Tuks’ men’s hockey team proved that it has perfected the art of snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat with its win over Maties in the USSA Tournament final in Stellenbosch.

In the history of TuksHockey, the match will probably be remembered as one of the greatest comeback attempts. At half-time, Tuks were 4-1 down. Very few, if anyone, would have bet money on Tuks winning. But they did.

After levelling the score, Tuks clinched the victory in a penalty shootout. It is the third consecutive time that Tuks has been crowned USSA champions.

Tuks’ goalkeeper, Juan Schoeman, was probably the team’s biggest  hero. It couldn’t be otherwise. In a penalty shootout, it is the goalkeeper who must remain composed, especially if the match’s outcome hinges on a golden goal.

“I can’t explain how I felt after the game. We did something that few other teams would have managed to do. That is to come back from a 4-goal deficit. It was surreal to beat Maties on its home field in front of its fans. Many believe it was one of the best finals ever in South African student hockey,” said Schoeman afterwards.

Schoeman explained Tuks’ comeback effort as follows: “Some want to win, as Tuks, we need to win. It doesn’t matter how we do it. We certainly didn’t make things easy for ourselves in the USSA Tournament. In all but one game, we had to play catch-up hockey. But in the end, we did win the gold medal, and that’s all that matters.”

The semi-final match against UJ was also a thriller. Tuks had to overcome a 2-0 deficit. The game was also decided by a golden goal.

One can’t help but wonder how a goalkeeper copes with the pressure when they are the proverbial last man standing, tasked with preventing the ball from hitting the back of the net. If he fails, it’s likely game over.

“Yes, there is massive pressure because what you do will determine whether the team wins or loses. As a goalkeeper, unfortunately, everyone can remember your mistakes. So, the challenge is not to make a mistake,” Schoeman remarked.

In the games against UJ and Maties, he decided to be aggressive in the penalty shootout.

“Every time a player came in to shoot, I made sure that I was in his face. I was not going to give him a chance to make the decision. With the golden goal against UJ, I made a tackle on the player’s stick, which led to him missing and us winning,” he explained.

There is an interesting story to tell about how Schoeman became a goalkeeper. When in Grade-6, he studied the team list and came to an important conclusion.

“It felt to me like all the names on the team list were better than me, but I wanted to play. Then I examined the number of names at each position. There was no goalkeeper. That’s when I decided to put my name down as a goalkeeper. It’s the best decision I could have made,” said the Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting student.

Schoeman is currently part of the South African under-21 squad.

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