Saint Mary’s Academy gets a Hard-Earned Point Against Carleton North High School
The 12-nation team from Saint Mary’s Academy earned a 2-2 draw against the Varsity Boys soccer team from Florenceville’s Carleton North High School (CNHS) on Monday September 25th. Once again nerves were tense, but the players stayed cool, for the most part. If you consider nine players from middle school with only one Grade 12 student against a grade 10-12 roster. Wow! Such a great performance. Carleton North had a lot of strength and speed, but the skill was largely with SMA.
A look at the SMA players one sees so much potential. Carleton North scored first in the 13th minute. And Zizou tied the score in the 21st minute. J-P and Eita anchored the SMA defense the entire game with consistent steady play. The coach tried a few different combinations to see who would work well together. With 20 players on the roster there can be multiple combos and a lot of juggling. Salva, Tyson, Benoit and Taisiia all had supporting midfield roles while Steven alternated in as striker.
Carleton North scored a beautiful goal off a corner in the 30th minute and took a 2-1 lead into the half. A shorter than usual half time break and the team hit the pitch primed to play. Sookie, Issa, Dimi and Alex all worked well supporting the central defenders. Horland had assignments all over the field and performed well in every single one. Noah and Steeve played large, far larger than anyone could anticipate or predict. Christiano held the left fullback position with the maturity of a player 6 years his senior. Kind of impressive.
CNHS had several attacking opportunities, but our newly hatched goalkeeper, Gab, was alert, and made some great stops. Pretty good hands for a new guy! After a lot of hard work and a few offsides, Obey, supported by Lorenzo, was able to find space in a busy penalty area and slotted the ball home in the 50th minute to tie the score.
Carleton North had a few more scoring opportunities in those last 20 minutes, with several attempts going wide and others being smothered by Gab, who backstopped the game. “That 20 minutes was the longest month on record” said one fan.
Everyone played. Grade 6 to grade 12, boys and girls, all enjoyed the game. Two injuries occurred, Dimi was injured in a tackle and Benoit’s ankle kept him from returning to the match.
The players all thought we had a better game than the first, in spite of not having a practice between. The coaches agreed. 19 players at the game means limited playing time for some, but no complaints. This team has incredible spirit, and most of all respect and support for each other. See below for some gorgeous shots captured by team photographer/teacher Ms Emma Burke!
Captains Zizou and Lorenzo praised the team efforts and were pleased with the outcome and performance.
