School sports

Meridian floored by Swee Ling's late double for Yishun

Above: Yishun JC's Ong Swee Ling (white) attempts to get past Meridian JC's Faith Wong. Swee Ling's two goals helped her team regain the A Division girls' floorball title. Left: Joyous Yishun players after beating Meridian 3-2.
Above: Yishun JC's Ong Swee Ling (white) attempts to get past Meridian JC's Faith Wong. Swee Ling's two goals helped her team regain the A Division girls' floorball title. Left: Joyous Yishun players after beating Meridian 3-2. ST PHOTOS: MARCUS TAN
Above: Yishun JC's Ong Swee Ling (white) attempts to get past Meridian JC's Faith Wong. Swee Ling's two goals helped her team regain the A Division girls' floorball title. Left: Joyous Yishun players after beating Meridian 3-2.
Above: Joyous Yishun players after beating Meridian 3-2. ST PHOTOS: MARCUS TAN

As the final buzzer blared at Delta Sports Complex yesterday, Yishun Junior College's Ong Swee Ling had mere seconds to herself before she was engulfed by exuberant team-mates.

And no wonder as the centre was her school's heroine, scoring two goals in the dramatic 3-2 victory over defending A Division girls' floorball champions Meridian Junior College (MJC).

Hugged, congratulated and even teased by friends after the game, Swee Ling, 19, had scored the equaliser and last-minute winner.

She said of her second goal: "Honestly I didn't expect it to go in. Before that I tried a lot of times but the defender would block it.

"I attempted a lot of shots during the semi-finals too, all were off target. But today it was all there... I feel really honoured and happy."

MJC had taken a quick 2-0 lead through Janessa Kong and Emily Ong. YJC's Alicia Chia halved the deficit before the end of the first period.

Both teams created and missed a host of chances before Swee Ling's brace - both were struck from long range - capped a remarkable comeback for YJC, who finished third last year.

This was YJC's second girls' title in three years. They also beat MJC in 2014 and by the same scoreline.

Coach Ngasti Wanto Zakaria said: "It's a sweet victory, especially because last year we were third. We knew it was going to be an uphill task, but I just told my girls 'you are the underdogs but you are in the final, there is nothing to lose'."

While Swee Ling and her team-mates celebrated wildly, it was double heartbreak for MJC and their voracious supporters as the boys' team also fell at the final hurdle.

They lost 1-2 to defending champions Raffles Institution, chasing a hat-trick of boys' titles, in the next match. Tng Zong Wei struck the winner with just five minutes remaining, in another closely fought contest that witnessed a similar court invasion at the end.

Captain Silas Choe, 18, said: "1-0, 1-1, 2-1, it's just a mad scoreline. I think the fact that it was a championship-winning game just made it a little bit sweeter."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 28, 2016, with the headline School sports: Meridian floored by Swee Ling's late double for Yishun. Subscribe