CAIS U15 Girls’ Soccer Tournament

The GNS U15 Girls Soccer team showed off their skills at the CAIS U15 Girls’ National Soccer Tournament in Montreal last week. Arriving in Montreal on October 2, they had a ‘tour day’ for the team where they bonded and got to know each other better. It proved to be beneficial as the U15 team included Grade 9-6 players. “It was a lot of team bonding because we hadn’t played together before — some of us had, but others hadn’t,” explained Louisa, noting it was a fun day before they had to focus on the competition. Their first day in Montreal, the girls got to be tourists; they ate local cuisine, took in the local attractions and had a fun time shopping. During the evening the team relaxed and got ready for the CAIS Tournament the next day. In the first match of the tournament, the girls took on one of the host schools, The Study. Our Gryphons played hard and were defensively sound throughout with the game ending in a 0-0 tie, with the game and the shutout going to Riya. After a quick lunch break, the girls were back on the field for their second game of the day, this time against St. George’s School of Montreal. It was a bit of a slow start for the team, especially offensively. That is, until Taylor buried a shot in the final minute of the first half! The Gryphons’ offence continued to soar in the second half with Taylor recording her second goal at the 38-minute mark and Sienna scoring a beautiful goal from a cross pass by Sophia at the 52nd mark. The final score was 3-0, with Sophia and Abby getting the shutout in goal. For their third and final game of the day, the girls took on Hillfield Strathallan College (HSC), in what would be a hard-fought battle by both teams. HSC was able to take advantage of a few opportunities in the first half and the Gryphons went down 2-0, but it wasn’t over: coming into the second half, they knew they had nothing to lose. Abby scored four minutes in to cut HSC’s lead in half after chipping a shot right over their goalie. Six minutes later Taylor tied the game after blasting a shot from 22 yards out. Continuing to battle back and forth down the field, GNS played with great skill and determination. Taylor scored again at the 52-minute mark to take the lead. But HSC pushed back and netted a goal from distance to tie the game. With only two minutes remaining, Chanel broke through HSC’s defensive line and scored! After playing out the remaining time, including two minutes extra of injury time, GNS won 4-3! “We beat a team that got second last year, and it was such an amazing feeling at the end of it. It was a balanced game the whole time,” said Riya. “It felt good at the end to win.” Day two of the tournament saw the GNS squad play two games. They started the day off with a 2-0 win against Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s School. Their second game of the day against Halifax Grammar School didn’t have the same ending, with GNS being handed their first loss of pool play. Despite GNS having the third-best record in the tournament going 3-1-1, they finished third in their pool, which meant they played in the Consolation Semi-Final. “In the end, it was really surprising how far we went, and we were proud of ourselves because at the beginning we didn’t think we would be able to go that far,” said Sophia. Their semi-final matchup was played against a familiar rival as they went head-to-head against HSC for the second time in the tournament. The girls came out with confidence and it only took seven minutes for GNS to strike first when Abby sent a perfectly-placed ball to Taylor to send her on a breakaway, and she would not miss. Abby and Taylor both continued on a hot streak, both scoring a goal to end the first half with a 3-0 lead. After some pushback, the Gryphons were able to keep the door shut against HSC and move on to the Consolation Final. With a hard task ahead, GNS faced Sacred Heart School of Montreal in their final game of the tournament. Sacred Heart was able to keep control in the first half, but the GNS defence fought back hard. Riya made amazing saves to keep the game tied. Abby was able to go against the flow of the game to send the ball to Taylor, who scored an incredible goal in the top corner. Only a minute later, Sacred Heart was able to score a free-kick from 25 yards out. Riya got her hands on the ball, but the powerful shot couldn’t be kept out. The teams went into the second half tied 1-1. The Gryphons played hard in the second half, controlling the ball and pushing offensively. The team created multiple chances but weren’t able to capitalize on them. With 10 minutes left in the game, Sacred Heart scored the go-ahead goal—and the eventual winner—making it 2-1.”It was fun, and it was a tough team,” said Sophia of their final game of the tournament. The girls made GNS proud with their determination and performance at the CAIS tournament. Go Gryphons!