Hockey supporters were treated to fiercely contested semifinal between Whangarei Girls High School and Maungakaramea in the Northland premier hockey competition.
ITM Stadium was tension-packed on Saturday, with both teams bidding for a finals berth this weekend.
Trailing 1-0 with five minutes to go, Girls High slotted a goal to equalise and
held on until full time. The match went into sudden death golden goal extra time, with each side dropping two players.
Teams were then reduced to seven when they were still tied at the halfway mark, and then the game moved to penalty strokes as neither side could score.
At the end of the first set of five strokes, it was 2-2 and so sudden-death strokes were played - with Girls High finally walking away with a 5-4 win (on strokes) and a place in this Saturday's final.
Old Girls and Springfield had to wait out the lengthy first semifinal and when they eventually got onto the turf, Old Girls took control of the match quickly and never gave it up.
Laura Douglas scored a goal from a penalty corner for Old Girls 10 minutes into the first half, before Hannah Ninks followed with a field goal 15 minutes later.
Karen Parker had a fine performance in Old Girls' goal while Rana Vette and Springfield's Alana Millington battled over possession in a feisty midfield tussle.
Old Girls were too strong for Springfield and secured the other final's berth with their 2-0 victory.
Kamo High School upset Hikurangi by defeating them 3-1 in the playoff for the fifth. Courtney Phillips scored a hat-trick, giving her side the edge over a lacklustre Hikurangi.
In the premier men's competition, Maungakaramea defeated Mangapai 1-0 to earn direct entry to Saturday's final, and Bream Bay beat Springfield 4-1.
Bream Bay play Mangapai tomorrow night at 7.20pm at the turf, to determine who Maungakaramea will face on Saturday.
Northland Hockey's finals day gets under way on Saturday with the division two women's final at 9.30am. Premier women play at 5pm, while the men's final - the last match of the day - starts at 6.30pm and it will be followed by prizegiving.
