Pleasantville, Five Rivers clash for girls' intercol crown

The girls of Pleasantville Secondary will be going after their second Coca-Cola Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) girls’ national intercol title in three years when they play east zone winners Five Rivers Secondary in the 2025 final from 3 pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on December 10. The match will be the first of a double-header, as 2025 premier division champions Naparima College will play Signal Hill Secondary from 5 pm in the boys’ intercol finale.

Pleasantville, who beat Five Rivers to last year’s girls’ Big 5 crown, will start this year’s intercol title match as favourites. Pleasantville mauled outgoing knockout champs St Joseph’s Convent Port of Spain (SJCPoS) 5-0 in the national semifinals on December 6. In the semis, Pleasantville were powered by a brace from national player Nikita Gosine, with Zara Chase, Natalia Gosine and Kaeley Martin also finding the net to cap a dominant end to the second half. In the process, Pleasantville got revenge for the penalty shootout loss they suffered to SJCPoS in the 2024 national intercol final.

Standing in Pleasantville’s way will be a Five Rivers team which sneaked their way into the final on the back of an early first-half goal from national youth team player Hackeemar Goodridge in their 1-0 semifinal win over Signal Hill – effectively dashing the latter school’s bid for a national knockout double.

Goodridge was also on the money in the east zone final on November 26, scoring the solitary goal in a win over San Juan North Secondary, while she then scored four in her school’s national quarterfinal triumph over Holy Faith Convent Couva five days later. Meanwhile, Pleasantville’s heavy scoring was on display again when they hammered St Joseph’s Convent San Fernando 5-0 to seize the south zone’s intercol trophy on December 2.

In the final, though, something will have to give when the high-scoring Pleasantville meet the resolute Five Rivers.