RANCHI, India — In the end, the final of the 2026 Hockey India League championship game came down to a player who didn’t play a minute in the game.
In a post-overtime penalty shootout, the Pipers subbed for starting goaltender Cristina Cosentino. Head coach Sofie Gierts had a fresh goalkeeper Bansari Solanki, a converted defender who made her international entree with India’s Hockey 5s team in 2023.
Turns out Solanki is pretty good in the full-field discipline as well. She had a number of stops against the best that Shrachi Bengal Tigers had to offer in the penalty shootout, boosting the Pipers to a 3-2 win in the shootout after a 1-1 draw.
The key moment in the shootout came in the fifth and final round, when Jenny Rizzo, the Tigers’ goalkeeper, was judged to have fouled the Pipers Kaitlin Nobbs, leading to a penalty stroke. Stepping to the 7-yard spot was Spain defender Lola Riera, who made no mistake in firing the game-winning shot.
The play had been carried in regulation by the Bengal Tigers, who were seeking their third win over the Pipers in WHIL competition this season. Lalremsiami Hmarzote, who had a fine overall contest, had scored on an opportunistic play in the 16th minute, hammering home a shot from about 10 yards.
But the Pipers were able to eventually solve the Bengal Tigers’ defense, and it was up to Preeti Dubay to score the equalizer seven minutes from time. Dubay, who made her mark as an 18-year-old in pre-Olympic play a decade ago, had disappeared from the international stage for a decade, but was able to get a key goal on a high shot off Rizzo’s stick.
Both teams had chances in the game, but were a bit wasteful in taking them, either through mistraps on corners or missing the cage. Still, it was a fine final which had an appropriate ending on a penalty shootout.