First Ever Silver Medal For Republic Polytechnic Women's Soccer Team (RPWST)

The JC-Poly tournament that RPWST participated on Saturday, 9th January 2009 was definitely a great eye-opener and a memorable experience. We notched 2nd placing and earned ourselves a silver medal. Republic Polytechnic was in Group B, alongside Raffles Junior College and Sporting Westlake FC. The one-day tournament was 11-a-side and was played in a 20 minute per match format.

Our first game against Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a great start as the team clinched a 5-0 win. Shasha from the School of Hospitality (SOH) got the momentum going by scoring the first goal with a beautiful cross from the right which went straight into the back of the net. Following that was a nice volley by Salasiah from the School of Applied Science (SAS) which caught the RJC goalkeeper totally off guard. Yi Wen from the School of Sports, Health and Leisure (SHL) was positioned well to tap in the cross made by Shasha for the third goal. Shasha scored yet another for a fourth, and Jannah converted the penalty when Shasha was tackled too hard in the box.

The next game against Sporting Westlake FC was a really tough fight as both teams were equally good. After a showcase of good effort and fair chances at goal made by both teams, the game ended with a final score of 0-0. With this, RP managed to qualify for the semi finals, meeting the runner-up from Group A which happened to be Ngee Ann Polytechnic, our arch rival from the POL-ITE Games.

The game was a really crucial one for us as we saw it as an opportunity for us to get back what we believed was ours - a win. We played hard and the game ended with a draw by the end of 30 minutes. The penalty kicks were really close, but we beat them with a final score of 4-3 and proudly made it to the finals, meeting Nanyang Polytechnic.

The final match was not any easier as both teams put up a tough fight to emerge as champions for the first JC-Poly tournament ever held. The game ended with a draw of 0-0 and even after 5 penalty kicks, it still came to a draw of 3-3. We went straight to sudden death and unfortunately, Jannah’s commendable effort went straight to keeper and we had to settle for 2nd placing.

Despite training intermittently since the end of POL-ITE Games, we did not let that hinder us from striving for a medal. All we needed was support from our fellow team-mates and heart for the game which obviously proved to be worthwhile. This achievement is definitely something that everyone who is part of the team is very proud of. What a great way to kick start the new season!

Words by Nur Ainina (SHL), RPWST Captain