The Spire

Patrick Grudberg ‘24

Sports Section Editor

With a few weeks of play under their belt, the fall sports teams on campus are now beginning their slate of conference games. The football team plays its conference opener this Saturday vs. Colgate, men’s soccer finished 1-1 in their first Patriot League game vs. American University, and women’s soccer awaits Army on Sep. 20 after their narrow 0-1 loss to Lafayette College. The same goes for field hockey, who will have played their first Patriot League contest vs. Boston University by the time this article reaches you all.

As of Sunday the Sep. 17, Coach Lindsay Jackson’s squad stood at 2-3 after some tight games to start the season. Holy Cross’ season opener was a thrilling 1-0 double-overtime winner over the Stonehill Skyhawks. Senior midfielder Katie Guden scored the decisive goal, while senior goalie Brooke Ross blanked the Skyhawks attack with ten saves on the day. After losses to Northeastern and Brown, the Crusaders bounced back nicely with a 2-1 win over the Wagner Seahawks. Two goals by sophomore Julia Carroza and first-year Maguire Sturgis helped build an early lead by the second quarter. Even after giving up a score in the third, Coach Jackson’s squad earned a crucial road victory to get them back on track.

After beating Wagner on Sep. 9, it was a quick turnaround for their next match the next day at Long Island University. Despite a valiant effort, the team narrowly lost 2-3 in a close game. After an early goal by senior forward Allie McDonough, the Long Island scored two unanswered goals to take the lead at halftime. But, Holy Cross responded four into the third quarter with a goal by senior midfielder Haley Davis to tie things up. With only a few minutes left in the game, Holy Cross was shown two yellow cards, giving Long Island a crucial man-advantage. In the fifty-fifth minute of play, Long Island found a goal from Kiki Bruning and managed to hold on for the win.

Holy Cross was scheduled to start conference play on Saturday the Sep. 16 vs. Boston University. However, the looming threat of Hurricane Lee in the area this past weekend forced athletics to move the contest to Monday the Sep. 18. That game will have finished by today, so let’s hope Coach Jackson’s team started off Patriot League play with a win!

After five games, Guden and Sturgis lead the team with two goals apiece, while Carroza and McDonough lead in assists also with two apiece. Sturgis leads the team in shots on goal with nine, and Haley Davis leads all outfield players in minutes played (goalie Brooke Ross is the official leader at 270 minutes after playing almost every minute of gameplay so far). Ross has been one of the stars of the season so far, posting a .800 save percentage which is second among all Patriot League goalkeepers. Although Holy Cross currently sits in seventh place in goals scored per game, it is promising to see underclassmen like Carroza and Sturgis scoring early in the season. Pair that with a group of seven experienced seniors, and Holy Cross field hockey has all the ingredients for an exciting 2023 season. We’ll be checking in on Coach Jackson’s team later in the season, but for now everyone at the Spire is rooting for a great season from our field hockey team!