Sevenoaks School 1st XI showed they mean business in their quest to reach the National Finals once again: at the East Regional round of the competition on 10 November they made no mistake in displaying exactly what they are capable of.

Their first match against Bedford Modern School saw them put together a number of brilliant attacks, goals from Captain Lily Elliott (2), Lucy Lawson (2) and Emily Elliott gave them a great start to their day with a 5-0 victory.
Tougher opposition appeared next in the form of Felsted, who Sevenoaks also happen to face this Saturday in their normal School fixture. Felsted took the initiative and caught Sevenoaks asleep at the back as they slotted an early goal to take the lead 1-0. However, Sevenoaks quickly sparkled into action and a stunning reverse stick strike on the left from Lily Elliott levelled the scores before Ellie Desmond popped up with the winner and gave Sevenoaks a 2-1 win.

The last pool game was against Stamford High where a few tired legs struggled to breakdown the opposition who were intent on trying to keep 11 behind the ball making it very crowded. Eventually Sevenoaks found space and Lily Elliott drilled a penalty corner strike home, shortly before Olivia Rendall was on hand to turn in a lovely move to make the final score 2-0.

Having won their group, Sevenoaks needed just one more win in the semi-final to take them forward to regional finals as the top two teams progress through from this stage. Facing an accomplished Bedford Girls side Sevenoaks knew they would need to play a disciplined game in order to earn the win. Having played a key role up front all day, striker Lucy Lawson finished a great attack from the right and smashed the ball into the bottom left of the goal, leaving the keeper no chance.

Despite a number of tense moments towards the end, including the brilliance of Polly Lambert in goal and defending a penalty corner at the end of time, the whistle blew and Sevenoaks marched forward to the Regional Finals which will be held in Redbridge at the end of November.

Squad: P Lambert (GK), E Seeley, E Elliott, N Wilkinson, L Roberts, C Grossmann, H Barker, L Elliott (C), T Farrant, C Bickley, M Bos, C Somerset, O Rendall, E Desmond, L Lawson