By Harish Arun Prasad (27S05B), Joshua Gerrard Tan (27A01A), Sophie Sim (27S05A)

Photos courtesy of Xu Fengxuan (27S03M), Skyler Chen YuanZhe (27S03A), and Brianne Anastasia Jim (27A01E) 

Subheaders inspired by Floorball Girls’ 26 Instagram @floorthewin

The whistle blows and they stumble out of court, breathless after a phenomenal 4-1 win against Tampines Meridian JC. They’re officially semis-bound! What was just a far-off dream for the batches before became a reality with the Floorball Girls’ team this year. 

For a developmental CCA with no DSAs, they have always been disadvantaged in the nation-wide competition. Ranging from 1.5 years to just a few months of experience, each girl learnt the sport right from the ground up, going into every practice with the “underdog mentality”: always driven, always dedicated, and always going out of their way to seek guidance and improve. 

For them to make it this far was truly, in the words of the EXCO, a “dream come true.” They are all fighters who battled their way to the top when many others thought they couldn’t, being each other’s pillars of support through thick and thin. And now finally, the scoreboard tells the same story. 

Stay Hungry, Stay Humble, Stay Focussed (Semis) 

Getting into the Top 4 was a historical achievement, but it was not the end of the road. With an ever hungry greed for more, they turned their attention to the semifinals. 

Facing off against a top contender, Nanyang Junior College, they held strong in their defence, showcasing the techniques they honed through long hours of practice. 

However, after a long 0-0 tie, NYJC was first to break through our goalkeeper’s tight defences. It would have been easy to lose heart and buckle under the realization of our opponent’s strength. But the loud cheers from the supporters continued to fuel them on, with our ritual Raffles Dynamite and cheers from offcourt teammates, “Stay strong Raffles! Don’t mind it! Aim for the finals!” 

“Not everyone plays all the time,” Lim Ze-ruey (26S07A) said. “At those times, we’re especially grateful to the players offcourt who always encourage us to do better. Even though we may not be getting the results that we want on court, knowing that someone’s there to support and motivate me makes me feel seen. ”

Even from the audience’s point of view, it was not difficult to notice the team’s chemistry, from their swift passes and seamless substitutions, and the trust they have in each other to always have their backs. 

Both sides were relentless, RI especially desperate to even the score. At this moment, the team incurred a penalty. Predicting where the attacker would shoot, our goalkeeper leapt to the side, but the ball quietly slid in through the other. Immediately loud cheers erupted from Nanyang JC supporters, breaking into a “Let’s Go NY, Let’s Go!” cheer,  while we just stared at the court, downcast. However, the scoreboard changed again, reflecting that the goal didn’t count because of a technicality. 

Although the team was lucky this time, it revealed that the players were under immense pressure. More mistakes arose and their hold on the game slipped. 

Although they had lucked out on the technicality, it was clear the scare had shaken them. Coupled with the lowered morale from the opponent’s first goal, the players began rushing their plays, most of their passes missing their targets, and slowly, they showed more gaps in their defence. Their hold on the game was slipping. 

Not long after, the game ended in a 3-0 loss.

Final Score: NYJC 3-0 RI

Playing into the opponents hands was undeniably disappointing. 

“We played our best against a strong opponent. Knowing their playstyle, we tailored our practice towards preventing their longshots. But eventually, we only managed to fulfill half of the game plan. I’ll remember this feeling of losing and channel it into motivation to win the next game.” ~ Captain Lim Ze-ruey (26S07A)

But no matter the result, there are still many moments that showcased other sides of the team, and displayed their vast improvement. 

And of course, no matter what, they will always have their graduated seniors, family and schoolmates behind them all the way. 

Shidiksha noted that this team achieved one of its closest scorelines against Nanyang in recent years, already a very impressive feat. Vice-Captain Zhuang Xuanhui’s sister, who took leave to watch the match, expressed pride in how far the team had come and looked forward to supporting them again in the third-place playoff. Echoing this sentiment, supporter Tan Yun Jun (27S03M) emphasised that the team had already made the school proud regardless of the result.

Despite the final scoreline, it was a commendable effort put up by the RI team against a tough opponent. After reflection, the team comes back stronger in the 3rd/4th, as their last match as the batch of 2026. 

One Last Dance (3rd/4th) 

Defeat always leaves a bitter taste. With the memory of loss fresh in their minds, the team sought to channel this disappointment into motivation to win their 3rd/4th placement game against River Valley High School (RVHS); to leave the court with “no regrets”, in the words of Vice-Captain Zhuang Xuanhui (26A01C).

