It left such a "distasteful feeling" that in the raw aftermath the players were left wondering if it would be worth the effort of going back next year, Penn said.
Coached by Mark Lyes, the Wanganui team again consisted of local Techno and Collegians club members, being joined by four Taranaki origin players.
Penny Stark and Cathie Bunler returned from last year, while their friends Lara Williams (Massey) and Carla Molyneaux (Wellington) also signed up.
Drawn in Pool B with the favorite Canterbury, Wanganui turned heads with a 2-1 upset of Wellington on September 14.
Down 1-0 at the break, Wanganui hit back with Haley Mallinder beginning what would be a brilliant tournament with back-to-back penalty goals in the 55th and 62th minutes.
Penn said Wanganui knew they were up against it next morning with a "very slick" Canterbury, the eventual champions, and so it proved in their 5-0 loss.
Samara Dalziel scored the first two goals as part of a hat trick, and at the end of the week she would be in a three-way tie with Mallinder and Waikato's Imogen Neil for top scorer with seven.
Wanganui rebounded that afternoon to thump Tauranga 9-0, putting seven goals past them in the second half.
"We thought they'd come out firing [after halftime], we didn't get the reception back we were expecting," said Penn.
Mallinder got a hat trick, while Stark and Lisa Grant each added two goals.
Williams and Molyneaux were the other scorers.
The rot then set in the following day in the final Pool B game with home side Northland losing 5-2 after being tied 1-1 at halftime.
Penn said other than the home crowd support, Northland received a lot of direct coaching from the sidelines.
Grant got Wanganui's first goal and then Williams closed the gap to 3-2.
Northland's Madison Doar completed a hat trick with the decisive field goals in the 62nd and 66th minutes, in between which Wanganui had a goal disallowed, which Penn said made the heads drop.
It got worse on September 17 when Wanganui lost their post-pool match with Tasman 3-2 after leading 2-1 at halftime.
Mallinder scored in the fourth and 23rd minutes, as Wanganui held possession for most of the encounter.
However, they had another goal disallowed and gambled by pulling the goalie with six minutes left, but to no avail.
Penn said the Tasman coach even approached them after the match to discuss the officiating.
That put Wanganui into the seventh/eighth playoff with Waikato, and despite being denied another goal by the umpires and having to rest Mallinder after two knocks to the head, they hit back from 2-0 after four minutes to win 3-2.
Williams scored in the seventh minute while Molyneaux tied the match in the 29th, before Williams got her double and the matchwinner in the 45th minute.
Canterbury went on to win the final with Northland, 3-1, to complete an unbeaten tournament.
Results
POOL B: Wanganui beat Wellington 2-1; Wanganui lost to Canterbury 5-0; Wanganui beat Tauranga 9-0; Wanganui lost to Northland 5-2.
CROSS-POOL: Wanganui lost to Tasman 3-2.
7th/th PLAYOFF: Wanganui beat Waikato 3-2.
Wanganui: Amelia Stanley, Carla Molyneaux, Loren Mooney, Michelle Low, Haley Mallinder, Cathie Bunler, Elizabeth Hunter, Lorette Cockburn, Lisa Grant, Kylie Penn, Melissa Hylton, Penny Stark, Lara Williams, Trin McCarthy, Michelle Mitchell, Colleen Baylis.