By REDintern Chin Chi Hua

Choa Chu Kang Indoor Sports Hall, Tuesday, May 19, 2009 – Raffles Institution triumphed over Yishun Junior College 3-2 on penalties in the A Division Girls Floorball Championship to claim third place.

The game was intense and hard-fought, up till the last second. The first goal came in the second period, after barely one minute of play. Charleen Yeo (RI #25) scored with a quick wrist shot which managed to slip past the hands of YJC vice-captain and goalkeeper, Sheryl Tham (#1).

YJC were not willing to yield just like that. Just 30 seconds after the first goal, Joscelin Kee (YJC #13) shot in from the left side of goal after receiving a brilliant pass from teammate Stephanie Chiaw (YJC #7). The score was quickly brought to 1-1.

With 5 minutes remaining in the second period, Eunice Ching (RI #7) passed to Tan Juanmin (RI #17) who made a swift drag shot into the goal, giving RI a 2-1 lead. The YJC defenders standing close by seemed to be taken aback by the goal as they did not expect it.

The equaliser for YJC did not materialise, but RI managed to extend their lead instead. 5 minutes into the third period, a YJC player tripped and fell after a brief exchange with a RI player. The game continued and Vanessa Lim (RI #12) capitalised on this to pass to an unmarked Cassandra Goh (RI #23), who scored her team’s third goal.

A short timeout was called by YJC. Their captain Toh Jia Wen (#16) was seen speaking to the referees about the goal, possibly as she felt that the game should have stopped when one of her team mates fell. Eventually the goal stood.

YJC’s goalkeeper Sheryl Tham (#1) could not hold back her tears as she felt responsible for the goals conceded. It appeared that her team felt demoralised as well, as RI led by 3 goals to 1.

The YJC coach decided on a change of goalkeepers to give Sheryl time for composure, as Clara Chen (#99) replaced her. The RI spirits remained high, as seen from the players’ shouting and communication on court.

Despite the setback for YJC, they persevered on. With 5 minutes left in the third period, Euphoria Ng (YJC #2) passed to Tan Ting Hui (YJC #12) who sent a powerful wrist shot into the goal. Another timeout was called, this time by the RI side, as RI’s lead narrowed.

Immediately after the timeout, RI’s captain Wong Ying Qi (#9) was sent off for playing without her stick, as she continued tussling for the ball even after she dropped her stick. Their numerical advantage seemed to give YJC a glimpse of hope for an equaliser.

However, YJC failed to capitalise on this during the 2 minutes when RI were one player short. As hopes dimmed for YJC, Joscelin Kee (YJC #13) made a surprise attempt with 18 seconds to play, and to YJC’s delight, the ball went in for the equaliser. The goal heightened the atmosphere in the hall at once, with YJC supporters standing up in applause.

YJC indeed came a long way back to tie the match, and the game proceeded to the penalty shootout, where each team will pick 5 players to take on a one-on-one with the opposition’s keeper.

Joscelin Kee (YJC #13) was first up, and silence in the hall was broken when she managed to score from the left side of Sim Sihui (#1), the RI keeper.

Oceana Hui (RI #4) was next, but she failed to level the score as YJC keeper Clara (#99) stopped the ball with her legs.

YJC captain Toh Jia Wen (YJC #16) was second in the line-up, and she managed to score from the left corner as well, after prior advice from Joscelin.

Charleen Yeo (RI #25) took her position with confidence and made a powerful shot which went right into the goal.

Sim Ying (YJC #5) then tried a different strategy by diverting the RI keeper’s attention. Her shot was straight, but could not escape the hands of the RI keeper, who was now Rebecca, (#11).

Soo Bei Han (RI #24) then attempted a far-right shot, which was too forceful and missed the goalpost.

With the score at 2-1, the onus fell on the subsequent two players. YJC sent Suhaili (YJC #10) up next, but she failed to deliver. Crystal Lee (RI #21), though, performed well as she dribbled left and right to distract the keeper and eventually scored when the YJC keeper went forward to try to catch the ball.

Stephanie Chiaw (YJC #7) was their final penalty taker, and despite trying to fake a shot from the left, the alert RI keeper caught the ball with both hands. It was an emotional moment for the YJC team as their hopes of achieving third position could be dashed in the next moments.

They would only be redeemed if Vanessa Lim (RI #12) fumbled her shot. Again, the deafening silence on court was broken when Vanessa distracted the YJC keeper to run out, and that gave her the chance to score from the left corner.

The RI team ran onto the court for a warm embrace, and fell to the ground in excitement and exhilaration. On the other side, YJC were left solemn after their loss, and had to settle for fourth place this year.