Southern Free State has assembled a strong 16-member team for the SASHOC Girls’ u18 Inter-Provincial Tournament to be hosted by Hilton College, St Anne’s, and The Wykeham Collegiate from 29 June to 4 July.
The team, under Gyster van Schalkwyk‘s stewardship, will have higher ambitions than last year’s seventh-place finish. Van Schalkwyk will aim to recapture the magic of 2023 when he led the province to the title.
Nadia van Staden will serve as the assistant coach, while Jomari Laning is the team manager.
The Southern Free State team features players from five schools: Oranje, Eunice High, Brebner High, Christian Brothers College (CBC), and Hoërskool Sentraal.
Oranje has been in red-hot form and, unsurprisingly, has the most representatives in the side. They include Carli Oosthuizen, Camilyn Parkin, Daniella Grobbelaar, Kayla du Preez, Kirsten Booysen, Marlene du Plessis, Atlegang Kgatsi, Xylia Choene, and McKenna Pienaar.
Claire Volschenk, Eden de Lange, Iliana de Gouveia, and Luthando Nogabe will fly the flag for Eunice, while Brebner, CBC, and Sentraal will be represented by Jamie Plaatjies, Lesedi Motaung, and Montle Pitso, respectively.
Goalkeeper McKenna Pienaar will present a formidable last line of defence for the Free Staters at the national tournament.
Booysen, who has helped Oranje to three titles with great defensive work, will be part of a defensive outfield unit that will also feature Oosthuizen, Volschenk, De Lange, and De Gouveia, while Parkin, Du Preez, Du Plessis, and Pitso will operate in the midfield.
Grobbelaar, Plaatjies, Motaung, Nogabe, Kgatsi, and Choene have the task of scoring goals for the ladies from the Free State.
They head into the Inter-Provincial Tournament with plenty of experience in their ranks. Pienaar, Booysen, Du Plessis, Volschenk, Oosthuizen, Choene, and Kgatsi were part of their 2025 campaign, while De Gouveia, de Lange, and Du Preez featured in the u16 section last year.
Southern Free State’s title quest begins against one of the perennial favourites, Southern Gauteng A. Sixth last year, Southerns won the title in 2024.
Team:
Carli Oosthuizen (Oranje), Camilyn Parkin (Oranje), Claire Volschenk (Eunice), Daniella Grobbelaar (Oranje), Eden de Lange (Eunice), Iliana de Gouveia (Eunice), Jamie Plaatjies (Brebner), Kayla du Preez (Oranje), Kirstin Booysen (Oranje), Lesedi Motaung (CBC), Luthando Nogabe (Eunice), Marlene du Plessis (Oranje), Montle Pitso (Sentraal), Atlegang Kgatsi (Oranje), Xylia Choene (Oranje), McKenna Pienaar (Oranje).
