A late goal saw Argentina beat the Black Sticks women 2-1 in Christchurch last night, holding the home side to a draw in their four-match South Island tour.
After dropping the series' opening encounter, back-to-back wins for world No4 New Zealand saw them threatening to claim the scalp of the third-ranked South Americans.
And once Kat Henry cancelled out Noel Barrionuevo's opener, slotting home from a penalty corner with seven minutes to play, the Black Sticks would have been content with a drawn match and victorious series. But Julia Gomes put the visitors in front with three minutes remaining to leave both sides with a share of the spoils.
Black Sticks striker Olivia Merry, playing her 100th international, described both her personal milestone and the fortunes of her team as "bitter-sweet".
"Playing your 100th in front of a sold-out Christchurch home crowd is an absolutely awesome feeling, but to not come away with the win is gut-wrenching," she said. "We didn't come out firing in the second quarter and, once Argentina went 1-0 up, they are very skilful side and they had the confidence."
