The U17 women’s soccer team accepted a challenge this year by moving to the gold division after playing several years in the silver division. Playing against higher level teams this season, our girls have improved tremendously, with many close games and many wins! Our steady improvement was seen (and well demonstrated) in the final game on March 6, the first of four “cup games” to qualify for the provincial championships.
Although the other team (Richmond) managed to score the first goal, our team did not lose morale and equalized soon after. But, they didn’t stop there. Our team scored another goal, putting us ahead two to one! Then, in the final four minutes of the match, Richmond managed to score one more goal, again leveling the two-for-two, with just two minutes remaining! The girls on our team knew that if we finished the game there, it would mean another 30 minutes of extra time to break the tie, and then potentially a shootout if added time ended with no change in score. Cries were heard on the pitch: “We can’t draw! We have to take the ferry! The girls knew they only had a few minutes left to play. Despite their physical exhaustion, they were determined!
As a team, they carried the ball from our defence, passing it to the midfielders and pushing it to the right wing. A powerful long shot was fired, bouncing off the crossbar and back onto the pitch, just yards from the net. Still no goal. But they persisted – another player was ready for that rebound and got the ball in quickly! A winning goal, less than a minute from the end of the match. This vicious goal shattered the other team’s morale, and just like that, they fell to the ground in utter despair. Even with a few seconds left in the match and a chance to play with the advantage, they knew the day was ours! Thus, the girls of Storm U17 won the cup match three to two!
Congratulations to all players! We are looking forward to the next cup game on April 3.
