KIAMA High School girls' hockey team have made it back-to-back NSW titles after taking out the state finals at Narellan.
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After winning 22-0 in their opening round match against Albion Park High, a second round forfeit from Figtree High and a 15-0 demolition of Gosford at Wyong, the girls headed to the finals with plenty of confidence.
They faced Wingham in the quarter-final and won 5-2. The standouts were Montana Marsh, Georgia Wedd, Lily Stewart and Kelsey Wishart. Unfortunately, with less than five minutes to play, Kelsey was injured and could not play for the rest of the tournament.
The semi-final was against the strong Orange combination. Kiama went to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Michaela Patterson and maintained that buffer until half-time.
Not content to be dominated, Orange scored two quick goals against the run of play at the start of the second half and with 13 minutes to go Kiama were down 2-1. However, they kept playing aggressively and clawed back a goal from a short corner thanks to captain Bella Worner-Butcher, which levelled the scores at 2-all.
With three minutes to go, and after a lengthy build-up, Kiama scored the winning goal and maintained possession to claim a well-deserved victory.
Standout players were Bella Worner-Butcher, Michaela Patterson, Grace Stewart and Rowey Worner-Butcher.
The final against Lithgow, their nemesis for the past three years, was highly entertaining.
Kiama had a 2-1 lead at half-time, before being locked up at 2-all early in the second half.
They then dominated again, with the turning point in the game being a stunning tackle and run by Riley Wishart.
The build-up from this led to three late goals to Kiarra Marsh, Madeline Taylor and Keeleigh McCauley, with the latter's full-stretch diving effort easily the goal of the tournament and capping off the 5-2 win.
Coach Michelle Winwood-Smith was full of praise for her side.
"Considering the age of the girls, most of whom will be available to play again next year, it was a superb effort and will hopefully see them dominate again over the next few years," she said.