(From the Stanstead College yearbook)
Senior Girls
"We started from the bottom now we're here." • Drake
The first Friday of the school year. Opening tryouts for the defending CATS and ETIAC champion Senior Spartans, fresh off the best soccer season ever in 2014.1 look down at my clipboard, which has spate for 30 names, and see seven girls signed up. Three vets, three walk-ons and one junior from last year. Seven.
That was the bottom. The Original Seven - Alissa, Mya, Kayla, Luisa, Victoria, Ionia and Rina - look around at each other that day, and are not worried about upcoming wins and losses. No, they're worded that there won't be a team at all, and that they won't even get the chance to proudly wear the Red & White.
But over the weekend the junior team lets us have their four best players (in the process decimating their own team), which allows us to put 11 on the field. And over the course of the next two weeks, sometimes after games have already been played, better-late-than-never defections from other programs (XC running, intramurals and hockey) eventually get us to a respectable, and safe, roster of 17. Phew!
We started from the bottom, now my whole team's here.
And then we started making memories, the kind you can only make in team sports:
Becky's first assist, Tania's first gaol, Elizabeth's breakaways, Rina's selfies, and how Lora runs like she's trying to kill ants. Mya's skanky leg, adopting Jarred from HTS, Leslie's punts, and Alissa's tears in the final huddle of the season. Going to CAIS and allowing only ONE GOAL IN 5 GAMES en route to a solid 6th-place finish out of 16 teams. Getting trounced 7-i by a very talented Seminaire Salesien team, and then beating them 3-2 the next time we play them - what an improvement! And finally, in the highlight of the season, facing powerhouse Galt in the ETIAC semis, and coming away with the biggest David vs Goliath incredible unbelievable amazing satisfying howdidwedothat 2.1 upset victory of my coaching career. Ahh yes, what a day that was! .
In the end, this team exceeded expectations by buying into a system and trusting each other. Despite huge differences in individual talent, every player had the same size heart and gave all that she had to give. That is the only reason we were as successful as we were.
My sincerest thanks to all the players for the season, but in particular to our three captains - Alissa, Kayla and Mya. Without their leadership and commitment not only would we have suffered on the field and made fewer memories, we probably wouldn't even have made it past that first Friday at opening tryouts.
We started from the bottom, now my whole team's here.
Thank you all for an unforgettable season.
Junior Girls
There is no doubt that this was one of the toughest seasons for the junior girls' soccer team in recent memory. I have been coaching the team a long time and we have never been in this situation before. What situation? This one. At tryouts on day one, there were 7 girls who tried out for senior and 15 who tried out for junior. We knew right away that we had a situation. After a few days, I sent our best 4 girls up to senior which brought the team down to exactly the starting number we need: eleven. However, Sophie got injured in the first game, so we were down to 10 girls. We had to bring up a bantam girl. That's never been done before.
What does this all mean? Well, we're not going to win many games and we hove to adjust our expectations. We finished the season with 1 win and 7 losses and did not make the playoffs. That's fair enough. The one win come against BCS. They had beaten us 5-4 in the first game and we knew we could come up with a strategy to beat them. That was our realistic expectation for the season. That was our goal. We went to work in practice and mode some adjustments for speed on the outside. We ended up beating them easily in the re-match by 6-2. That was a definite highlight. Mission accomplished.
Another highlight? The fact that you girls always come out to practice to work hard and enjoy yourselves and create an awesome team environment with team spirit every day. Not every team has that. I know, I have coached a lot of teams in a lot of different sports. We had some girls who had never played soccer before and ended up loving it because everyone was positive all the time. let's not forget that. That is one of the best lessons that sport can teach us.
Junior "S" to: Alyssa the best goalkeeper in the league.
Junior "S" to: Alex the best team captain in the league.
Junior "S" to: Luisa, the best bantam player on a junior team in the league.
Sportsmanship Award to: Sophie the best team spiriter (is that a word?) in the league.
Thanks to all you girls for constantly reminding me every day through your actions that wins and losses are not the ultimate goal of high school sport. You made my coaching job easy even though we were not out there winning. That's amazing.
Bantam Girls
Our season was definitely interesting. Although we did not win any games we did manage to squeeze in a couple of goals! Nine players is not a big number for o soccer team. Needless to say, we considered this to be a building year. It is especially tough when the opposition has as many players on the bench as we have on the entire team. No worries - we carried on. We played all of our regular season games and we had fun. The girls learned something about soccer, and more importantly, they learned about character. They learned about holding their heads high and about always giving their best effort, even when there was no gas left in the tank. Why? Because they are Spartans. Oh, and there is always the possibility of a trip to McDonalds! The memories that will stay with us: goofy practices, our runs to Tradition, the laughter, the blood, sweat and the tears, and of course, the pizza and cookies. It was a great season for the girls for building friendships and learning to work as a team. Wait 'till next year!
(From the Stanstead College website, September 17th)
Humble Beginnings
Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, we had only seven players come to opening tryouts. Seven. An all-time record low for Sr Girls’ Soccer. In fact, it would have been easy on that first day for Alissa, Mya, Kayla, Rina, Victoria, Luiza, and Tania to look around at the tiny circle of players on our big Sr Girls’ field and give up right then and there.
But Spartans did not become legend in history by giving up in no-win situations. No, quite the opposite – true Spartans are renowned for fighting their hardest when the odds are against them.
300 Spartans will always be remembered for battling 100,000 Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. How will these 7 Spartans in 2015 AD go down in Stanstead history?
Well, first of all, 7 became 11 when Anna, Chloe, Emily and Mackenzie agreed to “play up” from junior – now we can legally field a team. Then 11 became 13 when Becky and Lara defected from XCountry and intramurals to help out – now we have subs.
And 13 is how many bravely took the field yesterday against the Richmond Raiders in the opening home game of the season. Here we go!
1st Half
The Bad: playing too far back and passively on defense when in our opponent’s end; not charging their goalie looking for rebounds; not enough urgency in the box on Kayla’s throws and Mya’s corner kicks; poor finishing (hitting almost every shot straight at the Raider keeper); lack of communication; not alert enough on dead ball situations (goalkicks, throwins); overall team shape
The Good: the constant pressure applied by our midfield and our defense hammering the ball back in whenever Richmond tried to leave their end, Mackenzy’s low-laser crosses from the right wing, Kayla’s throwins, Mya’s poise, Alissa’s positioning, their goalie(!)
2nd Half
The Bad: one word – FATIGUE. 80 minutes is a long time to play with only 2 subs, so our defense often found themselves alone as our tired mids couldn’t make it back and our shape consistently broke down.
The Good: improved defensive positioning, especially Emily; Tania’s critical save on a Richmond direct kick that was tracking for just under our crossbar; their goalie again(!); Mackenzy finally getting rewarded for another rocket-cross that caromed in off a Raider defender – first Spartan goal of the season!; Rina gaining the box with some dirtylittlefeet moves, pulling it back to Kayla, who touches it across the top of the box and launches a beeyootiful shot under the bar for the 2-0 lead – Knife One! –; Tania’s pinball save that went-off-her-hand-then-off-the-post-then-off-her-head-then-barely-out; consistently stealing Richmond’s goalkicks; improved communication; improved charging of rebounds by the strikers; Mya calmly cutting upfield from her centerback position, then sending Mackenzy up the wing, who finds Kayla at the top of the 18, and Kayla again hammers a missile over the keeper – Knife Two!; and finally, the Play Of The GameTM – with 10 minutes remaining in a scorching humid marathon game, Alissa gets beat by Richmond’s best player #15, recovers as best she can, and over the course of the next 40 yards somehow tracks back at a full sprint, jostling/leaning/fighting the entire time, and ultimately chases her down and steals the ball back. What hustle and determination! Most players give up after 5 yards, but not Alissa. Not a true Spartan.
3-0 victory – well done, ladies! You’ve already come quite a ways from “seven on opening day”.
But we’ve still got a loooooong way to go. Let’s keep working and improving.
(From the Stanstead College website, September 20th)
Successful Day at the S.I.T.
9:00 am – Game #1 vs B.C.S.
Solid game all around, in an effort eerily similar to Wednesday’s tilt against Richmond. Great territorial pressure, perfect corner kicks and throwins by Mya and Kayla, one-on-one opportunities in the box, lots of scoring chances but no goals to show for it by halftime, the “Knife One!” cheer in the halftime huddle leading to 3 Spartan goals in the 2nd half (#1 Kenzy to Anna to Kbayla, #2 Kayla again after Anna disrupted the keeper on a rebound, and
#3 Alissa from outside the box), a late scintillating play from Alissa (this time a dirty spin move!), and a final 3-0 win. However, there was one big difference – better shape in the midfield thanks in large part to rookie Luiza Etscheit. In only the 2nd game of her life as a defensive midfielder she may have already figured out the proper positioning, and this improvement really helped keep the ball in the BCS end the entire game.
