IVP Floorball (Men): NUS clinch third after 5–3 win over SIM

By REDintern Siti Rohaniza Muhammad. Photos by REDintern Clara Yuan

NUS players celebrate their win over SIM. (Photo 1 © REDintern Clara Yuan)

Republic Polytechnic, Wednesday, January 22, 2014 — National University of Singapore (NUS) beat Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) 5–3 to win the bronze medal in the men’s 2013/2014 Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Floorball Championship.

NUS managed to take the lead and secure their win in the last period after playing catch up to SIM in the first two periods of the match.

The goalkeepers from both sides put on a good performance in the first period to deny their opponents. With seven minutes left in the first period, NUS were awarded a penalty but once again failed to convert the chances as the SIM goalkeeper managed to block the shot from Jared Goh (NUS #18).

However, SIM took the lead with three minutes left in the first period through their forward, Shamir Alfee (SIM #44). Their lead did not last long as NUS soon responded with an equalising goal from Jared Goh (NUS #18) who redeemed himself after his failure to convert the penalty shot taken earlier.

With the score at 1–1, the second period was a close match with possession switching from one team to the other. Both sides tried to find the goal that would put them in the lead but both sides faced a stubborn defence.

However, a lapse in the NUS’ defence gave SIM the opportunity to take the lead through an unmarked Shamir (SIM #44) who then tapped in a layoff from his teammate.

Similar to the first period, NUS then fought back by taking shots at the SIM goal and eventually an assist from his teammate allowed Jared Goh (NUS #18) to score his second goal of the match, leveling the score at 2–2.

SIM had the chance to once again take the lead through their ever dependent forward Shamir (SIM#44) but he missed a one-on-one with NUS goalkeeper, Xie Yanglei (NUS #22), during a breakaway. This ensured both teams went into the third period tied at 2–2.

NUS, clearly the more physically fit team, took advantage of the obvious fatigue showing on the SIM team during the third period. Once again, a great assist allowed Aaron Tan (NUS #9) to take a shot that eventually found the back of the net for a 3–2 lead.

With the momentum building up, NUS continued to dominate in the third period and soon extended their lead to two goals after a great pass from Jared Goh (NUS #18) to his teammate, Aaron Tan (NUS #9), who scored his second goal of the match. Gan Guo Wei (NUS #19) also joined his two other teammates on the list of scorers when he scored NUS fifth goal of the match.

Not backing down, SIM continued to pressure the NUS defence and their efforts prevailed when Shamir (SIM #44) managed to find the back of the net, narrowing his team’s deficit to two goals. With the goal, Shamir (SIM#44) got his first hat-trick of this IVP season.

SIM had a power play with 3:55 left on the clock but failed to capitalize on the one-man advantage and they eventually conceded the game 3–5 to NUS.

Commenting on the match, NUS captain, Aaron Tan (NUS #9), said, “It was a tough match. SIM is a very good team with very good players. Although we did not play very well, we managed to get a few goals to our advantage.”

NUS Xie Yanglei (NUS #22) agreed with his captain. “We fell behind early but afterwards we fought hard and defended really well which kept us in the game and allowed our forwards to get the goals,” added the goalkeeper.

Both teams improved from their non-medal placing in the 2012/2013 IVP Floorball Championship.

NUS Roster
Wong Jun Kai (#1), Jasmeet Singh Khara (#4), Zulhilmi Bin Abdul Jalil (#5), Ang kok Liang Jack (#8), Aaron Tan En Jie (#9), Andrew Adhyatma Hadiprodjo (#10), Siow Benson (#11), Yun Sol (#15), Desmond Chan (#16), Lee Boon Khiang Eugene (#17), Jared Goh (#18), Gan Guo Wei (#19), Md Haikal Bin Rosman (#20), Xie Yanglei (#22), See Tow Ting Xuan Shaun (#23), Kevin Michael (#24), Steven Henry (#39), Kevin Yu (#69), Daniel Tan Ke Jun (#73), Low Heng Jing (#77), Wong Wei Chuan Jasper (#80), Chua Wee Liang (#90)

SIM Roster
Muhammad Ashraf Bin Abdul Rashid (#5), Mah Jian Yong (#6), Ganaesh S/O Tangamanni (#7), Tham Wee Kit Andy (#8), Mohammad Rizal Bin Isnin (#9), Tan Su Yee Brian (#13), Sri Kugun S/O Ramachandran (#14), Tan Cher Jun Frase (#17), Christopher Hong Yong Zhen (#19), Darui Leow (#21), Huang Jun Pei (#25), Lee Weiliang Colby (#26), Ryan Steven Neo Hongliang (#32), Shamir Alfee (#44), Melvin Yeh Wei Xiang (#46), Muhammad Razaleigh Bin Abdul Ghani (#47), Huang Junhong Sean (#70), Lim Hanrong Calvin (#71), Rayner Lee (#77), Clemence Yong Rensen (#91), Melving Ng Wei Zong (#99)

2014 IVP Men’s Floorball Championship – fixtures and results

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