By Leighton Geraghty
25 years in the making! Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026 saw the Gaiters Women’s Soccer team break a long-lasting streak of missing the playoffs. The 25-year curse, if you may, has been broken in a new era under the reign of Head Coach Fawn Mulholland. In only her second year as the manager of the team, Mulholland, alongside her staff, led the Gaiters to a 6-6-2 regular season record, seeing them finish fourth in the RSEQ. It was not an easy pathway to clinching a playoff spot. The Gaiters were in a race to the finish line as they dropped valuable points around the midseason mark, leaving their fate in their own hands with three games to go. Bishops went on to win their final three games of the year, permitting them to gain a playoff spot.
Over the course of the last five years, I have been fortunate enough to be able to follow the team as the play- by-play and colour commentator of the home games. There have been numerous ups and downs; you could say that these years have been quite the roller coaster ride. The team has battled shifts in coaching staff, injuries, and, unfortunately, outside critics judging them based on their record. But no matter the challenge, this team has persevered, facing these challenges head-on and showing the “haters” who they really are. While interviewing backline cornerstone Taylor Mason, I asked how the team was able to bounce back after a hard- fought season last year, finishing amongst the bottom of the RSEQ to clinching a playoff spot less than a year later. She replied, “Coming into preseason, we had a collective goal of making the playoffs and changing the narrative surrounding our program.
I think one of the biggest differences between this season and last was our team chemistry and our collective commitment to doing whatever it takes to be successful. We really bought into one another, embraced our roles and worked toward the same goal. There was a different level of accountability and belief within the group this year, and I think that ultimately translated into our results on the field.” Taylor has spent her past four years at Bishops, and she has been part of all of the ups and downs.
During our conversation, I asked her a hard thought question: In the early years of your career, how have you and the team been able to silence the outside critics? Mason, in good faith, answered, “I think for myself and for our team, we play our best when we’re having fun and not putting too much weight on outside opinions. Being a small purple school, we’ve definitely gotten our fair share of criticism over the years. But if anything, that has given us more motivation and made us hungrier to prove people wrong. At the end of the day, we try to focus on what we can control, which is how we show up for one another and how hard we’re willing to work toward our goals. As a team, we’ve learnt that the best way to change people’s perception isn’t by talking about it, but by showing it on the field.”
This year not only saw a 25- year curse broken. The 2026 season saw senior Teagan Handley handle business, getting the nod as a first-team RSEQ All-Star. She finished as the leading scorer in the RSEQ, finishing the season with nine points on four goals and five assists. Handley, who has expressed her interest in continuing to play football at the professional level, was a key piece in the Gaiters’ success and rebuild over the past four years.
The Gaiters will look to build on what they have accomplished this year in hopes of turning the program around and competing amongst the best in the RSEQ every year.
