The Junior Black Sticks women lost to Germany in extra-time in the final of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Four Nations Tournament in India overnight.
All square at 2-2 at fulltime, the match went into a golden goal scenario and Germany scored within five minutes to win the title.
Despite the nail-biting loss, there was a bright spot for the Kiwis with Canterbury's Sian Fremaux named player of the tournament.
In the final, New Zealand was down 1-0 after 11 minutes but equalised right on half-time with a Pippa Hayward (Canterbury) penalty corner. The Kiwis took the lead after the break with a beautiful reverse shot from Julia King (Auckland), but Germany responded with an equaliser two minutes later. New Zealand dominated the rest of the second half but could not convert numerous goal-scoring opportunities.
Coach Chris Leslie said Amelia Gibson (Canterbury) kept New Zealand in the game with some excellent saves in the first half. He was also pleased with the efforts of Samantha Charlton (Midlands) and Bridget Blackwood (Canterbury).
