Junior Boys Soccer

September 25, 2023 marked the Junior Boys’s soccer team’s debut this season, which was against St. Francis Xavier at our home field. The boys could be seen warming up while students and parents slowly started to arrive and sit on the sidelines. Returning faces accompanied with new ones would build excitement and curiosity as to how well the team could perform together.

After starting the game our players kept possession for a while but ultimately lost the ball when one of St. F.X’s player’s swept in and stole it. Following two unlucky missed free kicks from McCrae player Abdullah Ismail, St. F.X’s players rushed and ran hastily, making it to the other end of the field where they hoped they could secure a goal. The crowd yelled for our goalie, Harry Draper, to save it and Draper delivered with a swift block. Eventually, the whistle from the referee signaled half-time and both teams huddled on their respective sides of the field for team discussions. It was understood St. F.X would be a hard opponent, “A complete team, very dedicated to the game.” as the referee stated about them.

Returning from halftime, the teams switched sides of the field and St. F.X kicked off the second half. As the game started to pick up again, St. F.X’s players slipped through the defense and eventually secured a goal  45 minutes in. Not too long after, the opposition started to get dangerously close to our net again, resulting in two players from both teams colliding with one another and a penalty kick being given to St. F.X. Ethan Mo-yung, our second goalie who was substituted on, prepared himself for the moment but after a failed attempt to block the ball St. F.X celebrated their second goal. The pressure seemed to be getting to our players the more time passed as St. F.X gained two more goals at the 61 and 67 minute mark. 

Time was ticking and everybody seemed to be holding their breath as the anticipation grew. Our boys started to play forward again, weaving around the opposition and finally passing the defense, meaning the only hurdle left to tackle was the goalie. One last kick would send the ball to Hasan Qosa, who finished the job with a header into the net and after 73 minutes, McCrae celebrated their first goal with spirit filled cheers emitting from the crowd. As the game resumed both teams would continue to make great passes but eventually the game came to an end with the referee’s final whistle, meaning that McCrae lost 4-1 

Post game Coach Brandon Bourcier, when asked about his team’s leadership, responded, “My coaching philosophy is that I don't have a team captain because I want everybody to have that opportunity to express leadership and to show that they can take on that role.” Although I didn’t get a word with the captain, I did gain insight into Coach Bourcier’s respectable mindset. 

Also wanting to hear a spectator's thoughts on the game, Rumaan Shaik, former junior boys soccer team member, offered his opinion, “It wasn’t the strongest start, we have a lot to work on but I think there’s potential and we can do a lot better. We just need to practice more and get our chemistry together. I think they’ll do a lot better in the next game and we’ll win.” This game wasn’t the expected start to the season but it’s just the beginning to what the boys could deliver.