Timmy Gleason ‘28
Staff Writer
The celebration of the members of the Holy Cross men’s soccer team on Saturday, October 26, was an astounding success. The team recognized the significant contributions of eleven seniors, including goalkeeper Tristan Stephani, midfielder Marcus Williams, defender Nick Hupe, defender and team captain Connor Bagdon, defender/midfielder John Kowalski, midfielder Liam Coffey, senior Evan Jones, midfielder/forward Jonathan Klein, midfielder Ivor Teagle, midfielder and team captain Jake Williams, and goalkeeper Josh Tubbs, who will all graduate this upcoming spring semester.
Defensively, the game entailed a second straight game with a shutout, and fourth total across the entire regular season. Offensively, it would be a familiar face who would score for the Crusaders, Evan Jones, and the first half goal was assisted by sophomore midfielder Kevin Cull to seal the deal. The goal marked Jones’ sixth score in this year’s campaign, and Cull would earn his third assist so far throughout this regular season. Furthermore, this win serves as a huge monumental booster, previously and recently defeating an additional military school, the Navy Midshipmen (4-6-4), at Linda Johnson Smith Stadium, by a score of three-to-nil.
Both of these victories, against fellow Patriot League opponents, are significant as the Holy Cross men’s soccer team seeks a bid in the Patriot League tournament for the first time since a quarterfinal appearance at the end of the 2021-2022 season.
An appearance in the Patriot League Tournament is not far-fetched. The men’s soccer team sits fourth out of ten Patriot League schools, but remains deadlocked in a five-way-tie. To ease the pressure and essentially secure a playoff position, the two last games will be the difference makers. Today, November 1, the Crusaders will travel to Washington, DC, to face American University (4-5-6), boasting a conference record of three wins, two draws, and two losses, sitting one position above Holy Cross. A win, or even draw, in the nation’s capital will surely relieve tension with the following game against Boston University (3-3-9) at Linda Johnson Smith field. Victories in these games would almost certainly set a date with an opposing school in the infamous Patriot League Tournament, but the Crusaders don’t have to dance with destiny by themselves.
The current leaders, the Bucknell Bisons (6-6-3), will play the Lafayette Leopards (8-5-3) in a consequential matchup, today, November 1. Furthermore, Boston University, which also sits slightly above Holy Cross as it stands, will need to travel approximately four-hundred miles to the home of the Midshipmen. Losses, or even a game declared honors even, would vault Holy Cross not only into a playoff position, but also in contention for the Patriot League Title.
Both November 1 and November 5 will be days to mark our calendars to remind ourselves of the stakes, but also provide an opportunity to escape. These games will undoubtedly decide the future standings of the men’s soccer Patriot League standings. However, we should remind ourselves that we can always have a helping hand, with the unknown results of other competitions that other institutions have not played yet. Sometimes, all we need is a little miracle, similar to the goal scored within the dying moments of a fierce matchup with the nationally ranked Clemson Tigers that sent a small, Jesuit, northeastern college into a frenzy.
Featured image courtesy of Patriot League
Web Edited by Zexuan Qu ’28
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