11:00 am – Game #2 vs The Study
Your Spartans kept the momentum going in this one, even though The Study are a bigger, stronger and more skilled team than BCS. For the first time this season we notched a goal in the 1st half when Mya hammered a direct kick bar-down behind the keeper. And when SC rookie Victoria MacGillivray tallied her first 2 Spartan goals within 5 minutes of each other – both of them due to hard-nosed hustle in the 18 – it looked like the rout was on. But then our short line-up caught up to us, and fatigue set in. We started losing some 50-50 balls, throwin-coverage disappeared, and communication got worse. But with the help of our bench – Ashley, Lara, Becky and Alex (moving up from junior to help us out for the day, thanks Alex!) – the team gutted out another 3-0 victory (and honestly, is that the only score we’re going to have this year?!).
1:30 pm – Game #3 vs Alexander Galt
Given that we were both undefeated, this became “The Finals”. But we hadn’t played anyone as good as Galt this year. Not even close. And it showed, as almost every Spartan looked surprised at how little time they had on the ball, and at how precise the Pipers were with their passes, their dribbling, and especially their first touches. “Almost” every Spartan. But not every one, because our four returning seniors – Mya, Kayla, Alissa and Ashley – had played at this speed many times before, and they showed their teammates just what it took to play against the best. Mya pounded goalkicks, led the defense and even cleared a sure goal off the goalline; Kayla and Alissa fought tooth and nail to win balls and slow down the Piper mids; and Ashley simply played the game of her life, never stopping, never quitting, always sprinting. Final score 3-0 for Galt (there’s that score again, weird), but the girls learned a lot on this day while piling up 2 wins, 1 loss, and a Runner-Up Plaque.
Congratulations, ladies! Enjoy your day off – three games in a row coming up this week!
(From the Stanstead College website, September 21st)
The Worst Feeling in Sports
Is when you lose a game because you didn’t work as hard as the other team. That’s what happened this past Monday in Richmond, Quebec. Despite Stanstead being the superior team on paper, the Raiders out-worked us. Despite the fact that we beat them 3-0 only five days earlier, the Raiders out-hustled us. Those 12 Richmond girls (only one sub) did not care at all that they hadn’t beaten Stanstead in years, they just kept on digging. Kept on fighting. And because of that, they took down a team with more players, more experience, and more talent. Is there a better way to win a game? I don’t believe so.
I hope our girls realize that one’s own effort is really the only thing you can control in sports. I hope our girls realize that the most important thing you can do after a game is look in the mirror and know that you worked as hard as you could. If you can’t do that, if you have to look away from your reflection, then you’ve experienced the lowest moment in athletics.
It feels bad. It should feel bad.
Let’s not feel that ever again.
(From the Stanstead College website, September 22nd)
Redemption
The good news is, after a truly embarrassing performance 24 hours earlier against Richmond, the Spartans redeemed themselves with 80 minutes of sustained effort and perseverance. The bad news is, it was against a phenomenal Seminaire Salesienne team that played some of the prettiest, most technical soccer I’ve ever seen.
For the first 20 minutes we barely touched the ball or left our end, such was the precision of the Spartiates’ passing attack. Most of the Spartans on the field had never witnessed that kind of impeccable soccer, never mind trying to defend it, so you can’t blame them for spinning around like weathervanes and falling quickly behind 3-0.
But here’s the good part. No, the GREAT part. Despite a built-in excuse to stop trying – “Come on, we’re not going to win anyway” – the Red & White scratched and clawed until the final whistle. Yeah, the Salesienne defenders may keep passing the ball around the back, but we strikers will keep chasing them. Sure, they never lose a 50-50 ball, but we midfielders will keep digging. Okay, their strikers are lightning fast and just rocketed by us for another unstoppable goal, but we defenders and our goalie will get ‘em next time.
Unlike the Richmond game, your Spartans worked their tails off all afternoon, despite the 7-1 loss. And they should be proud of themselves. That was a really tough team to play against. Like Mya said at halftime, “it’s like there are 20 of them out there!”. But each one of you can hold your head high, because you refused to give up.
Each one of you can look in the mirror without looking away.
Now let’s take this work ethic to BCS tomorrow.
(From the Stanstead College website, September 23rd)
!! Langevin !!
Your Spartans took their 3-game losing streak into Lennoxville yesterday to take on their oldest rivals, the BCS Bears. It had been a rough week, being on the wrong end of two blowouts to Galt and Salesienne, and laying a big fat egg against Richmond. But with a 4-day break coming up we had an opportunity to set things right. If we could play well today, we could put our frustrations behind us and move on to the rest of the season with optimism. It felt like a big game to me. It felt like a big game to the girls.
