Timmy Gleason ‘28
Staff Writer
And just like that the Fall sports season has come to an end. With all the Holy Cross fall sports teams wrapped up for the year, the winter teams have taken their place and will certainly provide some fresh excitement upon the Hilltop. Though the overlap when we were provided with the opportunity to watch fall and winter sports teams compete was short, we can now fully shift our attention to getting in a hockey, basketball, and swimming-type of mood. In this particular article we’ll be taking a look at both the Holy Cross Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams.
To address the elephant in the room, Archie Hatcher claimed the 2025 Patriot League Rookie of the Year at the conclusion of his campaign. The freshman forward totaled 1,170 minutes across 16 games. Hatcher also led the Crusaders in goals-scored with 6, was second in assists provided with 3 (only behind Junior Midfielder Kevin Cull, who had 5), and therefore led the Purple & White in the total points category, tallying 15 (a player earns two points for a goal and one point for an assist). Hatcher became the fifth player in the Crusader’s Men’s Soccer history to earn this honor.
Senior Defender Julian Beban also took home silverware, placing onto the 2025 Academic All-Patriot League Team. During this season Beban played in all 18 competitions, playing more than 1,200 minutes, helping the College on the Hill to 3 clean sheets.
Holistically, the Men’s Team ended with a record of 4 wins, 8 losses, and 6 draws and an inner conference record of 1 win, 5 losses, and 3 draws. Their Patriot League victory came emphatically against Army Westpoint (7-6-5 overall; 3rd in the Patriot League) as Freshman Forward Archie Hatcher netted a second-half hattrick to overcome a two-nil deficit. Behind Hatcher, Sophomore Midfielder Thomas Mancuso and Freshman Defender Cayden Walton both chipped in with 3 goals apiece. On the assist-side, there were six players that ended with 2 assists on the year, with three of them being freshman and the rest upperclassmen. Behind the sticks, between the three goalkeepers utilized throughout the season of Mateo Buyu, Alastair Hafner Schnee, and John Smith, the Crusaders kept 3 shutouts.
One of the captains, specifically Junior Defender Mary Sommer, was named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team following her success inside and outside the classroom. Sommer represented in every game possible for the Crusaders during the course of the year and accumulated a total of 1,723 minutes. She helped the Purple & White to an impressive 6 shutouts, including 3 back-to-back-to-back clean sheets against Marist University, the University of Maine, and the University of Albany.
The Women’s Soccer Team saw a huge improvement compared to last year, winning an additional game and drawing 4 more matches. They ended the year with a record of 6 wins, 7 losses, and 6 draws and a Patriot League record of 3 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws. For their impressive Patriot League campaign, and especially their win against Army Westpoint (11-5-2 overall; 3rd in the Patriot League – the Black Knights also won the Patriot League Championship and competed against the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-6-3 overall; 7th in Big Ten Conference) in the first round of the NCAA tournament) in the Cousy Cup to book their place in the Patriot League Tournament. Their journey in the postseason tournament ended in heartbreaking fashion, a penalty shootout against the Lafayette Leopards (5-7-6 overall; 5th in Patriot League).
Statistically, Fifth-Year Midfielder Sam Halligan led the way for the Crusaders with 4 goals. Following her is 3 Crusaders each scoring 3 goals this season, which were Juniors Karenna Beckstein and Abby Cushing and Senior Olivia Perez. The remaining goals came from 5 different Purple & White Jerseys across the span of the year. Beckstein also provided the most assists for the Holy Cross Women’s Soccer Team with 5, as 1 of them came crucially against Army West Point. Cushing was right behind her teammate, ending the year with 3 as she was additionally tied with Senior Forward Riley Grable. Perez, in addition to her 3 goals, had 2 assists then Sophomore Defender Caroline Bierfeldt, Junior Forward Charlotte Hancher, and Sophomore Forward Ava Graham rounded out the assists.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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