{"id":322924,"date":"2024-09-23T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/?p=322924"},"modified":"2024-09-23T13:07:46","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T01:07:46","slug":"nix-trio-lift-u16-ofc-womens-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-trio-lift-u16-ofc-womens-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Nix trio lift U-16 OFC Women's Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three Wellington Phoenix academy players have helped New Zealand to a triumph at the U-16 OFC Women\u2019s Championship in Fiji.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mackenzie Bryant, Katie Pugh, and Holly Robins were all part of the squad that lifted the trophy on Saturday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a comprehensive victory for New Zealand, winning all five of their games without conceding a single goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryant was named captain, leading them to an 8-0 victory over New Caledonia in  the opening group game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robins played the second half as New Zealand swept to a comfortable win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the second game, against Tahiti, Robins earned more playing time, joining Bryant in the starting XI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She marked it with a goal, scoring the second in a 5-0 win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final group match against the Solomon Islands was the closest of the tournament for New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
New Zealand’s Mackenzie Bryant & New Zealand’s Pia Vlok during the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2024, Final, Samoa v New Zealand, HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Saturday 21 September 2024. Photo: Kirk Corrie \/ www.phototek.nz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bryant was absent for this game, but Robins kept her place in the lineup. Pugh would join her for her first minutes of the tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An early goal turned out to be enough, as New Zealand secured a 1-0 win and first place in Group B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This set up a semi-final clash against Tonga, where Pugh made her first start, with Robins moving to the bench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pugh scored as well, netting the second goal in a dominating 8-0 victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final, against Samoa, proved to be another comfortable win for New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Pugh and Robins began the match, with Pugh handed the captain\u2019s armband for the decider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also netted the first goal of the game, setting New Zealand on course for a 4-0 scoreline, and the overall tournament victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making the final means that New Zealand have qualified for the 2025 U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup, to be held in Morocco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":322925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[328,330,343,355],"tags":[],"competition":[],"acf":{"match_card_embed_league":null,"match_card_embed_club":null,"match_card_embed_match":false,"match_card_embed_disable":false,"auto_publish_updates":true,"reference_article":null,"article_featured_video":"","article_featured_video_tagline":"","article_byline":"","article_media_type":"news","article_video":"","gallery":"","shared_ffa_source":"keepup","shared_hide_in_app":false,"article_player":"","article_team":"","article_competition":"","article_match":"","credit":"","related_articles":"","push_to_social":false,"priority":1,"sport":false,"language":"en","private_content":false,"access_level":"","article_id":"","app_featured_image":null,"article_content_group":"news"},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-trio-lift-u16-ofc-womens-championship\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Nix trio lift U-16 OFC Women’s Championship","url":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-trio-lift-u16-ofc-womens-championship\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-trio-lift-u16-ofc-womens-championship\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/09\/240921PT178.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/09\/240921PT178.jpg"},"articleSection":"Academy News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"roshi"}],"creator":["roshi"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wellington Phoenix","logo":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/04\/cropped-Wellington_Phoenix_FC_logo-2.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2024-09-23T01:00:00Z","datePublished":"2024-09-23T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2024-09-23T01:07:46Z"},"rendered":"