The Girl’s Fútbol team took 2nd place in Binationals on November 19 losing on penalty kicks to Colegio Bolivar after finishing regulation time tied 1-1.  

After a slow first half where neither team scored, early in the second half Paulina Alvarez made her shot. Bolivar immediately caught up with a goal from a long distance by Alejandra Camacho. The rest of the second half featured no goals. Bolivar made all five penalties while TCS missed one by goalie Mariana Mesa.

“There were some simple mistakes, especially on my part, which made it extremely difficult to win. However, we won the ball many times and were always on their side of the field trying to score,” Mariana Mesa, TCS goalkeeper, said. 

TCS beat Bolivar in two out of the last three Binational finals, establishing a competitive rivalry and making them TCS’s biggest adversaries. 

“I have played Binationals for four years, and each time we have gotten to the finals they have been against TCS. They are our biggest rival, and in this year’s soccer final we were practically tied the whole time. This is the first time in many years in which we won,” Sofia Paparo, right midfielder for the Bolivar’s soccer team, said. 

In the preliminary rounds, TCS finished with a 2-0-3-1 record, tying against Bolivar and CNG, and winning the rest of the games. In the semifinals, they won 2-1 against CNG. 

“We started the tournament off strong, taking the lead in all matches and winning three. We were sure of ourselves and applied all of our training strategies into the games,” Maria Camila Agudelo, midfielder for TCS said. 

TCS and Bolivar played neck to neck throughout the whole of Binationals, always having an equal number of points and tying when playing against each other. They tied in the preliminaries and had their major loss in the finals. TCS teammates say this is due to Bolivar’s strong players. 

“Their team had a solid defense, with their star player Alejandra Camacho escaping from the player on our team whose job was to guard her. Because of this, she scored the goal,” Ana Sofia Correa, TCS left forward, said. 

During the last 20 days, TCS trained four times a week and played Copa Nosotras, where they placed second against soccer clubs in Medellin. 

“My team is built on comprehension and teamwork. The girls love and play with the same heart, always giving 100% with that feeling of what they call fritanga,” Hernan Arango, Girl’s Soccer Trainer, said. 

Other schools admired the girls’ athletic ability, while also hoping to beat them in the competition. Most teams feared playing against them, saying that in past competitions TCS always won. 

“Obviously we want to beat you guys. But the girls are really organized and their passes are really clean and all of their play is just like, wow,” Angelica Pardo, defense from CNG said.

The team cried after they took second place, breaking a long streak of wins. Later, they celebrated their hard work and achievements and swore to train and take back the title of champions of Binacionales in 2023.  

“I feel very proud of my team, it’s like being in a family. Our strength is that we are very united, and because of this strength we kept our composure even when not getting the results we wanted to,” Paulina Alvarez, captain, and midfield of the Columbus School’s team, said.