte’s well organised defence marshalled by Shannan Derrington.
However, with all of their stars thrown up forwards for a last push, LSE drew a penalty stroke thanks to an infringement in front of goal, which Cooper calmly slotted to even the scores.
With only a matter of minutes remaining, the Lower South East saved the best for last and scored possibly the goal of the tournament.
A bullet pass into the spot by Cooper found the deflection from Dana Jones for a goal to remember for LSE.
The Lower South East men also had an impressive tournament as they made it through to the big dance.
The early rounds went according to plan for LSE, with youngster Nash Lobley scoring inside the first 20 seconds to secure a 1-0 win against Port Pirie in the first match.
Game 2 saw goals from Connor Bartlett (2), Greg Doll (1) and Lobley (1) for a 4-0 victory over Country West.
The clash against Barossa was abandoned and a draw as declared after the lights malfunctioned just five minutes into the game.
Day 2 saw LSE defeat Riverland 4-0 with goals to Lochie Nisbet, Doll, Lobley and Bartlett.
With fewer teams participating, the men’s side of the draw had a full finals structure, with LSE making the 1v2 play-off for the easy path through to the grand final.
However, a 1-0 defeat to Barossa meant the team had to go the hard way through with a do-or-die match against Port Pirie.
Like the pool game, the match was very tight, at times getting willing between two sides desperate to progress.
Some brilliant keeping by BJ Howard denied Pirie for a time but eventually they took advantage of a fast break to create a three on one situation which they duly scored to take a 1-0 lead.
Staring down the barrel of elimination, LSE dug deep and found an equaliser thanks to Brayden Burston.
This goal was enough to secure the draw and courtesy of finishing higher on the ladder, LSE progressed to the grand final for another crack at Barossa.
The extra game and only two substitutions seemed to loom large for LSE with Barossa jumping out of the gates and piling on four goals before the half time break.
The Lower South East lifted in the second half but could not claw back the deficit as the score remained 4-0.
Despite the loss it was an excellent campaign and a great result for the men, runners-up for the second year in a row.