FORMER Dunfermline Carnegie Hockey Club youth player Eve Pearson has been named in the Scotland women's squad for EuroHockey qualifiers.

In a strong squad that includes four players that represented Team GB at the Paris Olympic Games - captain Sarah Robertson, Amy Costello, Charlotte Watson and Jess Buchanan - the former Commercial Primary School pupil is one of 18 players selected.

Eve, who currently plays with Grossflottbeker THGCC in Germany, and her 'Tartan Hearts' team-mates will have home advantage at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre for the vital qualification tournament.

They, alongside Wales, Czechia, Austria, Croatia and Lithuania, are competing for the right to play at next year's EuroHockey Championship in Germany.

The winner of the knockout tournament will progress and, as the highest ranked team in this stage, Scotland have a bye to the semi-final, where they will play the winner of Austria and Lithuania on Saturday.

As part of their preparations for the qualifiers, Scotland played four matches with Canada in June, which featured Eve, who made her national team debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and three wins and a draw saw them move into the world's top 16.

Chris Duncan, the team's head coach, commented: "We have been really pleased with the growth of the whole group over the year. The performance development in different match play settings, and within training, has been refreshing to see.

"The knockout format of this tournament is a challenging one, so we need to find our rhythm and commit to our style of play from minute one of our first game. Selection has been tough, because we have so many players who have contributed so well over the past months, and put their hand up to be selected. Ultimately, though, we feel we have a really strong squad who are capable of showing what 'The Scotland Way' is in this tournament.

"Playing at home is always special, and the chance for the players to run out in front of a packed crowd of family and friends is something we are all looking forward to."