Sorry signoff for relegated Marist
and forth, before Hazlett slipped a pass for Myles Houlahan to score.
Stewart and Marcus Emery led Massey’s raids, pushing players up, but College were resolute in defence, with Matt Chard to the fore, with his anticipation and passing.
Bradley Grapes and Fergus Goldie scored for Massey in last quarter, which hinted at a comeback for Massey, but time ran out.
Earlier, won the women’s title with a 2-1 win over rival
The final was worthy climax to the season, with the match played at pace, and the atmosphere was tense, as teams jostled and tussled for possession and opportunities.
HSHC had the best of the first half. Tayla Hansen scored the opening goal at a penalty corner deep in the first quarter.
The final hung in the balance, with teams searching for the next goal and College drew level with Tulin Pritchard slipping in a goal early in the second spell.
College started to stretch the
College High School Hockey Club.
field in the last quarter, with Captain Tara Pickering leading the way with her stick work.
College controlled the play and Megan Phillips burst on to a pass and scored, giving College the lead.
HSHC worked tirelessly, hunting through the centre channels for chances to level, however College played out time.
Wendy Ridd was outstanding for HSHC and Pritchard, Pickering and Sheree Horvath for College.
In other grade finals earlier in the day, defended their men’s fourth division title, winning 4-2 over
in a fiercely competitive match. There were goals galore in the entertaining men’s third division final, where
won 5-4 over Levin. In women’s third division, favourites won 2-0 over
Early goals gave a 3-1 win over Massey Reserve in the men’s second division final.
powered away with a 6-1 win over to claim the women’s second division title.
Cavaliers Postmen CAPS. Dannevirke College Athletic Marist Marist HSHC Marton
Palmerston North Marist were put out of their misery in the Central League, suffering a 4-1 loss to Wairarapa United in their last game of the season.
Marist, who spent most of the season anchored to the bottom of the table, will be relegated back to Federation League next season.
Wairarapa had most of the possession in the first half and time to attack, while Marist barely had a chance to create anything.
When Marist did have possession they struggled to break down the solid Wairarapa defence.
Wairarapa star Paul Ifill went off after eight minutes, but it didn’t have much effect, as former Marist striker Seule Soromon twice burnt Marist in the first half.
Soromon scored in the 12th minute, firing hom a cross from the right, then he scored right before halftime, getting on the end of a long ball and slotting it into the top-left corner.
Down 2-0 at halftime, Marist came back with a 65th-minute goal through ever-present midfielder Nathan Cooksley, who was one of their standout players.
It looked as though Marist could have come back and pinched a draw. But Wairarapa killed the game off four minutes later through Sam Mason-smith and then they sealed it in the 90th minute when Liam Heard scored.
In the second half, Marist put more men forward and created some chances, but execution was lacking. A couple of shots were blasted over the bar and they hit the post in the second half.
‘‘I said at halftime if you score early, or score, you’ll get chances, and we did score,’’ Marist coach Shane Rufer said. ‘‘We had other chances but some of the decision making was a bit poor and the final pass.
‘‘You’ve got to pass more. But they’re second in the league and have got some massive players in their team.’’
Captain Graham Craven, who has signed with Hawke’s Bay United to play in the summer national league, again led from the front, getting forward on attack and busting his backside on defence. Young goalkeeper Dom
Semmens was impressive, making some good saves, while Robbie Yule and Ashish Sahayam were busy in defence.
Massey University upset New Plymouth Rangers 3-1 in New Plymouth to ensure they avoided bottom place in the Federation League.
Massey put in what coach Donald Piper said was their most complete 90 minutes of the season, only allowing New Plymouth Rangers, who had three Team Taranaki Central League players, to score in the 91st minute.
Massey’s defensive structure in midfield was impenetrable, winning them a lot of ball and allowing them to attack higher up.
Luke Breyenton scored in the 23rd minute, then Cole Freeman and Patrick Thompson scored in the second half.
Captain Billy Fitzgerald was fired up for the game and had a big performance at centre back, while his defensive partner Lachie Campbell and central midfielder Ben Ravenwood played well, too.
Red Sox-manawatu were meant to play league winners Havelock North Wanderers in Hawke’s Bay, but the game was called off. Red Sox finished last. In the other game, Gisborne Thistle beat Wanganui Athletic 5-1 in Wanganui. Marist Reserves had the bye.
In the league below, the Horizons Premiership, Hokowhitu Rangers wrapped up the title with a 4-0 win over the Palmerston North Boys’ High School first XI at Hokowhitu Park. Hokowhitu finished one point clear of fellow contenders Wanganui City, who beat Massey Celtic 5-3 at Massey.