Momona thrashed the Kings United Royals 5-2 to go top of the premier women’s ladder on Saturday.
The women in red raced out of the blocks with Sorell Shand and Lou Kotkamp firing in a double salvo midway through the first quarter.
It was total domination and there could easily have been more scoring but for a couple of poorly executed penalty corners.
It left Kings with a mountain to climb, but they did well to grow into the game, although no equaliser was forthcoming in a much cagier second quarter.
Kings continued to press on in the third quarter, but another double blast, this time a brace from Li-Na Chapman in as many minutes, put Momona 4-0 up, killing the game off midway through the third quarter.
Nina Murphy got one back just before quarter time to give her side a glimmer of hope, but that was all it was.
Kotkamp sealed the deal with a fifth for her side with 10 minutes to go, leaving the shield holders in party mode.
Murphy got another back with four to play, but that was merely consolation.
Other than the usually impressive Shand, the spine of Abby Reid, Beth O’Donovan and Eve Swan cut Kings to shreds, sending a real warning shot to the rest of the competition.
Joining them in the winners’ circle were defending champion City Highlanders, who were composed in picking up a 2-0 win over the University Huskies.
There was decent fight from the students, but they were rendered powerless by second-quarter goals from Billie Crowe and Tessa Jopp.
The Taieri Tigers routed the University Stingrays 4-0.
It was a breeze for Taieri, managing two goals in both the first and third quarters to collect the points.
The upshot of these results is that Momona (34), the Kings United Royals (33) and the City Highlanders (32) are locked in an almighty race for both the points trophy and more generally a spot in the top two, earning the vital extra life in the finals.
In the premier men’s competition, the day’s biggest game was a whitewash.
The University Whales had high hopes of being competitive but were left with hands on hips as the Taieri Tuataras raced home to 6-0 win.
The competition favourites showed no mercy with Oliver Battrick bagging himself a hat-trick in what turned into a real towelling.
Out at King’s, the Albany Alligators cruised past the University Panthers with few issues, chalking up a 9-0 win.
The goals were shared, though there was a hat-trick to Jack Cotton, taking his season tally to 23, keeping him level with James Nicolson in the race to the top scorer award.
Finally, an under-manned Southland Barbarians side were able to open the scoring against Kings United, holding them at 1-0 for the first 25 minutes, before eventually submitting to an 8-1 defeat.
— Nicholas Friedlander