But we blinked. The moment made us play scared. Panicked. Despite a decent amount of effort, we just looked unbalanced out there. We played like we were afraid to make mistakes. Our mood, our mindset, it paralyzed us instead of energizing us. We couldn’t win a 50-50 ball. We were either a half second too slow, or a half second too fast. Nothing was gelling. We were trying hard physically, but mentally we were in a bad place, a place that kept us from playing with confidence. That kept us from playing well. That kept us from playing together.
So things looked bleak. With 25 minutes left in the game it was 0-0 against a team we had dominated 5 days earlier. Sadly, it looked like we were going to go into our 4-day break on a big downer…
And then Ashley Langevin happened.
Elizabeth gets a partial breakaway, the BCS defender makes a great play to cut her off, the ball sharply rebounds to a perfectly positioned Ashley, who is in perfect position and ONE-TIMES it into the short side for the FIRST GOAL OF HER CAREER! Her face lights up like an 8-year old at Christmas, and immediately, because everyone loves Ashley so much, everybody’s mood changes. Smiles all around. Cheers. Sunshine and rainbows. Confidence. Energy. Having fun instead of feeling panic. First to the ball now. Quick twitch muscles instead of heavy feet. Winning 50-50 battles. It’s like Ashley’s goal lifted a depression off our shoulders, and from that moment on we were a completely different team.
And the floodgates opened. Two minutes after Ashley’s goal, Kayla wins a battle, calmly sets herself, and hammers a shot that rebounds off the crossbar to an attacking Elizabeth who scores her first goal of the season. Three minutes after that Elizabeth sets up Anna who coolly finishes for HER first goal. And three minutes after THAT, Anna, who is now playing like a demon, ruins her defender, strips the ball, and knifes another one. Four goals in eight minutes – AREYOUKIDDINGME?!
Final score 4-0 for the Red & White. After Langevin happened, everyone played well, but special kudos to Leslie Mackinnon, Emily Willis and Player Of The GameTM Rina Takahashi for playing all game long with no fear and no panic.
Enjoy the 4-day break, ladies. And who knows, maybe next time you’ll even win the donuts .
(From the Stanstead College website, September 28th)
The Spartan Way
This past Monday, in Lebaron, four hours before our game against MVR, members of your Stanstead Spartans held an impromptu meeting at the Van Dyke lunch table. They were nervous, because in addition to Charlotte, Luiza, and Victoria being out of the lineup due to injury, word on the street was Chloe, and Kenzy, AND Tania (our goalie!) couldn’t play either.
Disbelief. Panic. Only 11 players left. And no goalie. Gulp.
But true to the Spartan spirit which has become the hallmark of the 2015 season, we found a way. Becky and Lara stepped into starting positions at striker and on the wing. Elizabeth immediately agreed to play right defense. And most importantly, Leslie selflessly volunteered to be goalkeeper. Honestly, there’s not much more a coach can ask for than players who will do whatever it takes to help the team.
Unfortunately, this unselfishness did not initially impress the soccer gods, as Massey Vanier scored a beautiful goal in the first minute(!) of play, finishing on a cross from their superstar #10. Man oh man – no subs, girls playing different positions, and we’re down 1-0 before we even get dirt on our cleats. This could get ugly.
But it did not get ugly. Only 3 minutes later Mya clinically finished a penalty kick, and from that moment on we enjoyed more possession, we were steadier at the back, and we created more scoring chances.
In fact, I thought overall we were the better team on this day. Alissa and Rina were always around the ball, Emily and Mya were their regular Steady Bettys at the back, Kenzy (whose mom cleared her to play at halftime when she – Kenzy’s mom – saw how much we needed bodies – now there’s a Spartan parent!) added a spark to the offense, Elizabeth was a threat whenever she touched the ball, Ashley worked so hard that she is on crutches today (seriously, what a gutsy performance!), and Player Of The GameTM Leslie Mackinnon was masterful in net, complementing her safe hands and quick decision-making with well-struck goalkicks and booming punts.
With all these positives, why couldn’t we break the 1-1 tie? Because we were the opposite of opportunistic. No matter how dangerous the through ball, or how close the direct kick, or how badly we beat the Viking defenders, we kept executing just poorly enough to not score. Poor touches, missed nets, poorly paced passes, etc. We had plenty of chances, but through a combination of panic and inexperience we left at least 3 goals out there, maybe more.
Ah well, that’s soccer. And honestly, if you’d told me earlier, at the lunch table maybe, that we’d tie MVR with only 11 players cleared to start the game, I would have been ecstatic.
But we CAN do better. It’s not an effort problem, it’s an execution problem. And we’ll keep working on execution until we run out of season. Because that’s how we Spartans roll .
