One season in which they won their respective medal matches in thrilling fashion.
The NSW Pride Women defeated Adelaide Fire 3-2, scoring the winning goal in dramatic fashion
There are only 3 seconds left on the clock after being behind the entire match, with the NSW Pride Men
defeated Brisbane Blaze 10-4 yesterday in an emphatic reversal of their semi-final.
In the women’s match, a physical and combative match saw Adelaide take a 2-0 lead at half-time
via a double to Georgina Dowd. Pride players Laura Reid (broken finger), Emmalee Croker
(shoulder) and Grace Young (hip) all faced the tough challenges that ensued
with an injury, with only Young able to return to the field after treatment. Maddison Smith scored from
a penalty corner with a powerful direct attack to halve the deficit in the third quarter, leading to a
nail-biting last quarter.
Mariah Williams was given a penalty after making a mistake in the circle during a goal
chance, and calmly converted from the spot to level the scores in just 3 seconds
remains on the clock. Under Hockey One’s unique rules, she then had a chance to win
the match with a one-on-one conversion attempt, where she once again showed her steel in gambling
past Hockeyroos teammate and goalkeeper Aleisha Power into the Adelaide Fire net to spark wildly
parties.
“I got to that moment where I felt like I had her [Power] dedicated and all I had to do was
throw it in the net and thank goodness it worked because I’m sure the girls would have been mad about it
if I didn’t get it in,” Williams said of her winning goal.
“We’ve had a few losses, in terms of players and experience, but that’s OK. I’m really proud of it
the girls who passed by. The young people stepped up and showed we have depth in NSW,”
she said.
NSW Pride Head Coach Scott Barker was full of praise for the determination and his efforts
showed he could overcome enormous adversity and fight back to win.
“I am incredibly proud. The resilience with which the players played in the most courageous match.”
I’ve probably been involved at some point in – like, we had LG [Laura Reid] breaks her finger in the first
A few minutes later, Em Croker’s shoulder went down as well, we had some knee problems, and basically
we looked around and had no players left on the bench,” he said.
“There was a momentum shift about five minutes to go and we got excited and Tegan
Neowhouse made some incredible saves in goals that kept us in contention,” he said.
“When Mariah got that opportunity [to win the game] I was incredibly calm,” he said. “What mattered
The calmness was that you looked at the back of the shirt and Williams looked at the back. She is
I’ve been in those pressure moments a lot…she thrives in those situations,” Barker said.
In the men’s match it was a parade for NSW Pride, with Kurt Lovett opening the scoring in
the third minute with a brilliant reverse stick shot from a corner, and they never gave up. Lovett
finished the match with four goals, with Angus Callinan and Albert Beltran both scoring twice
add to the huge win.
NSW Pride Men head coach Kieran Govers said it was a brilliant effort from his entire squad
recovered from the disappointment in the semi-finals.
“We silenced a few critics. They probably would have laughed last night, but we had the
ultimately the last laugh [Bronze] is the wrong color,” he said.
“The boys have worked so hard after yesterday’s disappointment, to name just one achievement
that I am just proud of the team on the field,” said Govers.
Star player Ryan Woolnough echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“There were obviously a few people who said we had no hope. So to finish second
stages and finishing third overall is a really good effort and has hopefully proven to some people
wrong. That was a huge motivating factor for us,” he says.
“[Kieran Govers as a coach] was really good. He always put the guys to work,” he said.
“He’s a really good presence in the group.”
The bronze medals cap a Hockey One season that also saw awards for NSW Pride
“One Hockey Cup” for the best performing club throughout the season in men and
Women’s programs.
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