Ravens roar to victory

A nail-biting finish to the end of the hockey season saw Ravens 1 victorious in the Knockout Cup Matches over the weekend.

In a hard fought semi-final, Ravens 1 clawed their way back from a 3-1 deficit against a revitalized Swallows team for a score of 3-3 at full time.  

Extra time did not produce a goal from either team despite end-to-end action resulting in a penalty shootout to decide who would move into the finals.  

Unlike a penalty flick, the penalty shootout allows the attacker eight seconds from the 25-yard line to beat the keeper, and Juliette Ferrari-McComb made some spectacular saves and paved the way for Ravens 1 to reach the finals.  The second semi final saw Budgies 1 beat Ravens 2 during regular time.

The final between Ravens 1 and Budgies 1 did not disappoint in terms of providing fast-paced, end-to-end action with Keishae Robinson striking first for Budgies.  

Katie Masters forced the game to extra time when she scored the equalizer from a penalty flick.

Ravens I coach Val Young obviously inspired her young team during her team talk prior to the extra-time period, knowing their team solidarity and belief in themselves would prove a winning force and indeed it did with Katie Masters scoring the match-winner in the second period of extra time.

As is the case with many sports in Bermuda, Ravens will lose some of their most seasoned juniors to various colleges next season, Georgia Harris, Cara Johnston and Rachel Soares being among them.  

They have made an amazing contribution to Ravens and hockey in general and the younger, up-and-coming juniors would do well to use them as role models.