Ladies pre-season USA friendly

On Wednesday 13^th August 2025, Newry Olympic Hockey Club welcomed The Pingry School from New Jersey for a friendly match against the Ladies squad. The U19 school team were on tour in Ireland and after making contact with the club, were grateful for the opportunity to play a match in Northern Ireland.

All the girls from both sides were in for a tough game, dealing with high temperatures and six periods of play as opposed to the usual four.

First half gets underway...

Newry started out strong, bringing all their energy and determination from the first whistle.

The Pingry girls were fast, advancing towards the circle with quick passes – but defenders Chrissie McAuley, Jodie Freeman, Natalie Hale, and Captain Steph Smart didn’t make it easy for them, making some excellent tackles and diverting the play back up the field. Unfortunately, Pingry managed to slip through again and score the first goal of the game, but Newry didn’t let that get them down! Later, the Pingry girls managed to win a short corner against the home side. The Olympic girls remained focused and managed to successfully defend against Pingry’s efforts, winning a hit out. Maddy Dunlop was making her Newry debut in centre mid, where she was a solid presence distributing balls to players all over the field.

In the second period, the Newry came back stronger, with mid fielders Shannen Robinson, Sarah Irwin, and Rhianna Hale fighting hard to get the ball up the field. They created a great opportunity for forwards Shruti Suresh, Anna Cully, and Becky Murdock to work together to run the ball into the Pingry 25, where Becky ran along the base line and took a shot at the goal, which unfortunately deflected off the post.

In the third period, the Pingry girls didn’t back down, and they got a few more shots on goal which were all expertly saved by goalkeeper Katie McCullough. Defenders Maddy Dunlop, Emma McCullough, Lisa Murdock, and Abbey Haire worked tirelessly marking players and sending balls down the line, whilst Lisa also saved a certain goal on the line.

Second half...

In the fourth period Newry went out with a new burst of energy, determined to get a goal that would reflect all of their hard work. Forwards Shannen Robinson, Steph Smart, Becky Murdock, and mid fielder Maddy Dunlop worked together to bring the ball into the Pingry circle where Newry won their first short corner of the game. Steph injected the ball quickly and precisely to Shannen, who made a straight shot that slammed into the back of the net through the keeper’s legs, securing the first goal for Newry!

Spirits were high after Newry’s equaliser, and in period five the girls went out with a renewed sense of spirit, ready to fight even harder and keep improving on the great hockey that had been played so far. Left wing Faith Donnelly had an impressive run, making some great passes and giving her all to win the ball off of the visitors. In left back, Laura successfully tackled multiple Pingry girls, winning the ball, and moving it out of the Newry 25, giving defender Lisa and mid fielder Natalie the chance to advance the ball further up the pitch. Laura also executed an impressive aerial which had the Pingry players scattering. Chrissie McAuley took multiple hit outs and smashed the ball past the opposition, right through to the opposite end of the pitch. Left mid Abbey held the Pingry girls off, making countless tackles against them and channelling the ball up to forwards Shruti and Rhianna, who slipped past the opposition with ease, and attempted another shot on the goal.

In period six the girls were determined to finish the game on a high, with everyone still elated after the goal in period four. Newcomer Keilah Crysi made her Newry debut in left wing, bringing great energy and making some good tackles against the Pingry players. In right back, Jodie made some excellent hits down the line to move the play into the Pingry’s half. Goalkeeper Katie and defenders Natalie, Emma and Steph continued to work hard to keep the score at 1-1 in the final minutes of the game.  Anna Cully fought hard in what was her first match for the Senior Ladies, bringing great energy and making precise passes to fellow forwards Maddy and Shannen, who never gave up on trying to get a second goal for NOHC.

All of the Newry Ladies played exceptionally, giving their all for every minute of the game. The final score of 1-1 truly reflected the standard of hockey that was played by both sides in what was a very exciting first game of the season!