University of Canberra farewelled club stalwart Angela Freeman with a 5-0 win over the winless Wests-Valleys in the women's capital league at the National Hockey Centre yesterday.
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Freeman, who is co-coach of the team with Edwina Bone, is moving to Perth this week after eight years and five premierships with UC.
The club is currently in a rebuilding phase after losing a number of players, but made sure Freeman left on a winning note, with Bone contributing a hat-trick to her counterpart's farewell, and Freeman herself scoring one for good measure.
UC dominated from the start and took a 4-0 lead into half-time, but slowed in the second half.
Given plenty of space by the Wests defence, the students strayed from their usual style of play.
''When we play well we pass the ball and let the ball do the work instead of us running it,'' Bone said.
''We could have held the ball more, got a bit of a rest and then passed it and played our normal game, and we probably could have put another five [goals] on the board, but a win's a win [and] I think that's our biggest win so far, so I'm not going to complain.''
Later in the day, the Tuggeranong Vikings overtook United with a 3-2 win. The Vikings, known for their club's junior hockey program, had 14-year-old Ellen Cornish make her first-grade debut with a goal with her first touch.
''She's probably thinking first grade is pretty easy,'' coach Terry Evans quipped.
In other games, the top four teams of the competition played off against each other, with the results ensuring the competition remains tight at the top.
Fourth placed ANU registered a 3-2 win over league-leaders Old Canberrans, and third placed St Patrick's sealed a 3-2 win over second placed Central with two minutes to play. North Canberra had the bye.