St Vincents Claim Irish Senior Cup Double
St Vincents (Dublin) Men and Women have claimed the 2023 Irish Senior Water Polo Cups at the Aurora Aquatics Complex in Bangor today.
St Vincents Women retained their Irish Senior Cup title beating Drogheda 8-2 in this evening’s Final, in what was a repeat of the last two Irish Senior Cup finals. With both teams unbeaten coming into the final, it was Drogheda who started the stronger, leading 3-1 at the end of the 1st quarter. St Vincents came back strong in the 2nd quarter to lead 5-4 before extending their lead to 9-5 by the end of the 3rd.
Drogheda continued to fight hard to get back in the game but struggled to break down St Vincents, who continued to control the game right to the end, with tournament MVP Ciara Franke getting four goals in the final.
The final score of 14-6 saw St Vincents win the Irish Senior Cup for the 11th year in a row; adding to the National League Title already won this season.
Already 2023 League Champions, St Vincents won the Men’s Cup, where they faced off against local side Cathal Brugha (Belfast) who were aiming for a third Senior Cup in a row.
It was the Dublin team who were quickest out of the blocks racing into a 4-0 lead to close the first quarter and quiet the local crowd.
The second quarter was a much tighter affair as Brugha tried to find a way back into the game, both teams traded goals before St Vincents scored again to lead at half time 6-1.
The third quarter saw a similar pattern, St Vincents winning 2-1 to extend their lead to 8-2 going into the final minutes.
The final quarter end 2-2 with the league champions going on to complete the double winning 10-4, winning their first senior cup since 2019 and fourth in the club history.
Next weekend will see many of the players (men and women) competing this weekend face England. Scotland and Wales in a home Four Nations. The tournament starts Friday 19th May and runs to Sunday 21st May at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre.
Women’s Team of the tournament:
1 Hannah Taylor (Cathal Brugha)
2 Gillian Fritz (Drogheda)
3 Ciara Franke (St Vincents)
4 Cliona Colvin (St Vincents)
5 Eva Ramsey (Cathal Brugha)
6 Mairead Baker (St Vincents)
7 Sophie Moran (Tribes)
Women’s MVP of the tournament:
Ciara Franke (St Vincents)
Men’s Team of the tournament:
1 Shane O’Brien (St Vincents)
2 Desmond Donnelly (Cathal Brugha)
3 Stiofan McMahon (Cathal Brugha)
4 Zoran Jerkovic (St Vincents)
5 Cillian Colvin ((St Vincents)
6 Max Connolly (Sandycove)
7 Adrian Hanna (Cathal Brugha)
Men’s MVP of the tournament:
Shane O’Brien (St Vincents)
Young Player of the Year Kyle O’Kennedy (Corrib)
Results – Saturday 13th May 2023
Women
Semi Final 1 Drogheda WPC 10 v 8 Cathal Brugha WPC
Semi Final 2 St Vincents WPC 21 v 7 Tribes WPC
Final St Vincents 14 v 6 Drogheda
Men
Semi Final 1 Cathal Brugha 12 v 5 North Dublin
Semi Final 2 St Vincents 12 v 6 Sandycove
Final Cathal Brugha 4 v 10 St Vincents
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