Hockey: Experience tells for Old Girls

Springfield's Jess Heywood, left, and Old Girls' Sophie Morrison battle for possession during Old Girls' 3-2 win.

Old Girls held on to win 3-2 despite a spirited fightback from Springfield, claiming their place in next week's premier women's hockey final.

Springfield came out hard and scored early in the game but Old Girls stayed composed and managed to claw back the momentum.

Old Girls coach Alan Lints was looking to attack from the outset.

"We played a very attacking formation in the first quarter that left us one player short at the back. We didn't want to leak an early goal, but we did," he said.

"We just settled and knew we were going to create opportunities and it was about how many opportunities we could convert."

Two goals from Megan McGregor and one for Josefina Maratea gave Old Girls the lead but Springfield fought back with spirit and dragged one goal back in the second half.

It made for an intense final quarter. Springfield gave it everything but the Old Girls' experience helped them keep composed on defence.

The other semifinal on Saturday was a nail-biting affair between Whangarei Girls' High School and Maungakaramea.

Neither team could be separated after two periods of extra time so, with the scores locked at 2-all, it went to a shootout.

Both goal keepers, Shian Cottam for Girls' High and Tracey Morgan for Maungakaramea, pulled off spectacular saves in the one-on-ones but it was the Girls' High strikers who had the edge, winning 3-2 in the golden goal shootout.

In the men's competition, an extra-time thriller saw Springfield upset Mangapai 2-1 in the second period of golden-goal time on Friday night.

That hard-earned result saw them force their way into next week's final against Maungakaramea.