Both University and Taieri came into the second week of the competition on the back of tight wins in the opening round.
At the end of fulltime, the sides could not be separated, although the students won the shoot-out.
All the meetings of these sides last season were hard-fought battles and this match was no different. University was being guided around the park by its experienced leaders, with Kezia Taylor having a strong game on the ball and Kara Jurgens all over the park.
It was Taieri which struck first, however. After an attack, it was able to secure the ball at the top of the circle and Taieri captain Erin Smythe slammed it home low into the corner.
This seemed to buoy the girls in yellow and blue and more chances presented themselves, but the students were not letting it slip away, and after a brilliant drive down the left hand baseline the ball was slid across the face of the Taieri goal.
Ash McNaughton was up to the task with a nice deflection to even the scores just before the half.
Neither side seemed particularly thrilled with its form going into the break, but the mistakes seemed to be coming more from the strength of the opposition defence rather than poor play.
The second half continued in the same manner as the momentum swung back and forth, with chances at both ends. In the end, neither side was able to land the killer blow and as time ticked down the score remained 1-1.
A shootout followed and it was the University women who took home the extra point as their first two attempts were both successful, while the Taieri strikers were unable to convert, both hitting the post.
In other matches, front runner City flexed its muscles in a big 10-0 win over Kings United, while Momona also had a strong 5-0 win over Uni B.
- Matthew West
