The Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) yesterday announced a 12-member female National indoor squad to participate in the upcoming Field Hockey Canada (FHC) Invitational Indoor Hockey Tri-Nation series scheduled for March 22to 24.
The squad, which will depart Guyana tomorrow includes GCC Bingo Spartans exciting trio; Abosaide Cadogan, Sarah Klautky and Makeda Harding who are three of Guyana’s promising female players.
The trio was selected with an eye on the future, giving them exposure to topflight competition where they can embrace the rigours of international hockey.
“The Guyana Hockey Board, in using this event as a preparation for 2020 and beyond have opted to give the opportunity to new, young players who show the potential to be good representatives of the country for the future.
“As a result, [GHB] has named it’s youngest ever squad, including the two reserves, three fourteen-year-olds, two fifteen-year-olds and others in their early twenties. Coach Philip Fernandes has lamented the loss of Aliyah Gordon due to injury as he considers her to be one of those special players around whom the future of women’s hockey can be built.
“Fernandes however, is very excited by the several teenagers in the line-up as he feels that they are among the most talented players he have seen in recent years in the women’s programme,” the release revealed.
Guyana was initially hoping to enter male and female selections as there is nothing else on the indoor hockey calendar internationally to prepare teams before the next Indoor Pan American Cup (IPAC) being held in March 2020 in Pennsylvania. There were some difficulties in managing to achieve both, especially on the male side, and so the men will be unable to attend.
The ladies have been preparing since early in January at the National Gymnasium under the guidance of head coach Fernandes. Eight of the 12 players remain from the 2017 National team that competed in the IPAC held for the first time in Guyana the said year. Those players are goalkeeper Alysa Xavier, Marisha Fernandes, Trisha Woodroffe, Marzana Fiedtkou, Nicole Eastman, Gabriella Xavier, Minsodia Culpepper and Latacia Cheong.
Matches will all be played at the University of Toronto’s Athletic Centre and will begin on Friday 22 March 2019. The South Americans will kick start the competition against Kazakhstan on Friday.
The full Guyana squad reads: Abosaide Cadogan, Alysa Xavier, Gabriella Xavier, Marisha Fernandes, Trisha Woodroffe, Sarah Klautky, Latacia Cheung, Nicole Eastman, Minsodia Culpepper,Tekeisha Deleon, Marzana Fiedtkou, Makeda Harding: Reserves: Charlia Webb and Madison Fernandes, Coach: Philip Fernandes Manager: Tiffany Solomon
