Thomas Healy ‘28
Chief Sports Editor
MacLean Selected to First Team
Marianna MacLean of field hockey was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year and was selected to the All-Patriot League First Team. MacLean led the Crusaders in the regular season with 25 points on eight goals and nine assists. Hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, the freshman standout made an immediate impact on a Holy Cross team coming off multiple seasons with a losing record. MacLean had a crucial assist in the team’s playoff-clinching win over American on October 25. Additionally, MacLean was 28th in the NCAA among all field hockey players and 1st in the Patriot League with 1.67 points per game. The squad will need MacLean, as well as All-Patriot-League Second Team members Maguire Sturgis and Mia McCloskey, to step up in a big way against juggernaut Lafayette in the first round of the Patriot League playoffs. The postseason formula is simple: win and move on. If the Crusaders can rally against Lafayette, they will go on to face the winner of American and Boston University for the championship. Good luck and go Cross!
Men’s Soccer Season Comes to a Close
Men’s soccer’s 2026 campaign came to a cheerful end on Tuesday night with a win over American. The team finished with a 3-8-7 record on the season, one win less than last year. Led by sophomore striker Archie Hatcher, the offense saw a noticeable uptick in form from last season. The Crusaders finished with 21 goals as opposed to 19 in 2025, as well as 96 shots on goal to 77. However, it was the defense that brought the team down in 2026. The Crusaders conceded 32 goals to opponents this season, an increase of 11 from the previous season. In soccer, the defense is ostensibly critical in goal prevention. However, what some overlook is the role the defense plays in getting the ball to the midfielders, wingers, and strikers. A soccer team that performs well on all cylinders is one that is a well-oiled, cohesive unit. Similar to a sport like hockey or basketball, all players on the field need to be able to make stops and then turn those stops into scores. When the defense can’t get stops consistently, then it brings the other parts of the team down with them. The team will look to bounce back in 2027 with a fresh slate.
Men’s Basketball Routed by URI
Losing by 43 in the season opener is less than ideal, to say the least. Somehow injured already, the men’s basketball team was playing behind before the first tip. Outmatched and outplayed, the Crusaders could not keep up with the Rams. Holy Cross was down 15-8 early in the first and stayed with Rhode Island until the depth and talent gap caught up to them. Starting for the Crusaders was D2 transfer Kole Hanson, freshman guard Tristen Wilson, junior Aiden Richard, three-point specialist Jude Haigh, and 6’11 center Chuck Hare. It was a peculiar starting five that hasn’t played a single college basketball regular season game together, one of the fallouts of the discontinuity stemming from the transfer portal madness last spring. Richard, a solid player with good positional length, has the most Division 1 experience among those 5. Averaging 5pts, 4reb, 1stl per game last year, Richard dealt with pain in his hand following an injury from some time ago. This forced him to completely restructure his shooting form and confidence in his shot. Richard has grown physically and become a defensive menace, yet his offensive game didn’t give this starting 5 the typical experience boost on offense a junior with Richard’s minutes would. Wilson, Hanson, and Hare carried the weight on offense for the Crusaders, combining for 30 points. Hanson led all scorers with 11 on 50% from beyond the arc. It’s going to be difficult for this Holy Cross team to break out in the Patriot League with the lack of a consistent, productive scorer. Relying on relatively unproven transfers and freshmen is a dangerous game but is the best option the Crusaders have going forward. In a preseason scrimmage against Central Connecticut, senior big Declan Ryan went down with an apparent foot injury. It’s now being reported he is out 4-6 weeks. Fellow senior Joe Nugent is coming off a torn Achilles from last January and won’t be physically ready until the new calendar year, at best. Playing down is never something a team wants to do this early in the season. But the best basketball teams have to react and respond to the challenges outside of their control. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, and nothing is irreconcilable yet, but Tuesday’s game was the epitome of brutality.
Copy edited by Julia Kane ’27
Featured image courtesy of College of the Holy Cross
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