EVEN hardened, overpaid professionals, from any sport, elicit our sympathy when they lose cup finals in penalty shoot outs but when the tears of defeat are flowing down 16 year old schoolgirls' cheeks you end up with most of the spectators in tears as well.

Such was the fate that befell the players of Loreto Beaufort at Belfield yesterday when they lost on penalties to Muckross Park in the Leinster Schoolgirls' Cup final after the scores were level at 1-1 at the end of extra time.

Two penalty saves from Muckross goalkeeper Sarah Cruise secured her school their first victory in the competition since 1971. Cruise saved Beaufort's third and fourth penalties, after they had already sent one wide, with successful strokes from Ciara O'Brien, Mary Doorly and Anne Marie Hogan giving Muckross a 3-1 victory.

When she emerged from under a scrum of celebrating team mates Cruise was remarkably calm about the whole situation. Had she been a bag of nerves going in to the shoot out? "Ah no, I was grand," she replied, in a that's my job kind of way.

The match had started in conditions more commonly experienced in Antarctica and after 13 minutes umpire Peter Hale, most appropriately named in the circumstances, called the players off the pitch because of a shower of hail stones.

The game resumed five minutes later but it wasn't until the third minute of the second half that the deadlock was broken. A fine run through midfield by Muckross's Fiona Roddy resulted in a short corner from which Geraldine O'Flynn's suspiciously raised shot was turned in by Clare Murphy.

Seven minutes later Fiona Hicks equalised for Beaufort, after a well worked short corner, but with little to choose between the two teams the match moved into extra time. Laura Crowley and Murphy again came close to snatching it for Muckross but no further scores meant penalties were required to find a winner.