Intercity hockey: Carson leads way into final

A smashed hockey stick now languishing somewhere in the dark recesses of her garage is all the proof Otumoetai hockey goalie Veronica Romagnoli needs of skipper Katrina Carson's brutal power from set piece.
Carson struck three times from penalty corners to propel Otumoetai into the women's Intercity premier hockey final in Pukekohe this weekend, where they'll face Hamilton's Fraser Tech in a repeat of last year's title showdown, after Tech downed Rotorua Aces 3-1 in the other playoff match.
Romagnoli, 41, a former international shot stopper for Chile, could only stand at the other end of the Tauranga Hockey Centre turf and watch in admiration at Carson's pace and precision from the top of the circle as Otumoetai dominated Waikato University to win a quality game 4-2.
"I know what she (University 'keeper Cynthia McNabb) is facing and can feel sorry for her because those hits of KC's are hard.
"The girls practise against me and I know the speed KC can hit.
"She broke one of my sticks at training just from the speed she hits, which is way above anyone else at this level. But it's not just a one person game - everyone else has to do their job before the ball gets in the goal."
It wasn't just Carson's lightning arm that befuddled the defence - her accuracy from penalty corner strikes (three goals from six attempts) was unerring, with the first goal deflected but the other two buried low to McNabb's right.
Otumoetai downed University 4-0 when they several weeks ago in round-robin play but the semifinal was a different beast, with the young Waikato side shutting down the reigning champion's space.
Otumoetai led 2-1 at halftime, but could have had more if their flow through midfield to their strikers was swifter.
Carson bagged her hat-trick early in the second half, with another penalty corner laid off to Dani Maunder to crack into the net, but Uni gave one of their best displays, with Brooke Neale prominent at centre-half and McNabb industrious in goal.
Nicola Tims deflected a pass into the goal for Uni before halftime, with their second goal coming in the closing minutes when zippy winger Melissa Hartigan raced the ball upfield, shot at goal, had her attempt blocked by Romagnoli, but pounced on the rebound and backhanded it into the net.
Romagnoli, who debuted for Chile as a 14-year-old, is a physical presence in front of the net and doesn't mind mixing it up with opposition attackers. "I always seem to collect a few players - one wee girl in particular today (Jess Nesbitt) - but I always say to them don't come too close because I am going for the ball too and can be like a brick wall to run into sometimes!"
Romagnoli hung up the pads early after just 15 internationals for Chile (which included silver and bronze medals at the Pan-American and South American Games) and stayed away for two decades until she emigrated to New Zealand six years ago and was enticed out of retirement, first by Mt Maunganui and then Otumoetai where she's been part of the last two title-winning teams.
She plans to keep playing as long as Otumoetai keeps winning. "I'm probably getting a bit long in the tooth and I get asked every year about retirement, mainly by the goalies coming through who probably want a chance.
"The body's still holding together, although it was terrible in my first season back after 25 years away, but the whole secret to being a goalie is experience and speed.
"As long as I'm still standing and keeping the ball out ... then I'll probably keep coming back."
In the premier men's top six, Mt Maunganui lashed Thames Valley 6-2 with goals to Matt Taylor (3), Brad McKenzie (2) and Sam Greenhill. Mount went into the match with insufficient points to qualify for this weekend's final, which will be played out between University and Thames Valley, with Mount taking on Fraser Tech in the playoff for third.