From October 12^th– 16^th, the 1^ST XI soccer team participated in the Canadian Association Independent Schools (CAIS) annual tournament. The team headed into the tournament with a so far successful season with a league record of 6-1; as well, going undefeated and winning the Independent School Association (ISA) tournament in mid September.

The tournament was in Port Hope, ON and was hosted by Trinity College. Being a prestigious tournament, the CAIS tournament had 20 teams competing. Here is the list of the teams:

The Saints team left for Toronto 3 days before the tournament started so they could do team bonding, adjust to the time change, and get pre-tournament training in.

The first game of the tournament was against Stanstead College. Getting adjusted to the hard field took a little bit of time due to the ball bouncing so much, but once familiar to the field the team played superb. After about 10 minutes, Saints scored the first goal of the game and dominated the rest ending up with a 5-0 win. The next game was on the same day against Royal St. George’s College. The start of the game was not great for Saints as they made multiple bad passes and were sluggish. At the end of the first half the score was still 0-0. After a rough start, Saints came out strong in the second half scoring a quick goal off kickoff and then scoring again a few minutes later. The score ended 2-1 for Saints. The third and final round robin game was next day against Hillfield Strathallan College. The game started slow for Saints ending the first half 0-0. However, at the start of the second half, Saints scored quickly to take a 1-0 lead which ended up being the game winning goal in a 2-0 victory. Saints ended the round robin with a record of 3-0, guaranteeing them a spot in the quarter-finals.

Finishing top seed in their division, Saints played Appleby College in the quarter-finals. Appleby was highly skilled team who also went undefeated in the round robin. Appleby came out strong scoring the first goal of the game. At the end of the first half Saints was down 1-0. About 15 minutes into the second half Thomas Kirkwood(10) scored off a rebound to tie the game. Shortly after Saints struck again with Tyler Gilman(11) scoring on a penalty short. With some great saves by Fin Kelly(12) and great defending, Saints finished with a 2-1 win, which advanced them to the semi-finals.

Saints opponent in the semi-final was Ridley. Ridley was a big and strong team which had a round-robin record of 2-0-1. Ridley came out with a ton of energy and had numerous scoring chances; however, Jamie Catliff (12) scored first to take a 1-0- lead. Saints carried this momentum for the rest of the game winning by a score of 3-0.

The last time Saints won CAIS was 8 years ago in 2008 so Saints was very determined and motivated to bring home the CAIS championship. They were to play St. Andrew’s College (SAC) in the finals. SAC has always been a top team and has made the finals multiple times. Saints came out incredibly strong playing the best soccer they have all year. Scoring the first goal about half way through the first half was Ahmed Alghamdi (10). Continuing off the energy,Jamie Catliff (12) scored once again before the end of the first half to give Saints a 2-0 lead. Going into the second half with a 2-0 lead things were looking quite promising. Playing great defence Saints controlled the start of half until with 18 minutes left SAC scored a goal off a corner. A few minutes later SAC scored again off a cross to tie the game 2-2. Then with 3 minutes left SAC scored once again off a corner to take a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately for Saints they were not able to tie the game up and ended up losing 3-2.

Here is what 3^rd year player Anders Bretson (12) had to say about CAIS: “Undoubtedly, the CAIS experience was crucial in nurturing our team cohesiveness, togetherness, and sense of belonging. Experiencing the trials and tribulations of tournament soccer intensified mutual trust, and the joy of playing for the crest, and each other. One of the most amazing impacts is how the ‘grade barrier’, which has been tangible in p

revious years, isn’t prevalent – there is no hierarchy, instead, simply a conflation of individuals who have bought into the team ethos. There is no more exciting group to be part of.”

Overall, CAIS 2016 was a successful tournament for Saints bringing home silver medals. Hopefully the team can use this experience to improve their game and continue their great season. In the upcoming weeks Anders believes that the CAIS experience will help the team by, “Having a taste of high-stakes soccer will serve us well in the coming weeks, as we embark our journey to provincials, the most prestigious, sought-after competition. After the sting of a championship defeat to SAC, we have a concerted desire to avert the crushing weight of that feeling.”