Timmy Gleason ’28
Staff Writer
Both the Holy Cross Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams are fiercely competing against powerhouses across New England, and especially now since Patriot League play is in full swing.
The Holy Cross Men’s Soccer team, in their second interconference game of the season, recently played Loyola University Maryland (2-6-1 overall; 9th in Patriot League) while the women’s team drew to Bucknell (3-5-3 overall; 3rd in Patriot League) on the same day.
For the men, they currently sit seventh (tied with Colgate and Lafayette) on three conference games being played and a total of two points.
For the women, they sit in eight on par with Loyola Maryland (3-2-5 overall; 7th in Patriot League), who they competed against in their first Patriot League game.
On the topic of the Patriot League, there have been several Crusaders who have been nominated for several respective awards for the Patriot League. We’ll be looking at the players who have garnered recognition for their outstanding performances that have warranted national acknowledgement.
Senior midfielder Olivia Perez was named the Midfielder of the Week for her contributions for the week of Sept. 1. The midfielder scored against the University of New Hampshire (2-3-3 overall) in a 3-1 victory over the Wildcats and also provided an assist during another home competition, which the Purple & White won, versus Marist University (4-5-2 overall). The Senior has been the only Crusader to have been named as Patriot League Midfielder of the Week for either Holy Cross team.
An additional outfield player was also nominated and named a Patriot League Player of the Week during the week of Sept. 1, which was junior defender Karenna Beckstein. Across the two games at Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium, the defender not only anchored the backline but also netted her first goal of the season (against University of New Hampshire) and supplied a brace of assists (versus Marist).
In a week when the women’s team won resoundingly, senior Perez and junior Beckstein ran away with the titles of Patriot League Midfielder of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week.
First-year goalkeeper Aubrey Haesche has not only won the title of Goalkeeper of the
Week once, but twice! The first-year undergraduate received this honor first for the week of Sept. 1, recording a clean sheet and only conceding a goal out of two games.
Then again the following week for claiming another shutout in a draw versus the University of Albany (1-6-2 overall). This two-week stretch has proved to be pivotal so far in the women’s season as they have jumped up the Patriot League standings.
This past week, the men’s squad has accumulated a significant amount of interest as three Crusaders were named as honorable mentions for their respective categories.
Sophomore midfielder Thomas Mancuso, the leader in goals scored for the Holy Cross Men’s Soccer team, netted his third of the season in a dub against Stonehill College (2-6 overall).
Junior defender Kyle Martell played the entirety of both matches that the Purple & White played in that week, while only conceding a single goal and playing the role as a playmaker to record an assist.
First-year forward Archie Hatcher has caught fire recently, as he was the other goal scorer in Holy Cross’ win against away at Stonehill and set up a variety of goal-scoring opportunities in a goalless draw against the Lafayette Leopards (3-5-3 overall).
On the topic of the freshman forward, he has been the only Crusader so far this season for the men’s team to be named to any of the Patriot League Player of the Week categories, which was on Sept. 15.
Undoubtedly further along the season each Holy Cross Soccer team will rack up dozens of nominations, just like they have already done so far this season. With each nomination, it will just be a matter of time until the awards are announced and assigned to the Hilltop in recognition of their success throughout the weeks and ultimately the season.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
Copy Edited by Lily Wasmund ’28
Leave a Reply