SB Soccer: CAIS 2025 Wrap-up

 

Stanstead played a solid first half by outplaying TCS but could only find the back of the net once. In minute 15, winger Santy’s smooth maneuver past an opponent allowed him to tee-up and unleash a powerful drive that the TCS goalkeeper parried into the path of Walker. Walker’s excellent timing of arrival in front of the opposition goal paid off when he capitalized by slamming the ball into the back of the net. Based on their early pressure, Stanstead deserved the early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, a brief mental lapse allowed TCS to even the score just three minutes later. Despite creating a few other good chances, the Spartans were unable to capitalize, so the halftime score remained knotted at 1-1. The combination of a slow start to the second half and a rejuvenated TCS squad punished the home team, as TCS scored in the second minute after the kickoff. Despite some excellent sustained Spartan pressure, TCS held on for the deserved 2-1 victory. Final score: TCS 2 – Stanstead 1.

This afternoon matinee, played in front of the entire school, was a difficult one for the Spartans. Starting the game exceptionally well, by striking the goalpost and crossbar inside the first 8 minutes, Stanstead dominated the play and ball possession. However, this did not yield either the scoring chances or goals the Spartans were hoping for. While the RNS goalkeeper was excellent in protecting his net, the Spartans’ finishing was not up to standard despite getting themselves into good goalscoring positions. Maybe it was RNS scoring at the 4-minute mark or the pressure of the vocally supportive hometown crowd that unsettled us, but the RNS goal, against the run of play, certainly did nothing to settle Spartan nerves. The halftime talk centred around continuing to be consistent in our approach, passing the ball and switching the play from wing to wing, and maintaining a positive outlook. The mood was a good one and the boys were keen to get back on the field. Tying the game 12 minutes into the second half when Josh finished Liam’s defence-splitting pass gave our boys the confidence and inspiration they needed. Typically, in soccer, the hour mark is an important one. Teams tend to either drop their performance due to fatigue or they find the inspiration to step up their effort. In this instance, the Spartans’ relentless pressure and overall edge in athletic ability forced RNS to drop deeper in front of their own goal. Eventually, the high-pressure tactics paid off as the Spartans fired home two nice goals, by Anton on a pass from Gabe, and Liam, who scored from Felix pinpoint cross, to earn the well-deserved victory. Final score: Stanstead 3 – RNS 1.

Game 3, the final match of the group stage, was a pivotal one for the Spartans. Win the game and Stanstead would earn a top four position in the medal round. Lose the game, and they would play in the consolation bracket. Ashbury College, from the nation’s capital, came flying at us from the opening whistle. Most opponents Stanstead face usually send one or two forwards to pressure our defence, and usually, we are decent at playing through and negating opposition pressure. Ashbury put on a clinic on how to pressure with their front line and midfield, too. So much so they scored four first-half goals and looked hungry for more. Halftime score: Ashbury 4 – Stanstead 0. Ashbury are a strong team and fully deserved their victory on the day; however, the Spartans did not do themselves any favours with their slow start to the game. Their poor first half performance negated a superior second half, one in which they scored a well-earned goal by Josh, who scored from Henry’s cross, and they conceded none. The Spartans were left wondering, had they produced their second-half effort in the first half, perhaps a different outcome may have occurred. We will never know. Spartans’ goalkeepers, Grayson and Jacob, continue to show great development even in the tough moments, where the learning can sometimes be raw and painful. Luckily, both boys maintain a positive frame of mind and see the benefit of their effort in practice.  With this 4-1 loss, the Spartans shifted to the consolation round but with plenty to play or and with their pride on the line. Final score: Ashbury College 4 – Stanstead 1.