(From the Stanstead College website, September 30th)
Never Better
Kayla Ouellet wins the ball in the midfield, and cleverly chips it over the top to Elizabeth Gaudreau. Elizabeth runs onto it, gains leverage, gets her opponent on her hip, and is two strides away from a breakaway when her defender desperately, violently fouls her from behind, just outside the box. It is a dangerous foul, bordering on dirty. Elizabeth gets up slowly, holding her left shoulder. Her opponent is also slow to rise, and when she finally gains her feet the referee books her with a yellow card.
Direct kick from 22 yards out. Mya Daigle hits a beauty over the wall, a shot that dips and bounces hard just in front of the keeper. Rebound. Elizabeth, charging forward at the same time the ball is kicked, pounces, tussles for the ball, and pokes it just past the keeper.
Jogging back for the restart, she’s still holding her left shoulder. The coach asks her if she’s okay.
“Never better”.
And those two words, folks, tell the story of the day. A day where Stanstead travelled to Lennoxville to take on the top team in the ETIAC, the mighty Galt Pipers. A day where your Spartans played their most intelligent, most disciplined game of the season. A day where the Red & White, despite being massive underdogs, flummoxed and frustrated a stronger opponent so much that we actually gave ourselves a chance to tie, or even win, this game.
A day where Leslie Mackinnon looked like she’d played goalie her whole life, and where Kayla Ouellet and Anna Thinphang had their best games of the year. A day where Mya Daigle, the quarterback of the defense, earned Player Of The GameTM honors with her poise, her positioning, and her ridiculously high soccer IQ.
A day where we had no subs (6 injured ), and had to play the ultimate bend-but-don’t-break defensive-shell strategy. A strategy that, despite relinquishing almost all ball possession to the Pipers, kept the game scoreless for the first 60 minutes, and ultimately led to a close 2-1 loss.
As a unit, as a TEAM, today was the first time this season that we were truly GREATER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS. Where our selfless midfielders, intelligent defenders, opportunistic strikers and blossoming keeper really understood their roles, and worked seamlessly TOGETHER towards a common goal.
So if someone asks me how I feel about the Galt rematch this Monday, or the upcoming CAIS National Tournament, or even the season-ending ETIAC Playoffs, I know what I will reply.
“Never better.”
(From the Stanstead College website)
Shutouts, “Mine!”, Iced Capps & Jarrod – CAIS 2015
Round-Robin Game #1 vs St. Mildred’s Lightbourn
What a way to start CAIS, with our finest game of the season! Led by Kayla Ouellet, the Spartans midfield dominated possession with quality first touches, excellent communication, and the best passing of the year. This performance from Kayla, Alissa Bissonnette, Rina Takahashi, Victoria MacGillivray, Mackenzie St.-Pierre and Tania Tesson produced superior chances for the offense, and Anna Thinphang was the first to convert, running onto a clever Alissa chip and knifing it bottom left corner after 15 minutes of play. Not to be outdone, the defense also played brilliantly, allowing one dangerous direct kick that was handled deftly by keeper Leslie Mackinnon, and not much else. Despite the score remaining 1-0 for the bulk of the game, the Red & White carried the play, narrowly missing on offense until Elizabeth Gaudreau scored late on a cornerkick scramble. Players Of The GameTM in this impressive 2-0 win were Kayla and Anna, who gave their best performances of the year. Kayla seemed to have the ball the whole game, and Anna took a huge step forward by confidently playing with her back to goal, shielding, and laying the ball off to her mids.
Round-Robin Game #2 vs The Study
Stanstead continued its stellar play with this 4-0 victory. Early on, Leslie’s booming punt bounded past the flat back line of The Study, Anna ran onto it and fired a low shot, the keeper spilled it, Goody jumped on it, and boom it’s 1-0. Soon after Kayla laid a poi-fect through ball to Elizabeth who easily outraced her defender and finished left-footed. Then, in the Play Of The GameTM, Alissa sent Liz in again (the defenders were STILL playing flat), Liz crossed it left-footed, and Tania struck it bee-yoo-tifully one-time for the first goal of her life! Trust me, no one on the team will forget Tania raising both of her arms in celebration with that huge smile on her face . After Player Of The GameTM Elizabeth completed her hat-trick on yet another breakaway (1st-touching Kayla’s pass with her back this time!), it was coasting time for the Red & White, whose biggest issue down the stretch was saying “Mine!” on loose balls…or “Mya”…I’m not sure which…
Round-Robin Game #3 vs St. Clement’s School
In a true David vs Goliath matchup (SCS was the consensus top team in the tourney), your Spartans earned a 0-0 draw in one of the best defensive performances I’ve ever witnessed. For 70 minutes, we chased the ball. For 70 minutes we dug and challenged and fought to keep up with the talented St. Clement’s midfielders. For 70 minutes our opponents possessed and beautifully moved the ball and hammered dozens of shots at us. And for 70 minutes we frustrated the heck out of them. Chloe Van Dyke was good, Emily Willis was great, Mya Daigle was fantastic. And Player Of The GameTM Leslie Mackinnon was simply sensational. In the best game of her life, Leslie was sure-handed, gave no rebounds, and was perfectly positioned. There was one save in particular that sticks with me, where she dove sideways and caught a waist-high drive perfectly in her stomach – seriously, did she only learn to dive THIS year?
