Tenacity, composure and perhaps even a fear of failure proved the successful recipe for St Hilda's Collegiate.
The school has forced its way into the semifinals of the Federation Cup and it got there through its sheer unbending will and a little luck.
It will play Masterton's St Matthew's while Christchurch's Rangi Ruru plays Wairarapa College in the other semifinal.
St Hilda's previous best finish at the elite girls secondary school tournament was seventh, so reaching the semifinals is a big improvement.
Glory did not always look likely, though. Down 1-0 to St Cuthbert's at halftime, the home side had the better of the second spell.
It equalised through classy striker Pip Dingle. She knocked in a rebound following a strong shot from star midfielder Polly Ingils.
St Hilda's pressed for the winner but it eluded them. With the scores level 1-1 at fulltime, the teams had to endured a shoot-out.
Co-captain Mallory Cooper drilled her first attempt and goalie Libby Morris made a stunning save to put St Cuthbert's under enormous pressure.
Defender Jessica Faulks scored her attempt. Dingle missed but Annabel Girvan scored while her opposite missed.
Inglis sealed the win (4-2) with a clinical strike into the left corner. There were squeals of delight and hugs all round.
It really was quite some turnaround. St Cuthbert's had looked a class above during the opening exchanges.
''The first half was pretty tough,'' co-coach Jeremy Morris acknowledged.
''We were up against it but we made a few changes and the girls came through in the second half.''
One of the key changes was to switch Girvan from right half to left half. St Cuthbert's had been getting a lot of traction down that flank and Girvan's presence shored up St Hilda's defences.
The shoot-out was a nervy experience for Morris, who plays in the National Hockey League for the Southern Dogs.
''That was probably worse than playing. It is hard to sit on the sideline and watch.''
The other quarterfinals were every bit as thrilling. All four quarters were decided by strokes.
St Matthew's upset St Margaret's 5-4 in the shootout after neither side was able to score during regulation time.
Rangi Ruru and Villa Maria fought to a 1-1 draw. Rangi Ruru got the semifinal spot thanks to 2-1 win in the shoot-out, and Wairarapa College held the powerful Auckland Diocesan to 1-1, then kept its nerve to win the shoot out 7-6.
