Goal fest in prem women's hockey

Springfield'sTueila Wendt looks for support with WGHS First X1 Amy Horne and Sarah Barnes on attack.

It was a first half goal fest in the premier women's hockey match between Springfield and Whangarei Girls' High School on Saturday with Springfield coming out 6-3 winners thanks to a hat-trick from Jodie Nichol.

Whangarei Girls' High School scored early in the match when they converted a penalty corner but Springfield struck back with two quick goals to take a 2-1 lead into the quarter time break.

Springfield took advantage of a further lapse of concentration by Girls' High in defence in the second quarter and scored another three unanswered goals to extend their lead to 5-1.

Finding their composure, Girls' High then rallied before halftime to score two quick goals of their own to close the gap.

Girls' High co-coach Dave Adams said "we worked hard to get back in the game and we maintained shape and structure and held the ball, which we didn't do in that 10 to 15 minute period when we conceded."

In the second half both sides stepped up their defence and while there were chances on attack at each end, most of the half was played in the middle of the field.

Adams said "we went back to what we were trying to do and maintained possession and were able to make some good breaches through the midfield and get some good height to the strikers."

Girls' High co-coach Caryn Paewai added "that was probably the game where we were able to hold it together for longer periods than previous games, but we've still got a long way to go in terms of where we think this team can get to."

Springfield scored one more in the final quarter to take the score to 6-3.

In other premier women's matches, a goal in the final minutes of the match gave Hikurangi a 1-0 win over Mangapai while Old Girls beat Maungakaramea 1-0.

In the premier men's matches, Springfield beat Bream Bay 4-0 on Friday while Maungakaramea beat Whangarei Boys' High School 4-2 on Saturday.