AFTER a shock-free Saturday in the Sharwood's-sponsored Irish Senior their opponents with relative ease, strolled in to the hat for yesterday's quarter-final draw.
In all 31 goals were scored by the eventual winners in the seven second-round ties, with only one conceded ... and that was to Yeats County in an 11-1 win by a rampant UCC team. EJ Walsh (a hat-trick), Jill Hodgkins and Joanna Hyland got seven of the Cork students goals on what proved to be an unhappy weekend for Connacht hockey.
Galway were forced to grant a walkover to Randalstown after a string of injuries left them unable to field a team while UCG were 5-0 losers to Loreto, who put their two consecutive Leinster League defeats behind them.
Muckross and Old Alexandra both returned from trips north with victories but, surprisingly, it was Muckross who were forced to work harder for their win. When Mary Logue scored from a penalty stroke in the ninth minute, Collegians may have feared the worst but the floodgates remained closed until the 59th minute when Sarah Scott secured the Leinster champions place in the last eight.
Two goals from the prolific Irish Conway helped Old Alexandra on their way to a 5-0 win against Coleraine at Jordanstown but Harlequins had no such joy against the holders, Pegasus, in Belfast. A 4-0 defeat, which included a Nadine Long hat-trick made it a long trip home to Cork for the Harlequins team.
Two Jenny Burke goals gave Hermes a win over Victorians at Belfield while, at Tallaght, Catherine Governey's double strike helped Pembroke Wanderers get past Glenanne in the round's only all-Leinster tie.
