College hockey: Whanganui Collegiate teams make tournament finals

Collegiate's Gretel Murphy scoring in 48th minute in Wednesday's win over Epsom Girls Grammar at the Chica Gilmer Trophy tournament on Wednesday. Photo by Sandy Turner.

The Whanganui Collegiate 1st XI boys have won their way through to tomorrow afternoon's Founders Cup final on the back of their unbeaten run in Napier.

In opposite to the error made in Wednesday's initial report on the tournament, Collegiate hammered Onslow College 7-1 and St Pat's Silverstream 9-0 on Tuesday, and continued to run roughshod over the competition as they finished Pool B with an 8-1 victory over Western Heights High School and then destroyed Waiopehu College 12-0 in the quarterfinal.

That led into today's semifinal with a much tougher Tawa College, with Collegiate getting up 2-1 in a game with no quarter given.

Tawa received four green cards and a yellow in the match, while Collegiate picked up three greens and a yellow of their own.

George Meyer opened the scoring with a 24th minute field goal and then gave his team the buffer with another goal in the 52nd.

However, Tawa scored from a penalty corner three minutes later, which along with Collegiate getting their yellow card in the 58th minute set up a nervous finish.

Nonetheless, the team has made it to the cup final at Park Island Hockey Stadium against home team Napier Boys High, starting at 1.15pm tomorrow.

NBHS recovered from losing 2-1 to Tawa in pool play to win their remaining games by comfortable scorelines, although their 23 tournament goals is well behind Collegiate's 38.

Doing the most damage up front for Collegiate has been Hayden Skou (12 goals), Meyer (10) and James Craig (9), all of them leading the tournament points scorers table, followed by NBHS's George Bergman (8).

Collegiate's 1st XI girls are also into the final of the Chica Gilmer Trophy tournament at North Harbour Hockey Stadium, following a 2-0 win in their semifinal with Kamo High, with Collegiate having yet to concede a goal in the competition.

Starting on Monday, Collegiate swept Botany Downs Secondary College 16-0, then accounted for Long Bay College 2-0 and Epsom Girls Grammar 3-0 in pool play.

Captain Sophie Redmayne has scored 10 of their 23 goals, while at the other end, goal keeper Sienna King has kept a clean sheet.

In the semifinal, both Redmayne and Emma Osborne had scored field goals inside the opening ten minutes, with the defence stonewalling Kamo from there.

At the top-ranked Rankin Cup & India Shield tournament in Christchurch, the Whanganui High School 1st XI boys have had to set their sights on the latter prize after dropping all three pool games to move into the consolation group, but since then winning their way into the semifinals.

As previously reported, WHS lost to Kings College 3-1 and Wellington College 4-1, which was then followed by a 3-1 defeat to Rosmini College.

Entering the India Shield competition, WHS saved their campaign after they beat Wairarapa College in a penalty shootout, 4-2, after the team's were tied 2-2 at fulltime.

Kaelin Mooney, Patrick Madder, Connor Hoskin and Travis Bayler all kept their nerve to convert the shots to send WHS through.

This was followed up by a 4-1 win over St Paul's Collegiate in the Shield quarterfinal today, with Bayler, Mooney, Max Campbell and Ben Skedgwell the goal scorers.

And at the Mary Clinton Cup being held locally, Whanganui Girls College were coming back well from their heavy 7-0 loss to Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata and 2-2 draw with Hastings Girls High.

Whanganui Girls went on to beat Hawera High 1-0, then overcame Marist College on a penalty shootout, 4-3, after the team's were deadlocked 1-1 at fulltime.