It turned out that they were right to be nervous, as one of the four Rippowam stars announced herself less than three minutes in with a thunderous strike from thirty yards, just under the crossbar. The Cougars knew immediately that they would need to close quickly and contain the visitors' versatile attack if they were to stay competitive deep into this match. At right back, India had her hands full with the Rippowam swashbuckling left winger, and her amazing efforts held the opponent in check for almost the entire half. It took a 50-yard diagonal ball that was met with a deft first touch and neat finish to give the visitors a two-goal advantage. India worked well with the back-tracking of Frances from right wing and the support of Quinn at right center back.

The pitch certainly seemed tilted through most of the first half, with Country School settling into the match but defending for most of it. Goalkeeper Hannah had to thank the bottom side of her crossbar for saving a second sensational strike to keep the deficit at two. But, before the end of the half, through the persistence of Lillian and Piper in the wide channels and the constant threat of Nat at center striker, the Cougars forced three straight corners to end the half and nearly nicked a goal, sparking some confidence heading into the intermission.

The second half began with Ripp trying to ping a long ball into the corner to pin the Cougars in, but the hosts were ready for the tactic. After dealing with the opening attempt, NCCS seized control of the game, evening out the balance of play to the great surprise of the visitors. The third corner of the second half, and sixth of the match, was launched by co-captain Victoria into the mixer, then slightly deflected before Mila slammed home a volley from close range to set off an eruption of celebrations within the team and in the crowd. There were 17 minutes remaining, and it was game on. 

The excellent, focused play of Nico and later Emmie at left back had allowed Mila to join the attack. The Rippowam players clearly were surprised by the shift of momentum. NCCS was defending in waves, anchored by the calm of Quinn and ferocity of Maddie in center defense, which meant that Hannah mostly had to deal with several long-range blasts that she handled comfortably. The one time the defense was fully breached, Hannah made a spectacular one-on-one save with her shin, bravely charging down the striker to close down the angle.

In the midfield, Luna shielded the back line intelligently, intercepting passes and connecting with co-captains Nat and Victoria to spark counterattack after counterattack. Co-captain Caroline had swapped into the right wing where she consistently terrorized the Ripp defense. With 10 minutes remaining, Caroline ripped a right-footed shot that hovered three feet off the ground from the right side of the penalty area before bulging the net just inside the far post for a sensational equalizer and deserved 2-2 scoreline. The final five minutes was full of chaos and excitement as both teams pushed for a winner. The Cougars nearly scored twice in that time. Then, with one minute left, Rippowam got a corner that they rifled into the danger area. In the melee, the referee spotted a handball, and after taking a moment to make his decision, blew his whistle and gave a penalty kick as the last action of the game. The spot kick was dispatched coolly into the bottom corner and was followed immediately by the final whistle, but the Cougars left the field with their chins up amidst a host of compliments from the coaches from both teams.