The New Zealand women's hockey team savoured a rare tournament triumph by winning the Champions Challenge in the United States today.
New Zealand beat South Africa 2-0 in the final in Virginia Beach, California, to taste tournament success for the first time since they won the Olympic qualifying event in2000 in England.
The result guaranteed the New Zealanders a berth in the elite, six-nation Champions Trophy event next year in the Netherlands. They had lost Champions Trophy status last year.
New Zealand qualified for the final in California courtesy of a superior goal differential over England.
Top qualifiers South Africa were formidable opponents, having beaten New Zealand 1-0 during the round robin.
New Zealand kept their rivals in check throughout a scoreless first half before hitting the lead quickly after the interval when Canterbury midfielder Meredith Orr converted a penalty corner in the 37th minute.
They grew in confidence after that, increasingly making the play and forcing South Africa into a reactive role.
New Zealand effectively settled the outcome in the 48th minute when Wellington striker Niniwa Roberts-Lang scored her first goal of a tournament contested by countries ranked seventh to 12th in the world.
With player-of-the-tournament Lizzy Igasan prominent, the New Zealand defenders calmly repelled South Africa's advances from that point.