Of the tournament’s five games, this was the Spartans best and most consistent effort of the weekend. No jitters, no pressure or stress evident in their game, they just went out and consistently worked hard and were confident in doing so. Gabe scored two goals, including a two-on-one with Santy from a corner kick in minute 9, and then in minute 24, on a freekick pass from Henry. For his second goal, his wicked right-footed bullet into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal from outside the 18-yard box staked the Spartans to a comfortable two-goal cushion at halftime. Whereas in previous games, the Spartans have been somewhat guilty of lacking the necessary energy and/or focus to start the second half of play, this was certainly not the case in this game. After a wholesale number of substitutions were made, the Spartans went quickly back to work dispatching the Waterloo, Ontario-area independent school. This time it was striker Anton’s turn to record a two-goal half. His goals stretched the Spartan lead to 4 and effectively killed off any chance of a St. JK comeback! Again, not to be outdone, Anton’s second goal was worthy of a spot on TSN’s Highlight of the Night. His left-footed drive was struck with such venom that it left his foot and hit the back of the net at the very same height, while the ball’s velocity was so powerful, it popped off 3 or 4 cable zip ties used to keep the mesh net fastened to the metal goal frame.  It was some effort by “the Natural”! Goalkeepers Jacob and Grayson shared the clean sheet shutout. With the win, Stanstead would play in the Silver Division’s consolation final on Saturday morning against an old foe, Ridley College. Final score: Stanstead 4 – Saint John’s- Kilmarnock 0.

At the 2024 CAIS tournament, hosted by Saint Andrew’s College, Stanstead and the Ridley College Tigers were grouped in the same pool and met in game two of the tournament. It was a highly contested, low-scoring game, with the Tigers narrowly edging the Spartans by a 1-0 scoreline. This year, there was not a lot to choose between them, as their results in pool play were similar; however, this game proved to be a high-scoring affair as both teams threw caution to the wind. Interestingly, 5 goals were scored in the first half of play, and all inside eight minutes of action! Josh, who ended up having himself quite the game, got Stanstead rolling in the 25^th minute when his header redirected Gabe’s freekick into the top right-hand corner for the 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, he recorded his second goal when he finished off an eye-popping three-way passing play with Gabe and Henry. The most dangerous time for a team to concede a goal is directly after that team has scored one, because the collective concentration often goes awry. And this is exactly what happened to the Spartans. Less than a minute later, Ridley won a loose ball and fired it high into the Spartan goal. Without question, this inspired the Tigers, but it really unsettled and unhinged the Spartans. Ridley sensed the uneasiness in their opponents, and they took full advantage of the fragile nature of the Spartans at this moment. Incredibly, within a three-minute span, Ridley went from being 1-0 down to scoring three goals and taking a 3-2 lead into the halftime break. Halftime came at exactly the right moment as it allowed our Spartans to hydrate, but more importantly, we settled our collective nerves and prepared for the second half. The Spartan game plan for the second half was to get back to our full pressure game and counterattack when the opportunities arose. Twelve minutes into the half, you guessed it, Josh ran onto a well-timed through ball and was taken down inside the 18-yard box… penalty shot… Spartans! Up stepped Josh, who drove the ball into the bottom left corner to tie the score, 3-3. With this surge of energy, the Spartans continued to create good attacking opportunities. Again, in the 32^nd minute, another penalty shot was called, this time when Felix was fouled inside the box. Once again, Josh planted the ball on the penalty spot and again he smashed the ball home for the 4-3 Spartan lead. That decisive goal was enough to see the Spartans to the final whistle for a well-earned victory. Josh, with four goals on the day, produced a career-defining game. It wasn’t just his scoring, it was his hustle, his strong tackles in duels, his intricate passing, and his will to drive his team to victory that left this match as his legacy performance. Well done, Josh and the Spartans! Final score: Stanstead 4 – Ridley 3.

Finishing CAIS with 3 wins and 2 losses enabled Stanstead to claim 5^th place in the 8-team silver division. Well done to the team for playing hard, fair, and with great enthusiasm in all five matches. Luckily, apart from a few bumps and bruises, the Spartans did not incur any major injuries. Now, we shift our focus back to the ETIAC where we will play our last two league games, at home on Wednesday, October 22 at 4:00 pm against MVR, and then we travel to BCS for the final league game of the season on Saturday, October 25 at 10:00am. Well done, Spartans, and keep it going!!

More Tournament Photos at Flickr
Tournament Results and Standings