SMA Game 3 vs John Caldwell
September 29 2025
The Eagles Soccer team ran into stiffer competition Monday night falling 5-2 to the John Caldwell Knights in Grand Falls. While the score was in favor of the opponents there were flashes of brilliance that the team can build from – we’ll get to that.
Keep in mind, we play with grade 6 to grade 12 players in a varsity league – this creates a unique physical challenge, particularly for the grade 6 -8 players who are new to the team. Additionally, this was the team’s first game on a grass field – a new challenge for some – the ball doesn’t roll as well as on the turf field the team is accustomed to. However, the field was in good condition and the grass was shorter than last year.
An early error by the team, resulted in a corner kick for JCS – a nicely delivered ball ended up with a good header in the back of the SMA net at 1:36 second mark. The Eagles had several good chances to score, but failed to get the ball past the JCS keeper. JCS added two more goals late in the half and held a 3-0 lead after 37’ where the two minutes of added time gave them their third goal.
Everybody played and everybody had some highlights – getting their heads up, a good pass or two and covering for their teammates. The Eagles clawed back two goals at the 40-minute mark and at 49’ both goals by Obey – one on a penalty kick.
Unfortunately, SMA missed a few chances to tie the game. Kyle saw much more action in goal than the first two games and performed well making several key saves keeping the game close. Had the team capitalized on their several good opportunities the scoreline could have been more favourable. However, JCS added two more goals to end the game with a 5-2 score. It’s the way the game goes.
We’ll continue to see improvement as the newer players learn the positions. We see improvements in ‘off the ball’ movement and improvements in passing. So far, none of the opponents play a similar style game as the teamwork continues to move the play around our opponents.
Each game the performance of individual players gets stronger but what is most impressive is how strong the team is together. The newer players take their lead from our seasoned veterans who treat all players with respect.
