SG Soccer: CAIS Journey 2025

 

Starting your tournament with an 8:30 am game against one of the best high school teams in Canada – on turf – was never going to be fun for your Spartans. The coaching staff did their best to warn them, but there was no way to prepare the girls for what was to come. Havergal is basically a university team. Out of 70 minutes of game time, we probably spent 5 minutes with the ball, 3 minutes picking the ball out of our net (they pumped in 9(!) goals), and the rest of the time chasing chasing chasing our opponents around the pitch. I  tell ya, 70 minutes never felt so long. We were all happy when the final whistle blew.

 

But there WAS one silver lining, as the players learned real lessons about adversity, about body language, and about giving your best no matter what the scoreboard says. Anybody can try hard when things are going well. It takes real character to keep your chin up and your shoulders square when everything is going to hell. Our first half wasn’t great in this respect. Our second half was better. Keep learning. That’s all we can do.

 

While we did make progress in that first game in terms of dealing with adversity, I was not thrilled with our overall level of intensity. Regrettably, we were not much better vs BCS, as we played most of the game on our heels. Too often surprised by the ball, too often a step slow.

 

Because of this inability to get out of third gear, it was only a slim 1-0 lead at halftime despite an early goal by Raf on a perfect cutback pass from Lexi. And when Bishop’s equalized during the first minute of the second half, we had ourselves a ball game. BCS were vibing, had better energy than us, were quicker to the ball, and had real belief that they could take us down.

 

But we had Player Of The Game Eve, and they didn’t. First, she got on the end of a direct kick from Raf, took a superb first touch at the top of the box, and calmly (everything Eve does is calm, isn’t it?) slotted one inside the left post to give her team the lead. And then 10 minutes later she sent Raf in on a breakaway for the insurance goal. Sometimes talent is enough to get you through. This was one of those times.

 

With both teams coming in at 1-1, the stakes were set. A win meant a second-place finish in the pool and a berth in the Championship Division. A loss (or a tie, due to the goals against tiebreaker) meant a third-place finish that would move us to the consolation side of the tournament. The pressure was on.

 

But, for the third game in a row, we were meh, at least to start. A decent effort, but not fully engaged, not desperate enough. Soccer often comes down to 1) who expects the ball, 2) who wants to actually go get the ball, and 3) who wins the 50/50 battles once the ball gets there. And, disturbingly, we again looked distracted, like 80% of our focus was there, heck maybe even 90%, but certainly not the 100% that is needed to really compete.

 

So it was no surprise that GCS, although no better than us talent-wise (I’d say we were equally matched), dominated us. They wanted it more, kept us on the back foot, and were rewarded with a well-earned 2-0 lead at halftime. To be honest, I was concerned. Like, existentially concerned. Not about this one game, but about the team, the whole season. I knew we could play better, but not seeing it for five straight halves of soccer had me insecure. “Have we ever played well?” “Will we ever play well again?” “Is this who we are now?”

 

But then something clicked. Your Spartans came out in the second half a different team. (I honestly don’t know why. I wish I could say it was my halftime speech, but that wasn’t it!). Suddenly we were aggressive. Fully committed. Flying around the field with purpose and zero hesitation. In particular, our midfielders dominated, led by the trio of Etsuho (at a new position), Sara C. (also at a new position) and Player Of The Game Max all having their best game of the year at the same time. They were SO good that Greenwood – who, let’s remember, owned us in the first half – barely made it out of their own end for a 10-minutes stretch capped off by the Highlight Of The Match, i.e. Lexi sending a short through ball to Eve, who drew the defender before cleverly sending Raf in alone on the keeper for a clinical bottom corner finish.

 

That cut the lead in half, and we kept the pressure on. But despite continued inspired play, we couldn’t notch the equalizer, and the game finished 2-1. Which meant the Consolation Division. But I didn’t care. I was thrilled. Because we were awesome that second half. We had our mojo back.