QUARTERFINALS vs The Sacred Heart School of Montreal
Well, you can’t play well all the time. Up to this point the Red & White had offered up their best soccer of the season. But in the 1st half of this critical elimination game, we had no energy. No zip. No fire. We spent 35 minutes being second to every ball, and finally conceded our first goal of the tournament to go into halftime down 1-0. After a halftime rant from the coaches, the players responded well, and were a different team. A hungry team. A desperate team, led by Leslie, Elizabeth, Rina, Luiza Etscheit and Player Of The GameTM Mackenzie St.-Pierre. But the Saints defended well and, outside of one dangerous long strike from Mya, we never really threatened to equalize. The whistle blew, 1-0 loss, and the dream was over.
Friendly vs Lower Canada College
But I’m happy with the way we finished CAIS 2015, as we fought to another scoreless tie against a talented Lions squad. Similar to the St. Clement’s game, our midfielders spent most of their time chasing, but the difference in this one was our counterattack, which created several golden scoring opportunities. In fact, despite a huge edge in possession, LCC was lucky to escape with the 0-0 tie. Congrats to Player Of The GameTM Chloe Van Dyke for her best game of the season, and kudos to the entire team for finding enough in the tank to give such a solid effort in the 5th game of a long tournament.
So overall, a fantastic CAIS experience for this young team. The best soccer we’ve played all year, producing nine great halves out of ten. 6 goals scored and only 1 goal (!) allowed. Lessons learned about sportsmanship, our own and our opponents’. Progress and improvement made at all levels – defense, mids, and strikers. Impressive leadership from CAIS veterans Alissa, Mya and Kayla. Enough Tim Horton’s iced capps to give heart palpitations to a rhinoceros. And, of course, the introduction of the newest member of the Stanstead family – Jarrod from HTS .
Enjoy your day off, ladies. You’ve earned it!
(From the Stanstead College website, October 5th)
Spartans Outclassed 4-1 by Pipers; And an Apology
Man, that Galt is a good team.
We worked hard, we played smart, and we stayed disciplined. Our defensive shell was good and stingy in the 1st half, and even when we opened it up in the 2nd half and played the Pipers straight up, we were pretty good at that, too.
But it wasn’t enough. We were down 2-0 after 40 minutes (a textbook counterattack after one of our corner kicks, and a perfectly slotted penalty shot on an unlucky handball in the box), and ultimately lost 4-1 (two perfectly rocketed shots by Galt strikers – one on a set piece – with the lone SC tally being an “own goal” by a Piper defender).
For the vast majority of the match we kept them out of our 18, forced them to shoot from distance, and even created a few chances of our own on the counter. But the constant pressure proved too much, and they legitimately earned every one of their goals.
But that shouldn’t take away from our overall team effort, and the performance of a few players in particular. Victoria-Ann MacGillivray (jeez, that’s a long name, maybe Vicky-Mac from now on? ) returned from injury and played with an ideal mix of aggressiveness AND control. Chloe Van Dyke had her best game of the year going at right defense until she had to leave with a recurring ankle problem. And Tania Tesson, playing wing for the first time, showed speed, hustle, and good instincts both offensively and defensively. I think Tania likes it out there on the wing!
So yes, we got beat by a very strong team. But those are the games we need to prepare for the upcoming CAIS National Tournament, which is to be held in Richmond Hill, Ontario this year. There are going to be some elite soccer teams there, but every minute we’ve played against Galt (and Salesien) this season has helped get us ready for them. Nobody is going to surprise us, and nobody is going to intimidate us. We’re good to go.
So enjoy your break, ladies. When you get back, we’re on the bus right away. To Ontario. To the highlight of the season. To CAIS.
Let’s make some memories!
(From the Stanstead College website, October 20th)
Unresolved
In pretty well a carbon copy of the first time we played, this past Tuesday’s game against Massey Vanier ended in an unsatisfying 1-1 tie. Just like last time, the Vikings scored early to take the lead. Just like last time we tied it up ten minutes later (Elizabeth Gaudreau jumped on a loose ball in the box and coolly finished low left corner). And just like last time no one could score the rest of the way.
