Victory over Victoria - RVHS A Div Floorball Girls
Last Wednesday, at Delta Sports Complex, our A Division Floorball girls faced off against Victoria Junior College amidst overwhelmingly loud cheers from VJC’s supporters. Both schools were fighting for a spot in the finals.
RVHS facing off with VJC.
Both were tough right from the start, determined not to allow the other to have an edge over them. The hunger and desire to win kept the players’ momentum high and, in spite of the 0-0 scoreline, there were many noticeable attempts for goals.
Towards the end of the first period, #99 Joanne Tan scored the first goal with a far shot from half court. RVHS maintained this lead and ended period 1 with a scoreline of 1-0.
In period 2, an opportunity for RVHS came when VJC made the error of making a blind pass. #6 Heng Ying Ying gained possession of the ball. Turning in, she beat a defender and swept the ball into the goal with a drag shot.
Yet another goal was scored by #17 See Yuan Ru during a free hit in front of VJC’s goal. With accuracy and precision, her top corner shot slipped through VJC’s wall, further widening the point gap.
These goals from RVHS did not come easy, for VJC was not resigned to the seemingly bleak scoreline. With their morales high, thanks to the immense encouragement from VJC’s supporters, VJC caught up with a goal scored from a free hit, ending period 2 with a scoreline 3-1.
Period 3 saw RVHS’s lead increasing with a total of 3 goals scored. #4 Tan Ruo Bing took hold of a loose ball and dribbled past a defender to score a goal. Subsequently, #6 Ying Ying brilliantly scored yet another goal from a drag shot to secure the lead.
The last goal of the match was by #7 Rachel Ho with an assist by goalkeeper #1 Lim Zhi Yan, who saved the ball with her hands and threw it deep into the centre of the court. The throw out was received by Rachel who then scored a goal that went right under the VJC goalkeeper’s flailing arms.
After 45 tense minutes of the game, the semi-finals between RVHS and VJC concluded with a scoreline of 6-1. Although VJC put up a great fight, RVHS eventually edged them out and managed to clinch their hard-earned spot in the finals.
After Game Thoughts
Joanne Tan, the Year 5 Captain, described the match as “a defining moment for the Year 5s”. She added that the match was “evidence of how much we’ve grown” since they began training with the current Year 6 floorballers during Year 1.
“From our first C Division training with the seniors to watching them compete in the A Division Finals last year, we now finally get to fight alongside these seniors with our juniors cheering us on.” - Joanne Tan
Reflecting on the match, Joanne expressed that she was particularly proud that the team was able to focus on themselves and put everything else aside despite the distractingly loud presence of the VJC supporters. It seemed to her that everything fell in place after, including scoring goals and winning.
On Final Thoughts
According to the Year 6 Captain, Alyssa Chua, the most important thing for the girls during the finals would be to “play our standard and to fight hard as a team”.
As quoted from her, “At the end of the day, it’s the memory of playing together at our best that stays with us and not the scoreline.” Thus, while she concedes that MJC may be a strong opponent to face, she believes that “so long as we do our best, we’ll walk out of the court satisfied, with no regrets.”
For Joanne, what she hopes for most is to savour the moment, asserting that above all the glory of winning, nothing quite beats having fun and enjoying every moment on court. She firmly believes, to quote her precisely, that “winning, albeit the main aim of playing this Wednesday (against Meridian Junior College), would be of lesser importance than the immense joy of playing with the team”.
Indeed, this match would be the last time the Year 5s would be able to play with the graduating batch of seniors whom they have trained with for 5 years since Year 1. It will certainly be an emotional and intense fight for our girls.
We wish our floorball girls all the best in their final showdown against Meridian Junior College!