If the Cougars had roared at the top of their lungs, would there have been anyone in the Amazons to even hear them? Apparently not.

“We knew our destiny wasn’t totally in our hands," explains a reflective captain Brigitte Nardella, whose Cougars understood even before Sunday that nothing short of a victory paired with an Amazons defeat would have ensured their place in the FC1 Division quarterfinals. "It was a valiant effort against 202R, but we dug ourselves into a 3-0 hole. We fought back hard but it was too little, too late.”

Nardella now knows that whatever conspired against them in that 3-2 heartbreaker went far beyond the last mad push of near misses and crossbars. Recovering from a rough start to their season, the Cougars let precious points slip away in early February, surrendering leads against the playoff-bound Pink Tacos and the Chomedey Blue Jackets.

Amazons, for their part, were already heading in the opposite direction. Having already pulled off a 5-4 victory over top-seed Blue Sky the week prior, they sealed their own playoff fate this Sunday with a solid 4-1 win over the Pink Tacos.

“We had an interesting run and the team is in a good place right now,” explains coach and defender Isabel Julian. She believes a little more offensive risk taking will take her girls a long way against their more technically sound opponents, starting with 202R this weekend. “Should be a fun end of the season!”

Have a good soccer story, pic or video to share with us this winter? You can email me, fire off a Tweet or simply follow us on Facebook and Instagram.