Wairarapa College through to tournament final

Wairarapa College won through to the final of the country's premier secondary schoolgirls hockey tournament, the Federation Cup at Whangarei yesterday with a decisive 3-0 semi-final win over Tauranga Girls High.
It was Tauranga who applied the early pressure but Wairarapa College weathered the storm and went to the halftime break 1-0 up after an attacking move started from inside their own territory ended with a well-taken goal.
Ten minutes into the second half Wairarapa College broke down the left flank and converted the scoring opportunity to go 2-0 up and they made it 3-0 about halfway though that spell. A penalty corner was initially saved but a pass back to a player in open spaces at the top of the circle saw the ball fired into the net.
Today's final was expected to be a torrid affair with Wairarapa College facing defending champions St Margaret's College from Christchurch .The two met in pool play with Wairarapa College winning and St Margarets have made no secret of their determination to avenge that defeat.
Kuranui College have exceeded all expectations by making the semi-finals of the their secondary schoolgirls hockey tournament in Nelson.
They opened with a convincing 6-1 over Naenae College before drawing 1-1 with St Andrews. They then lost to Freyberg-Longburn 1-5 but still managed to qualify for the quarter-finals where they beat Mahurangi 1-0.
Coach Ana Playle has been delighted with the Kuranui effort but believes they still have to reach their potential, something she was.hoping for in the semi-final against Nga Tawa.
Standout players for Kuranui have been Lisa-Marie Ireland, Courtney McGregor and Bobbie Gardiner.