Pushing towards the postseason

With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Holy Cross men’s soccer team has put itself in good position to earn a spot in this season’s Patriot League Tournament. The top six teams in the final standings will qualify for the postseason, and the Crusaders currently sit in seventh place with eight points and a 2-3-2 record. Holy Cross is currently just one point behind American and Navy, and only three points back of Colgate. With a number of teams currently bunched up in the middle of the standings, the Crusaders know that the next two games at Lehigh (Oct. 28, 6 p.m.) and against Colgate (Nov. 1, 6 p.m.) are crucial if they want to continue playing into the postseason.

“These last two games are going to be like playing two finals,” head coach Marco Koolman said. “The first game is on the road, and a win is essential if we want to dictate our own destiny. From there, we will look at the last game and see what we need to do. But everything is on the line in these two games and we could not be more excited.”

After dropping three straight Patriot League contests in the middle of the season, Holy Cross has come back to defeat Bucknell (2-1) and tie Navy (0-0) in its last two conference games. During that time, the Crusaders have shown what they are capable of during the remainder of the year.

“We have been playing with a lot more confidence,” Koolman said. “We are playing much more compact from a defensive standpoint, and we are creating chances on the offensive end. Now it is all about capitalizing on the chances that we create and becoming more clinical in and around the box.”

With a strong finish over the next two games, Holy Cross would be making its third Patriot League Tournament appearance in the last four years. The one time the Crusaders missed out on the postseason during that time came in 2022, but that experience taught the team many lessons that have helped them this fall.

“The team realizes that everything counts,” said Koolman. “You can’t take your foot of the pedal. At the same time, you’ve got to continue to battle and compete because the other teams in the league are very strong and are looking to accomplish the same thing you are. Sometimes your results just may push you over the edge, whether that is with or without help of another game’s outcome. But right now, they know they have control of their own destiny if they take care of business.”

'SADER SHORTS

• Holy Cross holds a narrow 15-14-6 advantage in the all-time series with Lehigh, including a 5-2-1 mark over the last eight meetings.
• Colgate owns a 19-10-6 lead in the all-time series with the Crusaders, with a 4-1-0 record in the last five games.
• Junior forward Evan Jones and sophomore forward Ethan Gill are tied for the team lead in scoring, with both players totaling 13 points on five goals and three assists.

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