The Black Sticks women reached the 2026 FIH Women’s Nations Cup final after beating the USA in a penalty shootout at North Harbour National Hockey Centre. The New Zealand team held their nerve in front of a packed home crowd and will face India in the final on Sunday at 6.30pm.
The match was close from the start, with both teams creating chances in a fierce first half. Neither side scored before halftime, but the USA took the lead in the third quarter from a penalty corner. New Zealand replied almost straight away when Hannah Cotter scored from a clever penalty corner move to make it 1-1.
A key moment came when the USA won a penalty stroke late in the game. Black Sticks goalkeeper Grace O’Hanlon made a huge save to keep the scores level. The match then went to a shootout, where New Zealand scored all four of their attempts and O’Hanlon made three more saves to help seal a 4-1 shootout win.
It was also a special night for captain Olivia Shannon, who played her 100th international match for New Zealand. Shannon made her debut in 2019 when she was just 17 and has become one of the team’s leaders. India reached the final by beating Chile 6-0 in the other semi-final.
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