 

Consolation Round-Robin Game #1 vs Branksome Hall (Rosedale, Ontario) 

And we kept the mojo-mentum going in this one, leading to our most dominant start-to-finish game of the tournament. We’d figured something out in the midfield with the Etsuho-Sara C switch, Max continued her strong play, the Charlotte-led defense played decisively, and the Hailey-Lexi-Eve-Raf connection was a threat every time they gained possession in the offensive zone. Good chaos after a corner kick almost led to a goal, as did a great throw-in bomb from Haiden, but after hitting a post and some nice saves by their keeper (lower shots, ladies!) we were still scoreless until Eve finished a pretty passing play with Lexi and Raf. That said, a 1-0 lead never feels safe, so when Julia perfectly headed a loose ball to Sara C who found Raf in space, and when Raf “Bent it like Beckham” top right corner with the Highlight Of The Match – what a shot! – the game felt locked up, and did finish 2-0 for the good gals.

 

In something that would become a theme this weekend, SJR opened the scoring off a corner kick scramble, hitting the crossbar at first but pouncing on the rebound barely 7 minutes in. SC did not wait long for the equalizer, however, as Zoe caught the opponents napping on a quick throwin to Lexi who set up Hailey inside the 18. The half finished 1-1, but we had them on their heels with our best width of the day, with Zoe consistently starting the offence on the right side.

 

We kept the pressure on during the second half and got rewarded when Player Of The Game Etsuho (really settling in at the defensive mid position) sent a perfectly weighted ball over the top to Eve who did her assist thing with another sweet set up to Raf whose low rocket from just outside the box was a thing of beauty.

 

Two back-to-back wins (that qualified us for Friday’s consolation final) in one 3-hour stretch, under sunny skies surrounded by autumn trees changing color, made for my favourite afternoon of the 25-26 school year.

I left that field loving the day, loving my job, and loving my team. What a great day to be a Spartan!

 

I had seen the Hawks play on Day 1, so I knew they were good. Not just talented, but fast, strong, and extremely physical. It was going to be a 70-minute test of toughness, because every disputed ball was going to be a battle of leaning shoulders, shielding hips, and who-wants-it-more. We are a pretty young team – would we be able to match the physicality? Or would we play a little scared?

 

Not. Scared. One. Bit.  Your Spartans scrapped for every second of this barely disguised MMA match. In fact, at one point, HTS seemed surprised that we were giving back as well as we were getting.

 

 

We were in a good zone. Everyone locked in. Intensity high. Max, Etsuho and Haiden on the front foot fighting for every inch in the midfield. Lexi a tornado on the right wing. The back line of Zoe, Charlotte and Julia just FANTASTIC – their most impressive game of the season – matching the athleticism and staying step for step with the dangerous HTS attackers. And Player Of The Game Hailey with her best game of the tournament, locking horns with the HTS midfielders, giving them no space, regularly dispossessing them and jumpstarting the offense.

 

You would think with this kind of effort the final score would be close. But there is no margin for error against a team as strong as HTS, and two botched coverages on corner kicks and one unlucky own goal turned a competitive contest into a deceiving 4-0 loss. But whatever. Not only did we identify a couple things we have to clean up before our next league game – giving up corner kicks too easily AND defending them poorly – we proved to ourselves that we will never be out-toughed on a soccer field. Yes, we’re young, and sure, we may be a little undersized, but nobody pushes this team around.

 

I really enjoyed this tournament, ladies. Not only the soccer, but the vibe. From Etsuho’s giant blanket to Olivia’s Russian dancing. From shopping to Laser Tag to team supper at Boston Pizza. From Tik Tok videos to “Happy Birthday to Jane”. And, of course, donuts.

 

Now let’s take what we learned this tournament and use it to bring home the two brass rings we

have been working towards all season, the league banner and the playoff trophy.  Let’s do this, Spartans. Starting Wednesday vs MVR.

- Coach Van Dyke