Athletics
Spartans News

SG Soccer: Nothing Left to Give @ MVR

By Erik Van Dyke
Soccer games, in the end, are often decided by talent. Or by matchups. Or by strategy. Or even, to be completely honest, by good old-fashioned luck. But sometimes games are decided by heart.
This past Tuesday, your Spartans edged out Massey-Vanier 2-1 not because they were technically superior, or better-coached, or lucky but because they gave all they had to give. The Red & White won a soccer game this past Tuesday on heart and guts and grit and a stubborn refusal to quit. Proof? The final 20 minutes saw five(!) starters on the sidelines – ankle tweaks, sore groins, potentially bruised ribs, meniscus problems, you name it we had it – but your Spartans still, somehow, prevailed:
  • because when called upon, Erika, Keira, Sara M, Jane and Olivia came off the bench, had their teammates’ backs, and brought the victory home;
  • because players like Maxim and Lexi did not hesitate when their coaches asked them to play in a new position;
  • because Haiden and Eve, after limping off the field with meniscus and groin issues, asked to be put back into the game(!);
  • Because Charlotte and Sara and Maxim kept maxing out their effort in that brutal second half, even when their max effort could only give them half their normal speed;
  • Because Etsuho, fresh off a recovering ankle, was the Energizer Bunny out there on the wing (the most tiring position).
And finally, because of Rafaelle, who put on a display of perseverance and toughness the likes of which I haven’t seen for a long time. Three days earlier Raf had run a marathon in honour of Terry Fox, but how she carried herself on the soccer field this day was just as impressive. Despite dead legs, despite limping gingerly through warmup, despite missing multiple glorious breakaway chances in the second half, she shrugged off the pain and the frustration of missing and she just kept on coming, refusing to give in, exhausted, mad at herself, but refusing to give up, until with eight minutes left and the score tied 1-1, she engineered one more one-woman attack that –  finally(!) – could not be denied, an unassisted rocket just under the bar that even the excellent Massey keeper couldn’t stop. Player Of The Game? How about Athlete Of The Week!
 
There were other key moments, of course, that earned us our first ETIAC win of the season. Zoey’s critical short-side save on a corner kick scramble. Zoe and Charlotte catching up to a Massey breakaway before a shot could be taken. Hailey’s distribution in the midfield. Haiden and Etsuho’s efforts to keep the ball in the opponent’s end during the last five minutes. More that this old brain can’t recall…
 
Not to say we didn’t make mistakes. We have some serious work to do on punt coverage, communication, clearing the ball under duress, getting on the end of crosses, and, of course, jewelry. But that’s to be expected this early in the year. The crucial fact is, we kept the chase for the banner alive with this vital league win.
 
You were far from perfect, ladies. But who cares about perfect when you showed yourselves how much you can accomplish with guts. And toughness. And heart. And Charlotte’s postgame muscle-tensor-pad things.
 
That’s perfect enough for me.

- Coaches Van Dyke and Goodsell
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