Overall we did not play all that well in this one. The Vikings dictated play for most of the game, and we failed to create very many decent chances on the counterattack, although that is due in part to MVR’s talented central defender.
However, there IS a silver lining here, and a rather bright one; this tie guarantees us a spot in the ETIAC Playoffs, which start next Monday.
And anything can happen in the Playoffs!
(From the Stanstead College website, October 21st)
David and Goliath
The year is 1063 BC. A young shepherd boy stands in front of a 9-foot giant.
The year is 2015, and your Stanstead College Spartans warm up on the other side of the field from Seminaire Salisien.
The giant is the undefeated champion of the Philistine army.
Les Spartiates had not lost a game all year, and had handed us our worst beating of the season a month ago, 7-1. Their defense was solid, their strikers lightning quick, and their midfielders were simply fantastic, possessing and passing the ball almost as well as St. Clement’s (the champions of CAIS).
The young shepherd boy has no armor and no spear; just a sling, a pouch of small stones, and a plan.
The Red & White knew they were outmatched, but with their defense and counterattack they knew they were a difficult team to play against. They knew ANYTHING was possible.
Such as Mackenzy St. Pierre coolly volleying home the opening goal on our only chance of the first 20 minutes. We had barely seen the ball all half, but here we were, up 1-0. Suh-weet!
Like the well-coached squad they are, Salesien didn’t panic, and they kept playing their game. But your Spartans settled down and grew more confident with the lead, and created two more golden scoring opportunities against the flow of play, with Elizabeth Gaudreau converting a perfect through ball from Mackenzy to make it 2-0 just before half. Wowza, 2-0 for us!
The 2nd half saw our opponents play more desperately, more north-south, applying pressure at every opportunity. But led by Mya Daigle and Leslie Mackinnon in nets, we kept the sheet clean.
Until, that is, a Spartiate long ball barely made it over Leslie and under the crossbar to cut the lead in half. 2-1 with 20 minutes to go, and Seminaire quickly runs the ball back to half for the restart, looking to keep the momentum going.
But these Spartans aren’t ones to roll over, and they absorb pressure like no one else. And then Leslie punts one 50 yards, and there’s Goody on a partial breakaway, and she gets pushed, but she keeps her balance like only Goody can, shoots left-footed and knifes it perfectly far corner – what a goal! 3-1!
Salesien then throws the kitchen sink at us, and with 2 minutes left they earn a penalty shot. But with the best PK save I’ve ever seen from a Stanstead keeper, Leslie makes the Play Of The GameTM, diving to the right and barely, with a fingernail, deflecting the well-placed low drive just outside of the post. Still 3-1…one minute left…30 seconds...then another penalty shot for Seminaire…they bury this one perfectly…our opponents again run the ball out for the restart…but the final whistle blows!
The shepherd boy slings the stone and strikes the giant in the only spot that can hurt him. The giant falls to the ground.
What a victory, what a game, and what improvement! From a 7-1 loss in Sept to a 3-2 win in Oct!
And to top it all off, Mackenzy, who already earned Player Of The GameTM honours, gave us the Quote Of The YearTM after the game – “Sir, I’m having the BEST day! I scored the first goal of my life, I had an assist, we beat a very good team, we’re eating at McDonald’s, and Mya hit the crossbar so we all get donuts!!!”.
Yep, a pretty good day, indeed.
(From the Stanstead College website, October 24th)
Home Sweet Home
On a cold, clear October Saturday, your Stanstead Spartans faced off against their oldest nemesis in the final home fixture of the 2015 season. And despite missing three starters, this game against BCS could not have gone much better.
After a slow start, our midfielders really hit their stride. Kayla Ouellet, Ashley Langevin (subbing in impressively for Alissa at defensive mid), Mackenzy St.-Pierre, Victoria MacGillivray and Player Of The GameTM Luiza Etscheit started controlling the middle, with Luiza in particular winning ball after ball by playing on her toes and anticipating the flow of play.
In fact, after a sluggish opening 10 minutes, it was all Red & White out there. Kayla opened the scoring from outside the 18 with a well-placed drive, and then Elizabeth Gaudreau ran onto a Mya Daigle through ball just before halftime to make it 2-0, finishing high short side with a left-footed dart.
The 2nd half is even better. Kayla sends Goody in early, and in her best breakaway of the year she calmly dekes the goalie out and rolls the ball into the empty net. Twenty minutes later Leslie Mackinnon sends one of her patented cruise missile punts over half which Liz turns into another breakaway goal, giving her the hat-trick, and Leslie her 3rd(!) assist of the season.
