The Weekend Review

By Jared Prenda

All of the fall sports teams are deep into their Landmark Conference schedule and race to secure playoff positions as conference playoffs are set to begin in a few short weeks. Football, Cross Country, and Tennis all had bye weeks this weekend with most returning to action in the coming week.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team has had prolific start to its season, and currently sits as the tenth ranked team in all of Division III according to the US Soccer Coaches Association. This ranking marks the first time in program history that the team has entered the top 10 on the back of a 13-game unbeaten streak. The team currently sits atop the Landmark table with a record of 12-2-1 (3-0 Landmark), and leads the conference in both goals (38) and goals allowed (10). 

The first game of the Cardinal’s weekend was a Landmark Conference matchup as the team hosted Susquehanna at Carlini Field on Saturday, October 12. The River Hawks (4-9; 0-3 Landmark), struck the first blow as they took a 1-0 lead into the half, despite being outshot 15-2 by the home team. Catholic responded immediately in the opening minutes of the second half, as senior midfielder connected on a penalty shot in the 56th minute. Five minutes later, sophomore striker Ben Alexander recorded his Conference leading 11th goal. Susquehanna managed to bring the goal level again at 2-2, until sophomore midfielder Darius Siahpooh scored the game winner in the 88th minute.

The Cards dropped their second game of the week to non-conference opponents Washington College, 2-0. The team looks to return to their winning ways this coming Saturday, October 19 as they travel to Pennsylvania to face Juniata College.

Field Hockey

The Catholic University field hockey team currently sits in third place in the Landmark with a 2-1 conference record (6-7 overall). The team played in two crucial conference games as they took to the road to face Susquehanna University and Goucher College.

Catholic first traveled to Selinsgrove, PA, to face the River Hawks of Susquehanna on Saturday, October 12. The Lady Cards wasted no time finding the scoreboard as junior midfielder Kelly Cancelmo buried her fourth goal of the season off a pass from sophomore forward Julia Scanlon to give the team a 1-0 lead. The lead would hold until the River Hawks showed one last gasp of life by scoring with less than four-minutes to play to send the game to overtime. Junior Megan Shallow brought the game to a close almost immediately as she scored the game winner less than two minutes into the first OT period.

The game against Goucher was a far different story, as the Cardinals took the lead and never looked back. The team won the match up 8-0 on the back of a hat trick from senior forward Katie Anderson. Sophomore forward Hannah Bateman scored two of her own, and was joined by Cancelmo, sophomore Grace Jung, and junior Jess Waite who each potted a goal a piece. Cancelmo and Shallow each tallied two assists against the Gophers.

Senior defender Nicole Tsarias was named to the 2019 Division III All Star game on November 23, making her the fourth Cardinal in five years to be nominated to the team. The Cardinals returns to action this coming Saturday, October 19th as they host Juniata College at Carlini Field. The game is set to start at 5:30 PM. 

Volleyball

Head coach Nagy Abdelrazek and the women’s volleyball team fell 3-0 to Elizabethtown this past Wednesday. The road matchup pitted the 14-12 (0-3 Landmark) Cardinals against a 21-7 (2-1 Landmark) Elizabethtown team, who currently sit in third in the conference. 

Despite dropping all three sets, the Catholic side was never out of contention during the match up, as each set was decided by 5 or fewer points. Junior outside hitter Patricia Martinez lead the way for the Cardinals as she collected  10 kills and 15 digs during the contest. Senior middle hitter Isabelle Cooper led the team with 12 kills, while sophomore libero Caroline Kelly led the team’s defensive effort with 22 digs.

The Cardinal’s playoff hopes seem bleak as they are tied with the Goucher for the bottom spot in the table, but still have hope with three conference games remaining. The Lady Cards will host the Gophers of Goucher for senior night on Wednesday, October 23. This is followed up with back to back games against Susquehanna and Moravian the following weekend, allowing the team a chance to leapfrog its way into a playoff spot. The Cardinals next return to action in the Stevens New Jersey Classic this coming weekend October 18 and 19, as they will face off against three regional teams in the tournament.