“Provincials, here we come” was the chant of the U16 Marine Harvest Riptide girls after a hard fought win against the UI Storm, who had beat the Riptide in regular season play.
The Riptide turned an almost expected loss into a spectacular victory.
The pregame talk by Coach Scott encouraged the girls to make this a memorable day for themselves.
Co-captain Toni told them that this was the day they run a little bit faster, go in for the tackle a little bit harder and jump that little bit higher to get the ball.
Their opponents came on strong at the start, keeping Riptide defenders busy, moving the ball out with their strong clearing kicks.
The Riptide had to battle a tight defence to squeak in their first goal before halftime. Trailing 2-1 at the half, encouragement from the coaches and a tactical change, awoke the dragons. The girls came together and were relentless in their efforts to score.
A goal evened the game early in the second half, and intensified the game.
When the final whistle blew it was 2-2
Afterwards, the girls headed out into the 2x10 minutes of overtime play. The play that followed was a fine example of grit and positive attitude, and their efforts were rewarded by a winning goal off a rebound.