A late Naomi Carroll goal gave Catholic Institute their sixth EY Hockey League win in a row on Saturday, a result that keeps them four points clear at the top of the table.
Ards made them work hard for their victory, though, two goals from Irish striker Zara Malseed, bringing her tally to eight in seven games, either side of scores from Roisin Upton (penalty stroke) and Jenny Clein leaving the game level until Carroll struck five minutes from time.
Both UCD and Old Alexandra suffered their first defeats of the campaign, the students going down 2-1 to Loreto, while Alexandra lost by the same scoreline to Railway Union.
What proved to be the winning goal for Railway, before Deirdre Duke got one back for Alexandra, was scored by none other than Irish captain Katie Mullan, Railway’s new recruit getting some Hockey League action under her belt before next month’s Nations Cup in Spain.
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Meanwhile, two fine penalty corner strikes from Orla Macken gave champions Pembroke Wanderers a 2-1 win over Monkstown, who had led through an Emily Kealy goal, while Belfast Harlequins picked up their first point of the season with a 1-1 draw against neighbours Pegasus, Jiwon Hong giving them an early lead before Lucy McKee equalised.
Hockey League - Division One - Saturday: Catholic Institute 3 (R Upton, J Clein, N Carroll) Ards 2 (Z Malseed 2); Loreto 2 (C Sherin, S O’Brien) UCD 1; Railway Union 2 (O Patton, K Mullan) Old Alexandra 1 (D Duke); Belfast Harlequins 1 (J Hong) Pegasus 1 (L McKee); Pembroke Wanderers 2 (O Macken 2) Monkstown 1 (E Kealy).
