Kings United lost but won in the Dunedin premier men’s competition on Saturday.
Kings held on to the Challenge Shield, losing in a shootout to the Taieri Tuataras after a 2-2 draw but retaining the shield as it was not an outright defeat.
Daniel Torr gave Kings the ideal start by scoring within the first minute.
The Tuataras immediately pushed forward and applied pressure on the defence, but the shield holder went 2-0 up when William McNaughtan scored in the second quarter.
The Tuataras soon secured an attacking penalty corner, and Jordan Ward delivered an unstoppable drag flick from the top, leaving goalkeeper James Bishop unable to react.
Ward struck again from a penalty corner early in the third quarter to level the scores.
It looked as though the Tuataras might have one last chance on full-time when they had another attacking penalty corner, but they could not capitalise.
Victory in the shootout was consolation for Taieri but it would no doubt have preferred to claim the shield.
Tainui beat the University Panthers 3-0.
The Panthers found themselves in the attacking circle with plenty of early opportunities but they could not find a way past Ben Sinnamon in goal.
Tainui bounced back and pushed forward, and Duncan McLeod scored twice to give the Oamaru club a handy lead at halftime.
Jacob Smith then completed the scoring for Tainui.
In the final men’s game, Billy Sheard scored off a deflection to lead the Albany Alligators to a 1-0 win over the University Whales.
The women’s competition opened with the Taieri Tigers bouncing back with a 1-0 win over the University Huskies.
The Tigers applied pressure early in an end-to-end game, and while both sides had plenty of opportunities, only Taieri was able to deliver a goal.
The City Highlanders beat Momona in a shootout.
City dominated the play early, applying considerable pressure on the Momona goal. However, Keita Elliot was up to the challenge and held them out.
That was until Annabelle Schneideman managed to squeeze one past, putting the Highlanders in front 1-0.
It looked as though that was how things were going to stay with Momona unable to capitalise on the opportunities it had just before the half to get one back.
Lucy Sawers managed to sneak one past Ginny Wilson in goal to tie things up late in the fourth quarter, sending the game to a shootout.
The University Stingrays beat the Kings United Women 5-1.
Sofia Trigg gave Kings a 1-0 lead but the Stingrays dominated the rest of the game.
Lexie Heaphy scored twice for the Stingrays, and other goals were scored by Holly Riddick, Margy Hazelhurst and Phoebe Mitchell.
-- Grace Milne
