SB Soccer: ETIAC Season Wrap-up

The tactics worked well as the Spartans fired eleven shots to their opponent’s one shot in the first half, and more importantly, in the 29^th minute, Jordan finished off a great three-way passing play involving right winger Max and striker Henry. The 1-0 halftime scoreline remained the same until the game’s end. Also pleasing to the coaching staff and players was the fact that our style of play and relentless pressure did not let up for the entire game. Stanstead dominated the second half with five quality shots on goal, including a missed (goalkeeper save) penalty shot in the 60^th minute, to the Vikings’ one shot. The 1-0 scoreline indicated a close game but it did not reflect the Spartans domination of ball possession and the fact most of the game was played in MVR’s half of the field. Nonetheless, it was a great start to the campaign.

 

Entering their first home league fixture of the season, there was some trepidation on the part of the coaching staff that playing two games back-to-back this early in the season might be a bit difficult to overcome, especially against a fresh Galt Pipers team. However, these fears were quickly laid to rest because from the opening whistle until halftime, the Spartans, as they had done the day before, thoroughly dominated the play. Squandered chances early in the game caused a little concern, but Henry, in the 15^th minute on a goal mouth scramble, and again in the 16^th minute, with Max assisting, allayed those fears. For Henry, his two goals were taken with composure and assuredness, and they provided the Spartans with a boost in confidence they would ride the entire second half. Improving on their eight shots, four on target, in the first half, the Spartans unloaded eleven more (four on target) and a wonderful goal, his first of the season, from left fullback, Noah G., assisted by striker and fellow grade ten teammate, Felix. Goalkeepers Gabriel P. and Emanuel turned away the 3 shots they faced and shared the clean sheet in the process.

It was a quiet bus ride to Richmond on a glorious late September afternoon. For those returning Spartans, who lost the 2023 league banner by one goal and subsequently one week later lost the ETIAC playoff championship game 1-0 to those very same Richmond Knights, this was a statement game with plenty at stake and a lot to atone for. Well, it took Stanstead College exactly three minutes to show that the events of 2023 weren’t going to have the same implications in 2024. Midfielder Ryder retrieved the rebound from his initial shot and made certain he buried his second attempt to provide the visitors with a surprising 1-0 lead. Not long afterward, fellow midfielder Jordan laid on a great pass for Henry to score from close range and the Spartans led 2-0 at halftime. Playing on the Knights’ brand-new field, a far cry larger and of better quality than the one used for the previous season, suited the Spartans very well. As with the previous two games, Stanstead found a higher gear in the second half of play. More playing time in the offensive zone, better ball retention and possession, and two more goals not only produced an emphatic 4-0 away win but sent a clear message that the Spartans meant business. Eelis, from Henry, with his first of the season in the 67^th minute and Jeremiah, from Eelis, in the 80^th minute provided the insurance goals. Keepers Emanuel and Gabe did not face a single shot on target in recording their third straight clean sheet and 240 minutes of shutout soccer. Well-done to the boys!

 

It’s always a competitive game against our old rivals, BCS. As much as we are rivals, we’re also part of a long-standing tradition of brotherhood. And, as much as we like to beat BCS at whatever it is we’re playing, they too like to beat us. As boarding schools about a 40-minute drive apart, we need one another for the challenge to develop and improve. It is a different intensity, as post-game bumps and bruises can often attest, and an increase in player focus is needed to enjoy the sweet taste of victory. This game would be no different. Grant Field, home to the BCS Bears, is the largest in size of all the ETIAC school fields, and this year’s edition of the senior boys Spartans loved every minute of the game playing on such a smooth expansive surface. Our ball possession passing style of play really came alive on this afternoon as many attacks started from our defenders who played well-timed, accurate passes into our midfielders who, in turn, relayed defense-splitting passes to wingers and forwards who created crosses into the penalty area and shots on goal. For eighty solid minutes, the Spartans built their attack from defense and sent wave after wave of shots and crosses deep in the Bears’ end and at their goal. All eleven Spartan shots were directed on target, but none sweeter than when Henry, in the 37^th minute, finished off a Josh pass from inside the 6-yard box following a Jordan corner kick. Josh’s pass was the final product after what was a dazzling dribbling display, when he beat no less than 4 defenders in about a 10-yard space. Unquestionably, a goal-of-the-season candidate! This goal ignited what was already a fantastic first half of play for Stanstead College and the Spartans came out flying in the second half. Another nine shots, one goal post and goals from Henry, with his second on a great pass by Noah G, and Josh finishing Felix’s super pass from close saw the Spartans leave Grant Field with their best overall performance of the season. Advantage Spartans with the home contest scheduled for a week later.

 

The first half of the season saw the Spartans play three of their four games on the road. Compiling a perfect four wins, no ties, no losses record, scoring eleven goals and conceding none is an impressive feat no one saw coming. The goal for the second half of the campaign was to continue to improve our playing style, develop our technical skills base, and to be ruthless in front of the opposition’s goal; in other words, convert more chances into goals, and concede as few as possible. These objectives were achieved in the return fixture against MVR. We continued to play our style of game and impose it on our visitors. Three first-half goals, courtesy of two by Henry and the game’s second marker by left-winger Jeremiah put the Spartans in a dominant position to claim all six points against the Vikings. Henry, who has been a tower of goalscoring power this season, scored his hattrick goal, his eighth goal in five games, rounded out the second half’s scoring. Gabriel P. made two saves in the first half and, while he didn’t face any shots on target in the second frame, maintained his focus to preserve the clean sheet and extend the Spartan shutout form for five games and 400 minutes of action. The Spartans are on a roll!

