The Spire

Patrick Grudberg ‘24 and Logan Gooley ‘24

Sports Section Editor and Staff Writer

As freshman year roommates, Patrick and I, Logan, have experienced the beauty of Holy Cross sports together over the past four years. As our final Spire Article, we wanted to create a memorandum of our favorite sports memories on the Hill.

Starting out freshman year, while we weren’t able to be on campus our fall semester, in our spring semester we watched the football team capture a Patriot League title after an outstanding 2-0 regular season followed by a 33-10 victory in the Patriot League championship game. In the Fordham game from that season, then-Freshman Quarterback Matt Sluka burst onto the scene, rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in front of the home crowd. 

While the team went on to lose to South Dakota St. in the first round, the short-lived season provided us a glimpse into what Sluka and the football team would become over our four years. 

Into our sophomore year, we saw the development of Holy Cross’ two most prided teams.

The football team took massive strides, finishing 9-2 in the regular season, capturing a third straight Patriot League title in the process. That season, Patrick and I watched live as Holy Cross captured its first FCS victory since 2002, with a 38-28 victory at UConn in the first game of the season. The football team also captured its first ever NCAA playoff victory, with Jalen Coker’s last second touchdown helping the Crusaders advance past Sacred Heart 13-10 in the first round of the playoffs during thanksgiving break. However, the winning didn’t end with the football team this year, as women’s basketball secured the 1 seed in the Patriot League, finishing with a 14-4 conference record. While the season was unfortunately ended by Navy on a buzzer beater, it showed the type of team that we would come to expect of the women’s basketball team. 

Junior year was arguably the winningest of our four years. It all began with the historic 11-0 regular season by the Crusaders football team. In week one, Coach Chesney’s squad got their revenge on the Merrimack Warriors (who beat the Crusaders 35-21 our sophomore year in the home opener) with a 31-17 victory in North Andover. Next, who could forget the Holy Toss? Any first-years should immediately go to YouTube and look up “Jalen Coker Hail Mary vs Buffalo.” The second victory over an FBS opponent in two years. The 37-31 win foreshadowed what would be the one of the winningest seasons in Holy Cross football history. After a string of five more wins, which included a Polar Park 57-0 shellacking of Bucknell, the stage was set for the biggest game of the season – a Ram-Crusader Cup duel vs Fordham on family weekend.

And what a game it turned out to be. After four quarters that saw the two teams put up 90 points combined, the Crusaders went down 45-52. Matt Sluka led the offense down for a score, only needing the extra point to tie the game. But kicker Derek Ng would never step onto the field. Chesney sent the offense back out for a two-point conversion. The rest was history. Ayir Asante in motion, the snap, the flip pass to wideout who scampered into the endzone untouched. Even though I, Patrick, was abroad in Ireland, I vividly remember listening to WCHC 88.1 FM’s online feed (shameless plug to my second-favorite RSO) and hearing the broadcasters (with play-by-play by our very own Ben Lepper) call the winning play. After this thrilling win, the Crusaders captured their fourth Patriot League Championship in a row (Quad-Peat doesn’t have the same ring as Three-Peat).

For three quarters of the national quarterfinal vs South Dakota State, it felt like our boys in purple and white could conquer the world. Tied up at 21-21 entering the fourth quarter against the eventual national champions, the Crusaders just couldn’t hang on. The 42-21 score does not reflect how close the game of a contest truly was. Once again, I felt tremendous pride to be a Holy Cross student with a football team that fought so bravely and successfully for everyone in the HC community.

As the football season wrapped up by mid December, the winning continued on the hardwood. The Crusaders women’s basketball team went 11-4 in non-conference play and were on a full-blown revenge tour after getting bounced in the first round vs Navy last season. Despite a stellar conference season, the BU Terriers captured the regular season title. The Patriot League tournament would inevitably run through Boston. And it surely did. The Lady Crusaders cruised to the Patriot League Championship game where none other than BU were waiting for their arch rivals. After being up by as much as 22, the lead dwindled down to 1 point with two minutes to go. But, Coach Magarity (who has ascended to legendary status in our four years) and company found a way to win, clinching the league title on the backs of Bronagh Power-Cassidy and Janelle Allen who combined for 37 points.

Unfortunately, the 2022-2023 Crusaders fell in their first round game vs Maryland 61-93 as a fifteen seed. This defeat set up what would be a huge piece of our senior year’s narrative. But first, we must recap the final football season on Mount St James. After another win over Merrimack, the stage was set for the Boston College game, a matchup with an old foe who we had only played once in the past 37 years. And despite the heartwrenching 28-31 loss, it was truly the most amazing display of school spirit we witnessed in our four years. After receiving a punt with 1:58 left in the game, lightning struck. Literally – a lightning storm broke out and the game had to be paused. Throwing caution to the wind, Crusaders faithfully raced to the endzone section, cheered, danced, and laughed in the rain for two hours until the game resumed. Matt Sluka, who we must applaud as a hero in the story of our four years on the Hill, took the first snap after the delay to the house. Raucous celebration ensued. We were really about to take down an ACC school. But, our star QB unfortunately stepped out of bound while tightroping along the sidelines. After an unfortunate fumble a few plays later, BC kneed the ball and finished things. Despite the immense disappointment, we still were so proud of the way our team fought against our Jesuit rivals.

While the rest of the football season was relatively successful, Coach Chesney’s unit unfortunately lost out on the sole claim to the Patriot League title and missed the tournament. Still, we witnessed the greatest four year stretch in Holy Cross football history, and we will never forget the tailgates and good times rooting our team on in the bleachers of Fitton field. Now was the time for basketball season once again. While the men’s team transitioned into the Paulsen era, the Magarity machine kept rolling. And somehow, the Lady Crusaders surpassed expectations once again, claiming a second straight league title on their way to March Madness. As a sixteen seed, Holy Cross drew UT Martin in the play-in round. What a historic night that was for Crusaders basketball. Led by Cara McCormack’s unconscious shooting from deep, they stomped the Skyhawks 72-45, setting up a matchup against Iowa and Caitlin Clark. Once again, like junior year’s SDSU game, it felt really real for about a quarter and a half. After winning the first quarter 23-21, the indomitable force of Caitlin Clark (who we all grew to hate for two hours) took over and eventually took a 91-65 win over our Crusaders. Yet again, despite the tournament loss, we felt so proud of our team and took yet another step by winning a tournament game vs UT Martin.

Before we wrap up, let’s give a quick shoutout to women’s lacrosse for their historic season this year. Amanda Belichick’s squad just beat Colgate in the Patriot League quarterfinals 14-9, and we’ll be rooting them on vs Navy in the semifinals this Thursday. To summarize it all, we witnessed five Patriot League championships and three NCAA tournament playoff victories in our four years. From the Covid spring 2021 3-0 season to women’s basketball’s win over UT Martin, we’ve been so blessed to have so many winning teams on campus. From our first ever article in the spring of 2021 (a piece on Julian Edelman’s retirement) to now, we’ve had the chance to cover all the Crusaders’ sports teams in the sports section. Signing off for one last time, the greatest roommate duo to ever write for The Spire, Logan Gooley and Patrick Grudberg.

Copy Edited by Will Donahue

Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics