National title lost to South Island teams

The Lotto national premier secondary schoolgirls football title will be heading north this year.

The South Island's last hope of securing the 2010 title disappeared yesterday at Saxton Field when defending champions, Christchurch's Marian College, were beaten 3-2 by Epsom Girls in the quarterfinals. There's a strong Auckland flavour to today's semifinals, with North Shore's Rangitoto College and Mt Albert also remaining in contention, along with St Peter's College of Cambridge.

Rangitoto eliminated another South Island contender with a tight 3-2 win over Marlborough Girls College, while Mt Albert beat fellow Aucklanders Avondale College by the same margin. St Peter's enjoyed the biggest winning margin, beating Whangarei's Kamo HS 3-0.

Rangitoto were to play Mt Albert with Epsom Girls taking on St Peters to decide tomorrow's finalists.

Waimea College will play off for 13th to 16th after losing 3-4 on penalties to Palmerston North's Freyberg HS.

Trailing 0-1 at halftime, Waimea got back into the match through a second-half goal to right midfielder Annelise Brown who skilfully rounded a defender and beat the goalie. Still level at fulltime, Freyberg prevailed in the subsequent shootout to move into today's 9th to 12th place playoffs.

Despite the result, Waimea coach Mike Beeby said he was delighted with his players performances throughout the week, considering they were one of the youngest teams at the tournament. Goalkeeper Emily Hart and captain Aimee Barratt up front have been among their most consistent performers, with Barratt's leadership skills evident.

Nelson College for Girls rebounded from Tuesday's disappointing penalty shootout loss to Hutt Valley HS with a 1-0 win over Rosehill College and their first tournament win after drawing twice in pool play.

Harriet Williamson scored their goal from a diving header after a scoreless first half, with the entire team stepping up.

Nayland College lost 0-2 to Wellington Girls College.

Results

1-8: Rangitoto 3 Marlborough Girls 2, Mt Albert 3 Avondale 2, Epsom Girls 3 Marian 2, St Peter's (Cambridge) 3 Kamo 0.

9-16: Freyberg 5 Waimea 4 (penalties), Wellington East Girls 4 New Plymouth Girls 0, Tawa 3 Westlake Girls 0, Tauranga Girls 2 Macleans 0.

17-24: St Kentigern 6 Gisborne Girls 4, Trident 2 St Hilda's 1, Diocesan (Auckland) 1 Hutt Valley 0, Cambridge 2 Cashmere 1.

25-32: Wellington Girls 2 Nayland 0, Hamilton Girls 2 Waikato Diocesan 0, Nelson College for Girls 1 Rosehill 0, Palmerston Nth Girls 2 Hillcrest 1.

- © Fairfax NZ News