And as the game kicked off, their determination and relentlessness to give everything they had was well-displayed. Throughout the entire first third, neither RI nor RV gave an inch of ground to their opponents as the game remained locked in a 0-0 for most of the third. 

With RVHS being a well-known team to consistently make it to the top 4 every year, defence was a big focus for this match. Both teams’ passes and intercepts were cleanly executed, and keeping track of the ball soon felt tiresome even for us spectators as it darted from one end of the court to the other. 

Nevertheless, the atmosphere was electric. Without the all-too-familiar drums and shouts of RI’s Student Council members there, the spectators spontaneously conducted cheers of their own, their energy even managing to rival RVHS’s side, who had the support of students waving flags and banging on drums.

As the first third drew to a close, RVHS managed to find a gap in RI’s defense and scored a goal, leading to a 0-1 score. The moment felt uncannily similar to the semifinals, where our opponents had also been the first to draw blood. Yet, the reaction this time was entirely different. Despite the initial setback and disappointment among the spectators, the team’s energy did not waver. 

Having studied RVHS’s matches across this year, the team already noticed that RVHS had always managed to make the first goal in the group stages and their own semifinals, making this goal not much of a surprise. In Xuanhui’s words, 

“It’s always a 0-0 in our heads.”

And the team embodied this mindset throughout the whole match. Even in the final moments of the first third, they finally managed to score a goal, equalising the score to 1-1 as the game moved into the second third. 

With their momentary lead lost, RVHS began playing even more aggressively, putting further pressure on the team to maintain their focus. Midway through the second third, however, the team incurred a penalty for having too many players on the court.

In floorball, unlimited substitutions are allowed, so long as the team keeps to the 5-player limit. But amidst the adrenaline and tension of the court, some substitutions were mixed up and our team ended up with one too many players. The penalty? One player was placed in a timeout, and the match quickly became a high-pressure 5v4. 

Despite the slight hiccup, however, the team’s clear focus to go all out, and the sheer amount of preparation they had done, managed to push them through this tough moment. 

According to Xuanhui, the team didn’t even need to worry much, “because we have always been training power play and box play. So […] we were quite confident with our box play […] It’s our most defensive players on court.” (Box play refers to the defensive formation used when a floorball team is shorthanded, while power play is its opposing counterpart.)

And sure enough, the goalie , Chan Jia En (26S06F) didn’t let a single shot in, while the team even managed to break out of the box play to attempt a shot! As our team went back up to full strength, the aggressive play returned, and as the second third came to a close, the team managed to score yet again, turning the score 2-1 in their favour.

Then came the final quarter. Even with the 1-point lead, there was no room for complacency. At the very last stretch of their 2026 NSG journey, they couldn’t afford to lose focus. 

RVHS did not make things easy for them either, managing to score one more goal shortly after the start of the final quarter and equalising the score at 2-2. But the game was far from over, as the team could be seen encouraging their goalie that it was no big deal, refusing to let anyone give up on themselves or the team. 

And it worked. In her own words, “Y’all always shout at me with so much support and positivity that I’ve learned to push past my mistakes and work even harder.” No more goals were let in after that despite RVHS’s last-ditch attempts to grab a lead, while our players were giving everything they had. With swift passes, tight movements and quickly rotating between offense and defense, the team managed to score not 1, not 2, but 3 goals in the final third, making the final score 5-2 to RI!

It was an amazing sight. As the final buzzer sounded, the entire RI side of the court erupted into cheers, waving their handmade appreciation boards in support of their friends’ incredible display of grit. 

Meanwhile, the entire team had run out onto the court; putting aside their sticks, they embraced one another in celebration of their well-deserved, and hard-fought, victory. 

It was one of the most exhilarating games this NSG season, and it goes to show the power a determined mindset can bring to any team. Truly, a fitting conclusion for the 2026 Floorball Girls Superteam.

Conclusion 

Before the Semifinals game, Pressies managed to secure an interview with the EXCO, and right from the start, they said, “We got the idea that we all wanted to strive for the best.” And strive for the best they did. 

Through the journey, they each realised how much this team, this sport meant to them. The collective desire to “get better”, and to help everyone in the team grow together, made them brave enough to feel vulnerable in front of their teammates, going out of their way to clarify doubts, to give feedback, and to continue training with passion despite the odds being against them. 

In the words of the EXCO, “We feel very fortunate to be able to lead a group of people who are so genuine and dedicated to the sport.”

And at the end of the day, the 2026 NSG team wouldn’t be complete without all its team members. 

Wishing the 2027 NSG team all the very best, and to never forget your “underdog mentality”.