Spartans Senior Boys Soccer 2006

On a wet, cold, windy Saturday, October 28, Stanstead's senior boys claimed the ETIAC playoff trophy with a 2-1 win over Alexander Galt. Goal scorers were Josh Vanasse and J-F Lefort. The boys made it to the finals following a 4-1 win against MVR.

Eli Birge
Jerome Castan
Alex Gagnon
Paul-Emile Gay-Baetsen
Phil Grant
Jesse Halikas
Joo Kim
Jean-Francois Lefort
Sergio Lozano
William Murphy
Dario Pandurevic
Julian Perrotta
Frank Riddle
Ludwig Ritter
Julien Ronsse
Andrew Smith
Nils Timmerman
Josh Vanasse
Kei Yuda
Muyao Zhou

COACHES: Mike McNamara, Darren Gray

Friday, September 15 - Galt at home

The senior boys opened the 2006 season with a game against Alexander Galt. After some impressive early-season scrimmages, expectations were high as the Spartans took to the field. Things got off to a perfect start when the referee signaled a penalty kick in Stanstead’s favor not 30 seconds into the game. Although the goalie guessed right and managed to get a glove on the ball he could not handle the power of midfielder Dario Pandurevic’s spot kick and the ball deflected into the top netting. Despite the early setback, Galt came back firing and controlled the flow of the game for the remainder of the half. Spartan goaltender Muyao Zhou made some spectacular saves but never really stood a chance as Galt put two into the back of the net and went into the halftime break leading 2-1.

Play evened out in the second half, with both teams getting some good chances. Our defence finally found their groove, but had to call on Zhou to make a great stop on an opposition breakaway. On offence, the midfielders were able to find some holes, and after a few tidy moves in the box, Pandurevic was rewarded with his second goal of the match. Unfortunately, it simply wasn’t enough, and we went on to lose the game 3-2.

Though not the start the boys were hoping for, we managed to identify our weaknesses and hope to have them sorted out before the next match.

- Coach Gray

Sunday, September 17 - At Hebron Academy

Not two days after our opening-season loss to Alexander Galt, we faced an even tougher challenge on Sunday. Numerous injuries left us with only 13 men as we boarded the bus en route to Hebron Academy, Maine, a team which had handily beat the Spartans 4-1 the previous year.

From the get-go, it was clear that Stanstead had learned from their last game. The defence, re-arranged due to injuries, performed admirably, keeping Hebron to the outside and preventing any chances near the box. Any crosses to the box were comfortably controlled by goaltender Frank Riddle. The offence, led by inside midfielder Julian Perotta, controlled the middle of the field and kept the pressure on. Some nice passing work broke down the Hebron defence, setting Perotta up for a long angled shot from outside the box. The shot careened in off the far crossbar post, putting us ahead and setting an early mark for “highlight goal of the year.”

The second half started in much the same way, and Stanstead went up 2-0 on Perotta’s second goal of the match, a free kick from outside the box that left the goalie motionless. Eventually though, the heat and lack of subs began to affect play, and we started giving up fouls as

Hebron pressed. A long cross from Hebron’s goaltender made its way just under the crossbar, but that was as close as Hebron would get. We won 2-1.

Special mention goes to junior call-ups Jerome Castan and Jesse Halikas, who showed that they could definitely compete with the seniors. The whole team should be congratulated on the well-fought victory.

- Coach Gray

Wednesday, September 20 at MVR

On the road again, this time at Massey-Vanier Regional. Both teams came out looking lethargic, and there was very little energy on the field. Similar to the first game of the season, an early handball was called – this time against Stanstead. Down 1-0, the team looked rattled and unfocused. Balls skipped off feet, challenges arrived late, and foul throw-ins led to turnovers.

Play continued in much the same way in the second half, with neither team playing particularly well. Needing a goal, Pandurevic was pushed up from sweeper (where he had been filling in due to injury) into his regular spot at midfield. Some nice give-and-go work with striker Josh Vanasse led to quality chances in close, but the MVR goaltender was up to the task. At the other end, their forwards pounced on a mistake and suddenly we were down 2-0.

Faced with a potential 0-2 record in league play, the team seemed to find new motivation. From that moment on, it was all Stanstead. A perfect cross to the far right post found veteran Joo-Sung Kim, who managed to deflect the ball in the net despite being flanked by two MVR defenders. With only a few minutes left in time, another hand-ball was called, but for Stanstead. Vanasse calmly stepped up and fired a low hard shot to the left side – tie game.

After three games we have learned quite a bit. Averaging two goals a game should be enough to win games, but we need a total team commitment (at all positions) to defence for those wins to materialize. At the same time, the team needs to find some consistency on offence; at times we have looked completely uninterested, but when playing well we have been unstoppable. The next challenge comes next week, when we play two games against BCS, including the Homecoming match.

- Coach Gray

Wednesday, September 27– Home vs. BCS

After some very constructive practices, the team felt confident that we would play up to our potential against BCS. The boys did not disappoint. Throughout the match, Stanstead controlled the flow and direction of play. Crisp passing through the middle of the field drew the BCS defence inwards, leaving our wingers open for dangerous runs down the sides. The chances built up, leading to goals by Jesse Halikas and Josh Vanasse, both on corners served by left-wing Julien Ronsse.

