Chloe Buzza named division one fairest and best as Uppers top team falls short in grand final to LGSHA

Upper Great Southern Hockey Association fell short in their quest to win the division one title but claimed success in two other grand finals at the annual CBH Group Women’s Country Championships in Perth at the weekend. In the division one decider, Uppers scored a late goal in the fourth quarter but went down 2-1 to Lower Great Southern. However, they came away with the spoils in division four and in masters division one. At the completion of the championships, Uppers star Chloe Buzza was named the division one fairest and best player after a stellar three days of hockey. Uppers’ Emily Holt also claimed the masters division one fairest and best and leading goal scorer awards. In division one, Uppers finished second on the standings after three qualifying games and won their semifinal 2-1 over Busselton to earn a shot at the title. LGSHA were starved of chances in the first quarter as Uppers did the majority of the attacking. The game changed complexion in the second, however, as midfielder Beck Gallimore opened the scoring with six minutes to half-time with a penalty corner conversion. That LGSHA advantage was quickly doubled as MacKenzie Poulish provided a clever tap in on the left post with 21/2 minutes left. Uppers came out firing in the third and were denied more than once by LGSHA keeper Bonnie Crook. LGSHA still held a 2-0 lead but with less than two minutes to the final siren, Uppers finally broke their drought through Kira Flynn. It wasn’t enough however as LGSHA hung on 2-1 in a tense final couple of minutes. The division four team won all their round robin games and then beat East Avon in the semis to secure a grand final berth. Uppers scored from a penalty corner in the first term and sealed the title triumph with a late fourth quarter goal. Four wins and a draw in the qualifying games had Uppers masters team finish on top and they faced Mortlock in the decider. Uppers slowly worked into the match and scored on the verge of half time. Both teams had their chances in the second half but a late strike from Uppers handed them a third straight masters title.