Mumbai – In a thrilling girls’ U-16 Division-I quarterfinal match of the Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament, Cathedral and John Connon School (Fort) secured a hard-fought victory over Bombay Scottish (Mahim) to clinch a spot in the semi-finals. The decisive 3-2 win, achieved through a tense tie-breaker at the Wings Sports Centre in Bandra, was powered by the heroic performance of captain Vedita Kapadia, who took over goalkeeping duties for the shootout.
The quarterfinal match was a fiercely contested affair, with both teams defending stoutly and creating several chances throughout regular time. Despite the efforts of both sides, neither could find the back of the net, and the match concluded with a goalless stalemate, forcing a penalty shootout.
In a strategic move that proved to be a masterstroke, Cathedral and John Connon substituted their regular goalkeeper, Aadhya Laungiani, for team captain Vedita Kapadia specifically for the tie-breaker. Kapadia, demonstrating remarkable composure under pressure, made three crucial saves. She successfully blocked shots from Bombay Scottish’s Sarah Gupta and Freya Maru, before stopping a third attempt from Divina Shah.
Bombay Scottish’s only successful conversions came from Nikunja Sonthalia and Ananya Vasant. For Cathedral, Kapadia herself, along with teammates Anasurya Raju and Elisha Mandot, found the back of the net, sealing their team’s victory. Shreyasi Daga was the only player from Cathedral to miss her shot.
In other quarterfinal action, Jamnabai Narsee School (Juhu) advanced with a convincing 2-0 victory over VCW AVM (Bandra). Keya Patel opened the scoring in the 16th minute, and Nehchal Bright doubled the lead to secure their semi-final berth.
Smt RSB Arya Vidya Mandir (Juhu) dominated their match against Lakshdham School (Goregaon) with a commanding 5-0 win. Radhika Vyas was the star of the show, scoring an impressive hat-trick. Meera Toolsidass and Narmadaa Missra also contributed a goal each to complete the rout.
The fourth and final quarterfinal saw Bombay Scottish (Powai) defeat St Xavier’s High School (Mira Road) 3-0, with Ciona Biju scoring a brace and Harshita Arun adding the third goal to round out the semi-finalists.
