Barbados: Empire Stick it To Avengers
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June 17, 2004 
Daily Nation
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by Mike Owen
Defending champions CCB Empire picked up where they left off last October with a comfortable 4-0 win against Avengers when the BWIA Women?s Hockey League started at the Astroturf at the Garfield Sobers Complex on Sunday.
Avengers were playing their first game since losing several key players to the new Harris Paints Wanderers team and Empire had the game sewn up with a 3-0 lead at half-time thanks to goals by Sheena Nicholls, Patrina Brathwaite and Charlia Warner, who also found the net in the second half.
Also on Sunday, Deacons gave notice that they would be back in the role of serious title contenders when they beat Maple 3-2 in a close, pulsating encounter which was decided in the final minute.
Kim Hoyte and Corlette Kellman had scored for Deacons and Benita Maynard and Deborah Holder for Maple and the score was locked at 2-2 when Deacons mounted their last attack.
A number of players went for the ball in the ?D? but Hoyte got there first and scored the crucial goal with a spectacular reverse sweep.
Of the two new women?s teams, Peugeot Combermere School Old Scholars had the greater success, coming away with a point after a goalless draw with Banks Raiders.
Wanderers lost the first game 0-2 against Banks Eastern Stars on Saturday through goals by Tara Howard and Karen Phillips. The newcomers played well in the second half and created several attacking moves but they were vulnerable in the centre of their defence.
In men?s games, defending Division 1 champions Peugeot CSOS followed Empire women?s example by starting off their campaign with a win ? but they had a harder fight before edging out Vitamalt All Stars 2-1.
The Old Scholars started slowly and by the time they got into their stride they were 0-1 down, thanks to Brian Burrowes? hard and accurate tenth-minute short-corner conversion.
CSOS had the better of the balance of the game, but several promising build-ups broke down through careless final passes by their forwards or determined defending by the All Stars back line with goalkeeper Ryan Weekes blocking anything that got through. And All Stars kept their slim lead ? even after conceding a dozen short corners.
But in the 57th minute the Old Scholars had a fortunate break in the form of a deflection off veteran Wesley Bowen?s short-corner strike and four minutes later Greg Puckerin got the match-winning goal after a quick counter attack which sliced through the All Stars defence.
BS&T Maple beat BNB Deacons 5-1 through goals by Andrew Phillips, Tyrone Walkes, Shawn Cumberbatch, Andre Cumberbatch and Leonard Babb. The game?s first goal actually came from Deacon?s Neil Franklyn.
Newly-promoted CCB Empire lost 2-0 to Harris Paints Wanderers through a field goal by former All Stars player Al Lawrence and a penalty stroke by Neil Owen, but the youthful products of Empire?s annual summer camps impressed with the constructive way they moved the ball around.
On Saturday Berger Paints YMCA started positively, beating Banks Eastern Stars 2-0 thanks to two goals from captain Joel Bryant.
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