Arotea hockey women clinch title hat-trick

The Arotea women’s hockey side enjoyed an unbeaten run at the Top of the South tournament in Nelson over the weekend.

They retained the Top of the South Challenge Shield, which went on the line in each of their five fixtures, and shared the tournament title with Nelson side Waimai, who Arotea drew 2-2 with in the final on Sunday.

Arotea were down 2-0 in the tournament decider, but their potent mix of experience and youthful energy was enough to turn the tide and share the spoils. It is the third year in a row they have taken out the title.

The women’s draw saw eight teams split into two pools. The tournament utilised a quickfire format of 30-minute games, with semifinals and a final on Sunday.

Arotea beat Tasman 3-1, Federal 4-0 and Greymouth 2-1 on Saturday then took on Blenheim side Kiwi, comprised of Marlborough Girls’ College students, in Sunday’s semi, winning 4-0. Kiwi finished second in their pool, losing to Waimai 3-2 in section play. They had earlier beaten Barbarians 1-0 and Blackbirds 5-0.

Arotea coach Denise Lloyd said all her charges had impressed, “especially since it is the first time we have had a good run together as a women’s side”.

“They all had their flashes of brilliance, scored some good goals, but it was a real team effort all weekend, they never gave up at any stage. It was a real fun weekend and a good format.”

The Arotea team comprised: Yvonne Boyd, Emma Burrell, Sandy Large, Bec Melhopt, Pip Lunn, Matilda Sorenson-Brown, Bec Anderson, Jo Jones, Mackenzie Hanrahan, Veronica Hardman, Grace Davies (keeper), Bailey McNair, Libby Kapralos-Smith.

Tasman White and Federal contested the men’s final, which ended 1-1, the former retaining their title from the previous year. Marlborough side Beawai competed in this grade and finished with two wins, which including a 3-2 victory over Federal, two losses and a draw.

On Sunday at 1.30pm, women’s side Arotea Kiwi and Beawai will play a one-off match at College Park in preparation for future rep fixtures.