Hi, my name is Presley, and I am a player on the Dover Lady Tornadoes Soccer team. I am going to be telling you about all the amazing games both teams played and who they were honoring during this past Rivals for a Cause night.  It’s very intense playing in these types of rivalry games. Your adrenaline gets high and your heart beats super fast. Both teams get super aggressive as the game moves on and sometimes I even come home with some bruises. As of October 12, 2025, the Varsity Dover Girls’ Soccer team is now heading into our tournament run for the 2025 season.

A big part of these Rivals for a Cause games is the rivalry between the Dover Tornadoes and the New Philadelphia Quakers . This rivalry has been going on for a very long time. It always brings the loudest attention to any sport that is playing the so-called “ team across the river”.  This year’s rivals for a cause games weren’t just any regular games; both teams had somebody they were specifically honoring. The New Philadelphia Quakers were honoring a previous team member who was diagnosed with leukemia. All the girls said, “She was truly the best teammate anyone could have. She’s so kind, hard working, and strong.” The Dover Tornadoes were honoring a girl from our school who was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and stays true to the beautiful person she is.

As always, both teams could never wish for anything but to win their games. Both JV and Varsity put forward hard work and dedication to their sport. When game day was coming close, the Lady Tornadoes were working for it, and the coaches wanted it just as bad as the girls did.  Wanted what? To beat the New Philia Quakers. All the girls were very confident, and they should be, as we have played them earlier in the season and beat them. We had no reason to be nervous. 

Then, game day is here. As we all arrive and get off the bus,  Varsity starts getting ready to warm up. Warm-ups go extremely well, the girls get the annual picture, and off they go, the game starts. Dover girls’ energy was definitely higher than the Philia girls, and it showed as Dover scored a bunch in the first and second halves. By the end of the varsity girls’ game, Dover was the winner with a score of 7-0 and a wonderfully played game. A week later, the JV girls played their rivals game, normally, though, there is not a JV Girls Rivals for a cause game. The same routine continued: girls working hard at practice, getting off the bus, starting warm-ups, and getting a picture of both teams.  Then the game started, and Phila held us off pretty well, but somewhere during the game, we had scored four points, and Phila had zero at the end of the game. Dover beat Philia again, 4-0. 

Both teams had some hard competitors, but overall, the Rivals for a Cause games this year were amazing. If you think about this next year or hear about it, definitely come and watch. They are very fun and get your adrenaline going. Oh, and don’t forget “ Go Dover Beat Phila!”