The Greatest Experience in Soccer Tournament

Written by: Yolanda Zhang & Joyce Shen (Grade 11s)

On April 11 and 12, 2018, the BCOS soccer tournament was held at Sino-Canada, located in Suzhou. In the integral match, Jiaxing BCOS did a great job and both girls’ and boys’ team achieved a good award. Everyone is also confident to get these awards since we tried so hard. In the end, the boy’s and girl’s teams scored seventh and third place, respectively.

As a member of the girl’s team, this year’s season made me reflect a lot and I gained so much great experience. On the first day of the competition, all the members of the team made great efforts to win the semi-final competition on the second day. The second day was thrilling. On the field, I felt the enthusiasm from every player. In the semi-finals, we fought against the host of the tournament, Sino-Canada. Both sides were trying hard to enter the finals and made their own schools very proud. Neither side was willing to show weakness, and now one wanted to give up an opportunity to win.

Finally, the game was 0:0. It was penalty shot time！Our two top players shot and scored two points and three of Sino-Canada’s players also scored points. The biggest pressure of being the third player, was on my shoulders. Only success would be acceptable to me. When I saw that the ball would be shot by the goalkeeper, it seemed that someone pushed me off the cliff. I felt so sad that my world became a blank paper, everything lost its own color. But with the encouragement of my teammates and coaches I was still in the mood to regain my confidence. I prepared for the next competition for the third place with my best condition.

The last match was faced with our old rival Maple Leaf Shanghai (MLS). Because we had played a friendly game prior to the soccer season, we knew the other players well, and a “war” was unavoidable. Through the first game we found MLS had great basic skills. They could keep the ball and pass the ball many times. For this game we focused on our defense and did our best not to get the ball close to our goal. There was not much difference in strength between the two teams, and neither side scored in 40 minutes.

When the referee blew the whistle, my heart started to beat again. Last game my mistake led to our failure. This time, with the penalty kick coming, the pressure become the power and filled my whole body. The other three players scored two goals, and the first two of us played very well. We needed one more goal! The key was in front of me. Thinking of the usual coach’s words and encouragement from friends, I focused my mind in the same way as daily training. I was really happy when I saw the ball rolling into the goal. There were no words to describe my mood at that time. Thanks for my coach’s trust and encouragement, as this was the source of motivation for my last goal.

With the end of penalty shootout, our soccer season trip in Suzhou ended. Despite the regrets, we also received pleasure from the competition. After the competition, Sulli (Grade 12) is the most grateful to Ms. Mercer, our coach, because she worked hard this year to greatly improve our team. She said: “Ms. Mercer encouraged me when I was in my lowest mood, so with her expectations, I did my best in every match. Not only because we wanted to live up to her hopes, but also wanted to share our victory with her.”

So, football, see you next year!