Hockey: All-Hawke's Bay schoolgirls' team final in elite national tournament in Whangarei

Iona College striker Olivia Shannon (right) is setting the pace in the goal-scoring front with 13 before the final in Whangarei tomorrow. Photo/file

Two Hawke's Bay schoolgirl hockey teams will cross sticks to decide who is the best in the country in Whangarei tomorrow.

Iona College and Napier Girls' High School are in the 1.30pm final of the Aon Federation Cup hockey tournament.

"They are mostly year 12 pupils," an excited fan said, revealing many of them are actually Bay and/or Central Districts representative teammates who will be playing against each other tomorrow.

Today Iona beat Christchurch Girls' High School 2-1 in their semifinal while NGHS had to toil a little harder in beating Villa Maria College (Christchurch ) in a "drop off" after the sides were locked 1-1 in regulation time.

A drop off is when teams lose a player from each side in predicted times until one scores.
The tourney, which includes the Marie Fry Trophy segment, at the Kensington Park turf is hosting the top 32 schoolgirl teams in the country.

The Bay schoolgirl teams had come through their four-team pools undefeated after three games.

Iona thrashed St Margaret's College 5-1 in their quarterfinal while NGHS beat Rangi Ruru Girls' School 2-0 yesterday.

Iona College striker Olivia Shannon leads the cup individual goal scorers' race with 13 goals and had scored both the goals in yesterday's final.

The 17-year-old boarder from Feilding is in the Central Districts age-group team which retain their Vantage National U18 girls' (regional) tournament title in Dunedin in July.

So is NGHS player Kaitlin Cotter who is tied in fifth place, with five others on six goals, in the school tourney in Whangarei.

Shannon is a New Zealand under-18 representative who is in the Pathway to Podium programme.

Napier Girls' High School player Kaitlin Cotter has found the net six times in Whangarei. Photo/file