Unfortunately, the two-goal lead would not last long. A half-chance turned into a goal when the BCS midfielder fired a brilliant shot from an almost impossible angle into the top of the net. Despite a significant edge in play, Stanstead had to settle for a one-goal lead at halftime.

BCS pressed to tie in the second half, but could not find any holes in the Spartan lines. Long balls for the BCS striker were heavily contested, and the few times he managed to bring the ball under control he found himself smothered by our central defence. Attempts on the outside fared little better, despite some fancy footwork. Other than some loose balls in the box, the lead was never seriously threatened.

At the other end, it looked as though Stanstead would put in a few more. Vanasse beat the goalie but found post, Will Murphy had two chances in close that could have gone either way, and at one point three Stanstead players were alone at the top of the box without a defender in sight, but could not decide on who would take the ball. All in all, the 2-1 win was our best game of the season, and we look forward to repeating the feat Saturday in front of a Homecoming crowd.

- Coach Gray

CAIS Soccer Tournament, King’s Edgehill School, Nova Scotia
October 13 to October 15

We arrived at the CAIS tournament with a mixture of hope and reservation. After an early-season win over Hebron, it was apparent that we could compete with (and beat) most teams on a given day. On the other hand, we seemed to have trouble winning in our own league, even when dominating the flow of the game.

Our chances of making the top division championship were done after the first day. Thanksgiving break and a fifteen hour bus ride left us sluggish and unfocused on the field. The game was close against Crescent, and we really should have beat Rossey, but in the end we lost both games 2-0. It was the first time all year that we hadn’t scored a goal.

Thankfully, on the second day we seemed to find our game. Our biggest improvement came at the back, especially our aerial defending. Long balls sent by the opposing team were picked out with precision and sent the other way. Goaltender Frank Riddle was not challenged often, but up to the task every time. Will Murphy scored his first goal of the season, a well-placed left-footer, to win the morning game 1-0 and put us into the second division playoff round. We faced Holy Trinity in the afternoon. Dario Pandurevic, coming up from sweeper to take a free-kick, chipped the ball over the opposing wall and into the back of the net. It was all we would need on the afternoon. Our second shutout in as many games (and second of the season) and we were into the division 2 semifinal.

In what was arguably the most exciting game of the tournament (for any team), Stanstead faced LCC under a sunny Sunday morning sky. Stanstead held most of the possession, but in what seemed to become a team theme, we couldn’t score. And then the dreaded happened: on a counterattack, one of the LCC midfielders (who had hit the post not minutes earlier), fired a bullet from far and found the back of the net. We trailed 1-0 at the half. Nonetheless, Stanstead stuck to the original game plan. Striker Josh Vanasse used his head to deflect the ball past the far post on a free-kick cross from Pandurevic. The score was tied, 1-1, as the whistle blew for time. Next up: golden goal overtime.

Stanstead continued to press, while LCC tried to capitalize on the counter. Ten minutes passed without a goal, although a few looked to be heading in from our angle at the bench. Just as we seemed destined to endure shootouts, opportunity knocked. Joo-Sung Kim sacrificed his face to block a clearance, sending the ball back towards the LCC goal. Vanasse, who had been lethal up front all year, took the ball in the box and fired home. A golden goal victory is one of the most rare and exciting finishes is sports, and I’m sure everyone was happy to have been on the winning side.

We faced Ontario powerhouse Ridley College in the division 2 championship. We had the support of the other Ontario teams, who were hoping to see a tiny Quebec school beat one of the tournament’s premier teams. In the first half, it looked as though we might pull through. Stanstead pressed, but our shots sailed high and wide. It seemed as though we were always one half-step away from a goal. Going into a second-half scoreless the boys were convinced a win was in sight, but it was not to be. It’s difficult to determine what factors led to our defeat (the extra time in our previous match, more experience on Ridley’s side, etc…) but the rest of the game was decidedly one-sided. Ridley went up a goal on a set play and we could not come back. Final score Ridley 1, Stanstead 0.

Despite the finish, I think everybody would agree it was a very successful tournament. In the end, we moved up by eight spots on our previous year’s result. Apart from the first day, the boys played an excellent brand of soccer and improved in every game. If we can bring that same brand back to the ETIAC we should challenge for the season and playoff titles.

Massey-Vanier at home, October 18

With only four games left in the season, we knew we had to start winning. Just the day before, we’d lost a heartbreaker to BCS by a score of 2-1. As is becoming the case, the team dominated in chances but not in goals. We looked to change that against Massey-Vanier, who we had tied in our last outing.

Thankfully, everything clicked in front of the home crowd, and we would have our first multi-goal margin of victory on the year, a 4-1 thumping that was one-sided the whole match. JF Lefort, who had scored his first goal in the losing effort against BCS, led the team with two goals, one by foot and one by head. Will Murphy pounced on a loose ball for his second of the year, as did Ludwig Ritter, coming off the bench to score his first of the year. The defence played very well and gave MVR nothing to work with.

This was the game we had been waiting for all season, and we will be looking for more of the same against standings leader Galt on Friday.