The Black Sticks Women have finished on a high at the Hockey World League Final in Tucumán, Argentina after beating China 1-0 to take fifth place at the tournament, and Germany defeated Korea in a high scoring match by 7-4 to finish 7th at 1st edition of the tournament.

Kayla Sharland (Captain of New Zealand), who earned her 200th cap for Black Sticks, scored the winning goal
Inspirational captain Kayla Sharland celebrated her 200th international cap in style, delivering the game winning goal late in the second half.
While the game only provided one goal, the statistics told the story of New Zealand’s dominance with 22 circle penetrations to four and 75% of possession in China’s half.
The match put both sides under testing conditions with temperatures again approaching 40 degrees Celsius, but the final result was retribution for the Black Sticks who lost 2-0 to China in the campaign opener. Continue reading →