But it doesn’t end there. Becky Shen earns her first assist of the year by setting up Anna Thinphang, who knifes one from the edge of the box. And finally, Anna finishes the scoring just before the final whistle on another Kayla set-up; 6-0 final score, and a great end to the regular season!
Only the playoffs left. Semifinals Monday. Against the #1-ranked team, the mighty Galt Pipers. David vs Goliath, yet again. But we’ve seen David pull the upset before.
Can we do it again?
(From the Stanstead College website, October 30th)
E.T.I.A.C. Playoffs Report – Journey’s End
SemiFinals: #4-ranked Stanstead College beats #1-ranked Alexander Galt 2-1
Afterwards, at McDonald’s, I referred to this, the greatest upset victory I’ve been a part of in 23 years of coaching, as a “miracle”. I’d even decided on the title of my semifinal writeup as “One More Miracle”. But thinking about it now, the word “miracle” actually takes away from what this group of athletes accomplished. Because they didn’t just sit back and await some divine intervention. No, they gave themselves the chance by hustling, by digging. They believed in the system, they believed in themselves, they believed in each other, and they NEVER STOPPED. Against an undefeated opponent so talented, so adept at passing and dribbling and with such high soccer IQs that I believe only three Spartans would even MAKE their team, Stanstead stood in the ring, took the Pipers’ best shot over and over and over again, and kept getting back up.
In storybooks, miracles may just happen. But real miracles have to be earned.
Earned by Kayla and Alissa and Luiza, after a disorganized start, adjusting and improving their defensive coverage throughout the game, anticipating and reading the play instead of just reacting and chasing. Earned by the R-E-M (yep, Rina, Emily and Mya deserve their own acronym now ) playing with their customary brilliance at the back. Earned by Leslie shaking off the pressure and nervousness of playing against so many of her friends, by Mackenzy’s intelligent defensive positioning, and by Ashley’s hustle.
Earned when Player Of The GameTM Elizabeth Gaudreau put us up 1-0 with the best breakaway of her season (after 30 minutes of bend-but-don’t break team-defending), and when Anna made the Piper keeper pay for playing so far off her line, making it 2-0 ten minutes into the 2nd half. Earned by not panicking when Galt, after finally scoring to make it a one-goal game, proceeded to throw the kitchen sink at us for the last ten desperate, frantic, take-forever-to-blow-that-darn-whistle minutes.
But the whistle finally did blow, and the next 20 minutes would prove to be the happiest of the season. Hugs and laughter and parents congratulating and photos and posing. Pure joy. Not only at the result, but at knowing how we got it. How we earned it. Yes, the soccer gods helped us out, with Galt hitting our crossbar three times and narrowly missing several other times, but I’ll finish up with something I firmly believe – hard work doesn’t guarantee glorious results, but glorious results will never happen without hard work.
FINALS: #4-ranked Stanstead College loses to #2-ranked Seminaire Salesien 1-0
I would not have blamed the girls if they suffered a letdown after the GUVE against Galt (Greatest Upset Victory Ever), if they just didn’t have it in them to create “one more miracle”. But in the end, notwithstanding the final score, I was totally ecstatic about how we played in this one. In fact, I would put this game up there with our St. Mildred’s game at CAIS as our best game of the 2015 season.
Why? Well, the first time we played this talented Salesien team they crushed us 7-1; we never saw the ball. The 2nd time we played them, they again possessed the ball 90% of the time, but our counterattack surprised them and we engineered the second-best() upset of the season. But this 3rd and final time was different, as we did NOT play the game entirely under siege. This time it was an even contest, with possession maybe 60-40 in their favour, and scoring chances equal. The main reason was our defensive organization, which was the best it had been all season, so much so that a team that abused us with their passing 6 weeks ago were flustered into turnover after turnover. At first I thought Seminaire was just having a bad game, but I slowly realized that there just weren’t that many placese for them to pass the ball, we were that good.
So, with 5 minutes left in a 0-0 tie, with overtime looming, just as I was relishing just how much the girls had improved from those early, dark days, a Salesien forward chose that moment to hammer a perfectly struck ball top corner from 25 yards out to end our season - and I wasn’t even that upset. It was a good goal, and that’s what happens when two even teams play – one good goal decides it.
But to be EVEN with that team? After how we started the season? That’s the real victory. And to have graduating senior and captain and Player Of The GameTM Alissa Bissonnette choked up in the final huddle, thanking her teammates for the last soccer season of her life – that’s the real season summary.
We started from the bottom now we’re here.
We started from the bottom now my whole team’s here.
THANKS FOR THE GREAT SEASON, KIDS!!