Cardinal Sports Report: August 29

Image courtesy of CUA Athletics

By Griffin Cappiello

As the CUA Cardinals return to campus and the classroom, they also return to the field, court, and course!

Men’s Cross Country had a strong start to the season last Friday at the Mount St. Mary’s 5k Duals. Of the seven teams competing, the Cardinals’ 77 points earned them second place, only finishing behind UMBC, a Division I program. A strong race by freshman Michael Brunet, who finished second among D3 runners and thirteenth overall, tallied 10 points for the Cardinals. Women’s Cross Country totalled 156 points, finishing sixth out of eight teams, but placing second among Division III teams. Freshman Olivia Sobkowicz finished second among D3 runners and fourteenth overall, ranking ninth in program history in the 5k.

Volleyball opened their season last weekend at the Captains Classic in Newport News where they faced off against #21 Christopher Newport and Coast Guard, falling 0-3 in both contests. They also fell short in a contest against #2 UW-Whitewater, which finished 1-3. The Cardinals got their first victory of the season Wednesday night on the road at Mary Washington, winning 3-1 with dominant performances from sophomores Julia Raab and Laci Freitas, each picking up 9 kills. Their home opener is this Saturday, September 6, with a tri-match in which the Cardinals take on Eastern and FDU-Florham.

Women’s Soccer began their season last Friday at home against Franklin & Marshall, falling 0-2 before picking up their first win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 win against St. John Fisher, courtesy of a goal by senior Peyton Coron. They fell short in a close 0-1 match on the road against Bridgewater on Wednesday night. The Cardinals travel to play Haverford this weekend and return to Carlini Field next Wednesday, September 10, to face Marymount.

Men’s Soccer had a hot start to their season, picking up two wins in their first two matches. Last Friday, they won 1-0 on the road at Shenandoah with a goal by Donik Elshani on his Catholic debut, while Tuesday night, they won their home opener at Carlini Field against St. Mary’s with a decisive 4-1 result with goals from seniors Holden Woodings and Ben Zimmer and freshmen Carson Shamoo and Christian Backich. The Cardinals, unanimously picked to win their third consecutive Landmark Conference Championship in the preseason coaches poll, will go on the road to DeSales this weekend, before returning home next Saturday, September 13, to face #4 Washington & Lee.

Field Hockey dropped their season opener in a close 0-2 match against #23 TCNJ. The Cardinals also fell 1-2 in their home opener against Randolph-Macon, though junior Bella Reyes scored her first goal of the season. They return to Cardinal Stadium this Saturday, September 6, to take on Dickinson.

Football opens their season this Friday, September 5, with a home game against McDaniel, while Women’s Golf will attend the Shenandoah Invitational this Saturday.

For more information on all things CUA Athletics, visit catholicathletics.com or follow @catholicu_cards on social media.