Skipper Harshini nets brace as Rustomjee girls emerge champs

The victorious Rustomjee Cambridge (Dahisar) girls with the girls U-16 Div-II trophy at Goans Sports Association ground, Cross Maidan

Rustomjee Cambridge (Dahisar) clinched the top honours as they handed Rustomjee Cambridge (Thane) a 4-0 defeat in a girls' under-16 Div-II finals of the MSSA inter-school football tournament at the Goans Sports Association ground, Cross Maidan.

The summit clash between Rustomjee Cambridge schools turned out to be a one-sided affair. The Dahisar outfit proved to be better organised in attack and showed good finishing with captain and dashing striker Harshini Iyer leading from the front with twin strikes.

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Striker Ashnie Shetty scored the first goal in the fifth minute to give the Dahisar schoolgirls the advantage. Later, Harshini scored the first of her two goals in the 14th minute before Vedika Kulkarni struck the third goal in the 19th minute and ensured her team went into the break with a healthy 3-0 lead. Harshini was once again on target, scoring the fourth goal in the 30th minute to complete the winning margin.

Earlier, in the third-place match, St Lawrence High School (Borivli) defeated St Xavier's HS (Mira Road) 5-3 via penalty shootout, after the match ended in a goalless draw. In the shootout, St Lawrence scored from all their five kicks. St Lawrence captain Goral Bansode, who converted the first kick for her team, then wore the goalkeeper's gloves.

She saved the first attempt by the Mira Road team, which helped the Borivli schoolgirls emerge winners. Besides, Goral, Pari Gala, Prachi Morya, Ashita Natekar and Emma Lobo, all succeeded in scoring from the penalty spot to secure their triumph. St Xavier's managed to convert their next three attempts through Prajakta Bhoi, Namrata Naik and Shiveli Kotian, but had to settle for second best.