Futsal Finals Showcase Precision and Poise

The National Tertiary Futsal Championships came to a close on Tuesday afternoon at Auckland’s Pulman Arena, as three days of intense competition and rivalry concluded with two fascinating finals.

The women’s final had a familiar feeling to it as last year’s winners the University of Auckland were up against 2022 champions the University of Canterbury. After a tense start, both teams settled into their rhythm with Auckland opening the scoring through Eve Mischewski before Kyra Lazor equalised for Canterbury off a smart set piece move right before halftime.

Both teams were on high-alert defensively in the second half and despite having periods of ascendancy in attack, neither team could break the deadlock. Canterbury had the better of the chances including two penalties as the game moved into extra time, but Auckland’s goalkeeper Narise Hansen saved both to keep them in it and take it to a penalty shootout.

The shootout was all about Narise Hansen, the relative futsal newcomer saving three penalties as her team scored three of their own to win the title. “I was just making myself as big as possible and as soon as they hit it, I spread” explained Hansen.

University of Auckland coach Sam Doyle was nervous throughout, but proud of how this team responded to the pressure. “We wanted to be the team that controlled the game and started off really well doing that. We expected Canterbury to come back and they had us on the back foot for a lot of the game.” On Hansen’s performance, Doyle said “Narise was unstoppable in goal and she kept us alive. Everyone had a part to play but Narise was awesome.”

In the men’s tournament it was last year’s champions the University of Canterbury up against the resurgent Victoria University of Wellington, who made it to the final after losing their opening two games.

Canterbury controlled possession in the early stages of the game but it was Victoria’s Xavier Coleman who opened the scoring after forcing a turnover deep in Canterbury’s half. Luca Barclay then doubled their lead before halftime, striking a free kick rocket just inside the far post.

Victoria made it a 3-goal advantage early in the second half, Davind Tor tapping in from close range after a simple corner kick routine. The game opened up as Canterbury moved into 5^th man in search of a response, Ben Cameron scoring to make it 3-1 with 11 minutes to play by redirecting a Daniel Steffert shot past the goalkeeper.

After soaking up nearly 10 minutes of constant pressure from Canterbury, Victoria’s Harry Lamont got into the passing lane to deflect the ball up court, poking into an empty goal which sparked wild celebrations. Canterbury’s Kosei Oikawa scored a consolation goal with 8 seconds remaining before Victoria ran out the final seconds to win 4-2.

“I thought it was a well-played game in the end. We knew the first half meant nothing if we didn’t get the result, so the key words were discipline, composure and effort” explained Victoria’s coach, Sean Beresford. On the tense finish, Dylan Walker said “we had a couple of chances but that goal from Harry killed the game off. It settled everything for us and gave us the momentum – what an unbelievable feeling”.

You can find the full standings and results on NZ Football’s website and re-watch all of the court one action on UTSNZ TV. The National Tertiary Championship series moves down to Christchurch as the NZ Tertiary Ultimate Championships are being held at Ilam Fields on 14 & 15 September. Full series results and standings can be found on the UTSNZ website.