University White kept its cool to pip Taieri A in a penalty shootout in the premier women's competition on Saturday.
The game finished 1-1 after regulation time and progressed to a shootout under club rules.
Varsity players Mandy Wiles and Kelly Dempster both converted their shots against Taieri goalkeeper Sandy Mitchell, who had never defended in a premier shoot-out before the weekend.
Neither Lucy Flattery nor Sophie Allison could manage the same against Varsity stopper Ginny Wilson.
Varsity was missing key players and had trouble breaching the Taieri fortress, with attacks consistently repelled by Mitchell and fullback Vicky Clarke-Joyce.
This continued until the halftime whistle, as the defensive duo frustrated Varsity's third penalty corner, earned by Emily McNaughtan in the dying seconds. Mitchell made the save and Clarke-Joyce cleared it from the circle, sending the teams into halftime tied at 0-0.
Early in the second half, Kelly Dempster made a dash for the circle and sent Kendall Thornton a good ball, which she converted to give Varsity a 1-0 lead.
Taieri's response did not take long. Barely a minute later, Clarke-Joyce and Tayla Shepherd set up Allison to feed Felicity Johnston a golden opportunity, which she converted with class to make it 1-1.
Despite some strong efforts, a Taieri green card and two Varsity yellow cards, neither side could engineer another chance before the shootout.
There were no other premier women's games, with players on national league duty. Club hockey is on a break for the next two weeks due to the last rounds of the NHL in North Harbour.
By Nick Bosma.
