Catholic High School student Austin Teo is not his floorball team's top scorer . But yesterday, he struck the most important goal of his fledgling career.
For his only goal secured CHS their maiden Schools National floorball C Division title yesterday.
"I was over the moon," said the Secondary 2 student of his goal, which was scored with about 41/2 minutes left on the clock and gave CHS a 3-2 win over Northbrooks Secondary in the final.
"The feeling cannot be described simply in words. It definitely was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it was the best moment of our journey together as a team."
Both first-time finalists, CHS and Northbrooks put up a nail-biting show at the Yishun Sports Hall, with both teams neck and neck until Austin delivered the winning shot.
"I thought about the struggles that we went through the past year, training hard and that this goal was well deserved," Austin, who has been playing floorball for the last six years , told The Straits Times.
"I then realised that this was the chance to make history for the school, becoming the first batch to be champions."
The victory was especially sweet given that CHS' C Division team had never made it to the top four previously. And the odds seemed even higher given that CHS had lost to Northbrooks 2-5 in the preliminary round.
Said CHS coach Sonia Chia: "They started out a bit slowly, but as the game progressed, they got into the pace. At the end of the day, it's the hard work they put in, and they pulled through."
Northbrooks' coach Muhammad Syazni, 25, who is also a national player, said of his charges' effort: "The boys put up a really good fight - a 3-2 score is anybody's game.
"They really played hard and I think this was their best match (this season)."
In the girls' C division final, defending champions Tanjong Katong Secondary School retained their title with a 7-3 win over St Margaret's Secondary.
Secondary 2 student Glenna Tan scored four of TKSS' goals.
"I'm really proud, we went all out for this match," said TKSS captain Foo Wen Xin.
"Before the match, I told my team to remain brave. They were scared that they would stumble, but we were also scared of losing the title."
