School Spirit on Display at Colonist Cup Final

December 2, 2022

Academics

GNS

Going into the match, the atmosphere was amazing; students from GNS came over to UVic to cheer on the team despite having to endure the cold weather, and there were cameras everywhere.

The Senior Team has shown great resilience and courage throughout this season and this match was no different. From the very beginning, they showed their desire to win and did not give Reynolds an easy night, though they did unfortunately concede two goals in the first half.

Going into the second half, the team did not lose their belief; even though they were down by their goals, they did not show any sign of backing down, even when it got darker and colder as time passed. Our breakthrough came when Callum Shillington ’23 got a goal for the team with a left-foot finish. The boys never stopped fighting until the end, but unfortunately, it came down to a 2-1 score for Reynolds winning them the Colonist Cup.

Regardless of the result, the team played exceptionally well throughout the entire match. They gave everything they got and never backed down from the challenge. Congratulations to Reynolds for winning the trophy, but our GNS team should be proud of what they have achieved. Here’s a message from our coach, Anton, following the final:

I just wanted to thank the GNS community for the support at the Colonist cup final. I was so impressed by all the staff, parents, and alumni who came out and a big shout out to the students who came and made signs for the players. I took home the sign that was made for me and it’s hanging on our staircase at the moment.

I really felt the strength of the GNS community last night, supporting and encouraging our boys to fight right until the final whistle blew. I’ve always admired the togetherness and spirit of this group but thought it was unique to the boys on our team. This is clearly not the case. I learned last night why Bunny loves her job so much at GNS. There is such a positive togetherness and spirit about the whole school. That was on full display last night, thank you!

I was so proud of the effort that the boys showed in the game, especially in the second half. It was too bad to fall short. I talked to one of the boys from Reynolds who I coach outside of school soccer. He said that although they were thrilled to win the cup, they felt a bit lucky to win the game in regular time.

I was most impressed by the attitude of the boys. They seemed to all understand how amazing their performance was. We often talk about how you can’t lose a game if you give 100% and leave everything on the field. I think we can all agree that was seen last night. They may not have lifted a trophy, but they were all winners.

Well done boys and thank you GNS for the awesome experience.

From November 21 to 23, the team competed in the ‘AA’ Provincials from where they finished fifth in the province. Our striker, Alex Vroom ’23, was awarded the golden boot for the tournament for scoring an astonishing eight goals in five games. Well done to the team and congratulations on an amazing season!