The Spire

Aiden Konold ‘26

Staff Writer

The Holy Cross Lady Crusaders’ Varsity soccer team has fought their way to a 2-4-2 record out of the gates, their record an indication of the difficult schedule they were dealt to start the season. Three of the Lady Crusaders’ four losses have come against non-league opponents, including tough Rutgers and Northeastern teams. The Lady Crusaders’ fourth loss came in the Patriot League opener on the road against a talented Lafayette team this past Saturday, the final score 1-0. 

Along the way to the Patriot League opener, the Lady Crusaders picked up big wins, including a 4-0 romping of a talented Vermont team, and a 2-1 win over a solid Bryant team. The Lady Crusaders’ schedule has situated and prepared them well early on, as Patriot League play ramps up. 

This season, Holy Cross head coach Ben Graham’s goal is for his Lady Crusaders to earn a spot in the Patriot League playoffs. The Patriot League is known as being one of the most physical divisions in women’s soccer, especially because it contains two service academies in Army and Navy, so Coach Graham’s goal will be a challenging feat. Under head coach Ben Graham, though, the Crusaders have earned a reputation for being the most physically challenging team to face in the league. 

The Lady Crusaders have maintained their physicality this season, but there’s another thing that makes Graham’s 2023 squad a force to be reckoned with: offensive production. Through the first eight games of the 2023 campaign, Graham’s girls have scored ten goals, one short of their 2022 season total. In Holy Cross’ 4-0 win over Vermont back on September 7th, four different Crusaders scored, and it’s not just forwards that are finding ways to score. Of the ten goals the Lady Crusaders have scored this season, only one has come from a forward. The other nine have come from defenders and midfielders. 

Over the past several years, scoring has been a challenge for the Lady Crusaders. In the words of senior Ellie Zern, a forward for the Lady Crusaders, what has been key to the team’s offensive efficiency this season is “finding the type of people that can get on the end of goals, and have the willingness to score because scoring and winning is not easy, but it is definitely something we have gotten better at, [and] it’s definitely something we are [still] looking to improve upon.” Graham’s girls are looking to get better every single day, which comes through working hard and competing. 

Under Coach Graham and the team’s four team captains, seniors Francesca Ciatto, Cerys Balmer, Sydney Baldwin, and Allie Raynor, the thirteen newcomers have all integrated well, a result of the leadership exhibited by the coaching staff and more experienced players every single day. 

In her role as a senior leader on the team, Ellie Zern says that staying positive is really important, which she exhibits through her “next one” motto. As she explains in her motto, “if you have a bad play or if you have a bad touch or if you have a bad shot that skyrockets, then I just say you’ll get the next one.” That motto has been on full display this season, as the Lady Crusaders bring the physicality and intense effort against every single team they face, making the most of every opportunity they have been given. 

Each of the thirteen newcomers is “very competitive and skilled this season,” in the words of Zern. This competitiveness has elevated the intensity of the entire team, and this season, “everyone is becoming more offensively mindsetted.” 

As the season continues, Zern says the next progression for a strong 2023 is “continuing to score goals every single game, and not being satisfied with just scoring one or two. We just have to keep pushing and be willing to get on the end of the ball or make that final run in the ninetieth minute even if you don’t want to do it.” 

This level of effort is what has led Holy Cross to be recognized as the most physical team in the Patriot League. Zern says exhibiting “physicality puts other teams on their heels.” Holy Cross looks to keep up the offensive firepower they have exhibited thus far and stay true to their physical identity. Doing so may very well result in the Lady Crusaders earning that spot in the Patriot League playoffs as Coach Graham aspires to. 

By time of print, Holy Cross will have played Army in a Patriot League battle at home. The Lady Crusaders’ next game is scheduled for this Sunday at 1pm when they take on Patriot League rival, American University, in Washington, DC.