Holy Cross women's soccer team eyeing 2nd national championship title

With only 12 minutes remaining in Sunday's Jubilee league final, Holy Cross FCnetted the lone goal of the match andsecuredtheright to defend its title at thenational women's amateur soccer championship.

The final match, held at King George VPark, pitted Holy Cross against the Feildians women's soccer team.

Holy Cross's Jessie Noseworthy is positive about the club's chancesof winning the Jubilee Trophy at nationals once again.

"I think we're going to go in with some confidence," Noseworthy said Sunday.

"Coming from Newfoundland, I think we still always have that underdog feeling going in. I think we get teams underestimatingus a lotgoing in. So I think we're going togo for the win again this year."

Noseworthy said Sunday's match came down to the final moments but the club remained strong on the pitch and stuck to its game.

Teammate Keisha Youngeadded there were a lot of suspenseful moments in the match, whichultimately went on for 93 minutes.

"There's a lot of anxiety going into this season. This season was definitely one of the most competitive seasons we've seen in years, so that was really great to be a part of," said Younge.

She noted the team has a lot of experienced players on it, some who have been in the league for a decade.

In October, the Holy Cross team will head to Halifax tocompete against other top clubs fromacross the country in the national championship.

Big rivalry

There are four teams in this year's Jubilee league:Holy Cross, Feildians, St. John's and Paradise a new team replacingConception Bay South that recently dissolved.

Leslie Bradshaw, Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association's manager of soccer operations,saidHoly Cross and the Feildians wereevenly matched this season.

"It's definitely been a really competitive season just kind of across the board," said Bradshaw, who also plays on the St. John's team.

"So you know, zero-zero at halftime is another indication ofhow intense and how competitive this year has been."

Bradshaw said tensions are usually high in these matches, pointing to the historic rivalry between Holy Cross and the Feildians.

"And then you throw the championship on top of it and tensions are definitely running high this game," she said.

Changing of the guard

WhileHoly Cross will be returning tonationals, it's not the exact same lineup as it was last year.

Noseworthy said they lost a number of senior players who didn't return from last year.

"We do have a bit of a younger squad this year. We have some younger players coming up and helping us out this year," said Noseworthy.

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Younge said the bulk of the team is from last year'schampionship team.A big loss, she added, was the retirement of Mallory Harris, who was their striker and hung up her cleatsat the end of last year's tournament.

"Her presence was definitely missed this year, but she's always part of the team, whether it's on the field or outside of the field," said Younge."She's always with us, so that's something we use to motivate us."

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