Vantage Black Sticks named for World League Final

Vantage Black Sticks Womens head coach Mark Hager has named a strong side to contest the Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final in Auckland next month.

The tournament sees the worlds eight best womens hockey teams converge on the Harbour Hockey Stadium for a winner takes all championship from 17-26 November.

The Vantage Black Sticks (world ranking 6th) are joined in Pool A by seven-time World Cup winners Netherlands, USA (4th) and Korea (9th).

Defending Hockey World League champions Argentina contest Pool B alongside England (2nd), Germany (Rio bronze medallists) and China (8th).

New Zealand take a talented team into the World League finale with Stacey Michelsen (238 tests) and Samantha Charlton (201) providing a wealth of experience to the group.

There are four changes from the side which competed at the recent Oceania Cup in Sydney with the additions of 18-year-old Maddison Doar, Erin Goad, Pippa Hayward and Ella Gunson.

Hager said it was an exciting time for the group with the opportunity to play one of the biggest tournaments on the international calendar in front of a packed home crowd.

"Its really exciting to be playing at home but also a really big challenge. We look forward to the test of showing what we are capable of against the best teams in the world," Hager said.

"Weve added some speed to the striker line to give us some more emphasis up front as we need to score more goals and improve our conversion rate.

"Erin, Pippa and Ella will be great additions and they have worked hard to get back into the team while its a big moment for Madi, who we believe will learn quickly and relish the opportunity.

"Madi is a good attacking player who is quick and wants to score goals, shes a young player without fear and we want to let her go out there and play her game."

The Vantage Black Sticks open their campaign with an exciting clash against world number one ranked Netherlands at 8pm on Friday 17th November.

The Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final sees 10 days of action packed hockey as well as a spectator village with a variety of food vendors, fully licenced bars, displays, big screen viewing and entertainment.

All games will be broadcast live and replayed on SKY Sport.

General admission and corporate hospitality tickets are still available through www.ticketek.co.nz

Further event details and information on the Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final is available on the International Hockey Federation (FIH) website www.fih.ch

VANTAGE BLACK STICKS WOMEN

SENTINEL HOMES HOCKEY WORLD LEAGUE FINAL

17-26 November - Auckland, New Zealand

SHIRT # / PLAYER NAME / REGION / POSITION / AGE / CAPS

13 / Sam CHARLTON / Midlands / Defender / 25 / 201

5 / Frances DAVIES / Midlands / Defender / 21 / 28

1 / Tarryn DAVEY / Midlands / Defender/Midfielder / 21 / 10

32 / Maddison DOAR / Auckland / Midfielder/Striker / 18 / 4

28 / Shiloh GLOYN / Midlands / Striker/Midfielder / 28 / 46

3 / Erin GOAD / North Harbour / Striker/Midfielder / 24 / 39

12 / Ella GUNSON / Northland / Defender / 27 / 168

2 / Sam HARRISON / Auckland / Striker / 25 / 127

26 / Pippa HAYWARD / Canterbury / Midfielder / 26 / 142

24 / Rose KEDDELL / Midlands / Defender / 22 / 152

4 / Olivia MERRY / Canterbury / Striker / 24 / 175

31 / Stacey MICHELSEN / Northland / Defender / 25 / 238

9 / Brooke NEAL / Northland / Defender / 24 / 125

15 / Grace OHANLON / Auckland / Goalkeeper / 24 / 20

6 / Amy ROBINSON / Midlands / Midfielder/Striker / 21 / 34

8 / Sally RUTHERFORD / Midlands / Goalkeeper / 35 / 150

25 / Kelsey SMITH / Capital / Midfielder/Striker / 22 / 60

16 / Liz THOMPSON / Auckland / Defender/Midfielder / 22 / 154



- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