Purpose:
The purpose of the study was to analyse the differences in various penalty corner attack tactics observed in recent international women’s hockey matches, including the 2016 Champions Trophy (CT) and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (OG), and to propose factors that lead to a successful penalty corner attack.

Methods:
The study examined 204 cases of penalty corner attack (CT : 111, OG: 93) that occurred in 29 games of international women’s hockey matches (CT : 18, OG: 11); these were analysed with the chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis.

Results:
Differences were observed with respect to the set play position ( &#967² = 19.091, p = 0.002), shooting point ( &#967² = 5.355, p = 0.021), and shooting direction ( &#967² = 22.831, p = 0.004). The binary logistic regression, used to determine factors influencing the score, revealed that the chance of scoring increased with the use of set play (p = 0.015). However, the chance of failing to score is higher if the shooter makes a pass instead of a direct shot (p = 0.023).

Conclusions:
When analysing factors that affect penalty corner goals in women’s hockey, a higher success rate for goalscoring was seen with set plays. However, the failure rate was higher when the shooter used a passing technique instead of direct shooting. Thus, a strategy focusing on a constructed set play rather than passing techniques around stoppers should be established to increase the success rate of goals.