 

The rematch, the second leg, the reverse fixture, a derby… all soccer terms for the second game in a two-game series between local rivals. Having been outplayed and outhustled on their own turf, the BCS Bears were not about to let that happen again in their away fixture with the Spartans. One could feel the difference in the pre-game warm-up. There was a different mood and feel amongst the visiting team, an intensity they had not displayed when they played on Grant Field a week earlier. Assuredly this stemmed from the fact that if they were to knock off the Spartans in this crucial match, then they would still be in the hunt to win the ETIAC regular season banner. So, for both teams, there was a lot at stake in this game. To their credit, the Bears came out flying on the opening whistle. First to the ball, winning 50/50 challenges, and asserting their aggressiveness must have been key talking points between the BCS coaching staff and players, because they were a much improved and more dominant team in the opening ten to fifteen minutes. This pressure paid off in the 10^th minute when an errant Spartan pass was intercepted and deposited into the back of the home team’s goal, giving the Bears an early and deserved 1-0 lead. On this play, two things happened to the Spartans that had not occurred all season. One, Stanstead goalkeeper Gabriel P. conceded a goal for the first time in league play. Secondly, the Spartans found themselves behind in the score for the first time this season. The question our coaching staff asked themselves was, how will we cope with these scenarios? Well, it did not take long for an answer. In fact, one minute later Jordan found an unmarked Henry inside the 18-yard box with a chipped pass, and Henry made no mistake when he volleyed the ball past the BCS goalkeeper to tie the score. This moment produced two effects. One, after their elation for having taken the lead, the Spartans goal immediately deflated the Bears’ enthusiasm. For the Spartans, their goal provided the spark they needed to shake off the early doldrums. Once they reset themselves for the kickoff at centre field, the Spartans were now ready to kick into high gear. A flurry of Spartan scoring chances ensued. Had we scored on half these opportunities the game effectively would have been over by halftime. However, it took us until the 34^th minute when Jeremiah, on the left wing, worked his way past his defender, maneuvered himself into a good shooting position inside the 18-yard box, and then let rip a wicked left-footed drive that left the BCS goalkeeper helpless. 2-1 Spartans. With their tails up, as Doccie likes to say, the Spartans were in full flight, and they capitalized again in the 39^th minute when Gabriel D. dribbled his way through the BCS backline and found the bottom corner to provide the Spartans with a 3-1 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Spartans took control of the game immediately following the kickoff and were rewarded in the 54^th minute when Jeremiah’s combination of speed and skill allowed him to venture through the Bear’s defense and score another beauty of a goal and extending the Spartan lead to 4-1. Stanstead were disappointed to concede a second goal, this time late in the game. Slow to pressure the ball in midfield, a Bears shot from long distance found its way over the head of Gabriel P. and into the Spartan goal. Clearly a case of us taking our foot off the gas, this goal taught us an important lesson – play to the final whistle and not a moment before.

 

Still bristling from the loss of the ETIAC league banner and playoff championship game to the Richmond Regional High School Knights one year ago, the Spartans wanted to settle the score one final time, this time on home soil. And that, they did! Stanstead opened the scoring at the five-minute mark and then proceeded to score three more times, all inside seven minutes of play. Gabriel D. opened the scoring on a great header from a Jeremiah corner kick. In the 9^th minute, a Spartan free kick was pumped into the Knights’ 18-yard box and Henry pounced on the ensuing loose ball in the goalmouth and volleyed it home for a 2-0 lead. In the 10th minute, the Josh intercepted the ball, dribbled into space and found a wide-open Henry whose defense-splitting run turned into a breakaway which he finished with the utmost composure. 3-0 Spartans. Then, in the 12^th minute of action, it was none other than Henry, on a pass from Noah E., who completed his hattrick in what must be an ETIAC record – 3 goals in 3+ minutes! Score at the half: Spartans 4 – Knights 0. Stanstead opened the second half with two goals in the first ten minutes to put any doubts about a Knights’ comeback to rest. Felix was Johnny-on-the-spot and scored the Spartans 5^th goal following Josh’s pass from the right wing, and Josh played goal scorer six minutes later when he gathered Jordan’s through ball and deposited it into the far corner for a decisive 6-0 Spartan lead with much of the second half to play. The Knights got on the scoreboard a few minutes later when a long shot caught the Spartan goalkeeper off his line and the ball sailed over his head into the net. The Spartans countered with two more goals, one an absolute belter from outside the 18-yard box by Max in the 67^th minute, and the eighth goal by Felix, who finished from in close following a smooth through ball by left fullback, Chris. Richmond completed the day’s scoring on a great free kick from about 35 yards, when it flew over everyone’s head and into the top corner. It was a beauty!

 

Unfortunately, Galt had to forfeit this game against the Spartans, resulting in a 1-0 score, which meant Stanstead completed the 8-game ETIAC league schedule with a perfect 8 wins, 0 losses and 0 ties record for 24 points, scoring 28 goals and conceding only 4 in the process. BCS finished in second place with 18 points, Massey-Vanier came third with 9 points and Richmond placed fourth with 4 points. So, the playoff scenario was set. Stanstead would host the Knights in one semi-final game while the BCS Bears would host the MVR Vikings in the other semi-final match-up. But, before the playoffs commenced, the Spartans would travel just after the Thanksgiving break to Aurora, Ontario, and the home of St. Andrew’s College for the annual CAIS tournament.