The Cougars restarted and were quickly at the Panthers goal. April got off a shot, but could not find the net. The Panther counter-attack was fast and furious, and Sarah needed a solid save to deny another goal. The Cougars were not sitting back, and countered themselves, with April getting another chance, but it too was denied.

The Panthers began to dominate possession, with the Cougars absorbing a lot of pressure, but we were able to deny them any reasonable opportunities. A solid save from Sarah in the 22nd minute saw a quick counter attack from the Cougars, but Kate's shot was blocked. It was the Panther's turn to attack, and they were quickly at our goal with the Cougars struggling to transition to defense. Sarah made another fine save, but the ball was loose, and the Panthers pounced upon it before we could clear it, making it 2-0.

The Panthers continued to have the upper hand in ball possession, but clearly not in the dominating fashion of last years game. It was very hard work out there, and the Cougars were being pushed to their physical limits.

In the 35th minute, the Cougars were pushed up on attack, when, again, the fast Panther counter had us in trouble. A through ball had a solo breakaway against Sarah, and with no Cougar fast enough to catch her, the Panther striker slotted it in to make it 3-0.

In the remaining minutes of the first half, we saw two solid attacks from the Panthers and one solid attack from the Cougars. Kate had her second opportunity on the Panther goal, but could not crack them.

At the half-time, the Cougars regrouped and recharged. This game was not over as far as they were concerned. Although the Panthers threatened our goal in the first couple of minutes, the Cougars began to assert themselves, opening the play up to the wings, and winning a lot more possession of the ball. Blair had a great opportunity denied early on, and from the 50th to 55th minute, the Cougars seemed to swarm all around the Panther's defensive third, but could not get off an reasonable shot. The Panther's were beginning to show some fatigue, and the Cougars redoubled their efforts. Play was back and forth, with the Panthers becoming increasingly frustrated. In the 61st minute, Jackie was open on the left, but her outstretched left foot could not quite get around the ball, and she pushed her shot wide. Minutes later, Danielle was attacking down the right, but her shot could not find the target either.

More back and forth play!

Finally in the 76th Blair was able to deliver a short through ball to Daniela. She was through the Panthers defense, with only the goalie to beat. She coolly set up and placed a shot to the left hand corner beating the goalie! A very well deserved and well executed goal!

The Cougars maintained pressure on the Panthers until the very end, but could not pull back another goal. An excellent second half, making the Cougar fans proud of their team!

Although a tough loss, the Cougars could come away knowing they had played a fine game, showing great improvement from last season. Should we match up against Woodside next year, we should look to be the winning team!