Courtesy: Maitland Mercury

History makers

CECILIA PEOPLES

Three Rutherford High School students have done their best to put the sport of futsal on the map and along the way helped to emphatically defy the Hunter region’s underdog status at the recent Australasian schools national championships.

Kate Fleming, 14, Lara Pilton, 15 and Krystal Anderson, 15, returned home this week knowing they had been a part of history for the Hunter Lightning in national school futsal.

The Lightning did not win a match at the 2006 tournament and without weight of expectation went on to knock off their more fancied rivals to make the national final in Melbourne on Thursday.

They were the first Hunter Valley team to make a semi-final at the schools championships, while no boy’s or girl’s team had managed to make a final in the past either.

The Lightning went on to be beaten 9-3 by red-hot favourites and unbeaten outfit NSW City in the final, but even that scoreline was an achievement with the Hunter team’s three goals the most NSW conceded throughout the tournament.

“After we won the semi-final (in a penalty shootout) we were all pumped up,” Fleming said.

“Everyone was so happy and there were tears from Lara.”

The three girls were all part of last year’s winless team and said as a result they took in a “nothing to lose” attitude to each match - and it paid off.

“We were underdogs,” Anderson said.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com