Loreto Senior Camogie team wins Dublin B Shield

The Senior Camogie team showed a great fighting spirit to win the Dublin Post Primary Schools Senior B Shield on January 20th..  After our quarter final got postponed due to bad weather before Christmas the girls faced a tough game against Jesus and Mary Goatstown straight after our return to school.  We got a great start to this game when an interception by Sophie Nugent led to a great goal by Orlaith Martin.  With Orla Buggy and Aoife Graham dominating at the back and Emma Deeley and Mikaela Griffin winning the midfield battle, we continued to create chances and points from Leah O'Reilly, Mikaela Griffin and Aine Purtill-Kalk with another Martin goal giving us a good lead at the break.  Unfortunately, we didn't start the second half as well and Goatstown fought back with 3 goals without reply.  This left the game in the balance as we headed into the last 15 minutes.  However, Loreto finished strongly with an Emma Deeley point allowing us to retake the lead.  Another Loreto goal followed by a Leah O'Reilly point meant we won on a scoreline of Loreto College 3-5 Jesus and Mary Goatstown 3-0.  
In the Semi we were drawn away to St Colmcilles.  We again had a good start with Carolyn McCarthy getting a point from our first attack.  The game was closely contested throughout and scores were hard to come by.  With Maeve O'Regan and Ruth Redmond winning lots of possession for Loreto, an Emma Deeley goal gave Loreto the edge at the break.  In the second half both sides traded scores as Siobhan McCluskey and Aoibh McIntyre got points for Loreto.  St Colmcilles struck for a goal to bring them back level but a Carolyn McCarthy goal restored the lead and she followed it up with the insurance point to give us a victory on a scoreline of Loreto College 2-4 St Colmcilles 1-3.
This meant that Loreto College would get the chance to take on Scoil Dara Kilcock in the Shield final.  Once again the game was tightly contested throughout.  With Leah O'Reilly and Ruth Redmond prominent at the back for Loreto College and Mikaela Griffin and Emma Deeley once again getting through a huge amount of work in the middle of the field, we began to create chances.  Carolyn McCarthy struck 3 first half points before Orlaith Martin added a goal.  Kilcock hit back with points of their own before Emma Deeley added a point to leave Loreto up by 2 points at the break.  Shortly after the break Orla Buggy set up Aine Purtill-Kalk for another goal which was soon cancelled out by a Kilcock goal.  The sides traded points with Carolyn McCarthy on the scoresheet for Loreto.  This left us with a dangerous two point lead as we headed into the final few minutes.  Kilcock kept piling on the pressure but a few great catches by Loreto goalkeeper Julie Donnelly kept them at bay and we held on to win on a scoreline of Loreto College 2-6 Scoil Dara Kilcock 1-7.  This was a great victory for the Green as the girls worked really hard throughout the match and I lost count of how many times we made crucial hooks and blocks.  The girls showed a great team spirit and it was great to see them getting their just reward for a series of impressive performances.
Loreto Senior Camogie 2017: Julie Donnelly, Orlaith Freaney, Elizabeth Murchan, Maeve O'Regan, Leah O'Reilly, Aoife Graham, Ruth Redmond, Mikaela Griffin, Emma Deeley, Aoibh McIntyre, Orlaith Martin, Siobhan McCluskey, Aine Purtill-Kalk, Carolyn McCarthy, Sophie Nugent, Orla Buggy, Caoimhe O'Reilly, Laura Furlong, Rebecca Noone, Ruth Allen, Clodagh Cullen, Kate Lanigan, Lauren Murphy.