By Timmy O’Hara ‘24
The Brother Rice Crusaders entered the playoffs as the one seed. Brother Rice is in the running for winning state. This has not been a factor since 2004.
Soccer at Brother Rice has had some rough patches lately, but everyone is saying that this is the year for Brother Rice soccer.
Senior Tyler Wojcik said, “This year is definitely our year to go all the way and win the whole thing.”
The soccer team’s eagerness to win has definitely shown. The team has already won the Catholic League and they have no plans of stopping there.
The Crusaders played Oct. 17, for their first playoff game of the year. The soccer team played Englewood STEM at St. Rita in the semi-finals. As the one seed they played the 16th seed.
The Crusaders scored 10 goals in the first half. They shut Englewood out, forcing a slaughter in soccer. The IHSA has stated a new rule that if a team is up by nine goals or more in the first half then the game is over.
Eoin Cox said, “I went into the game and played my hardest and I scored my first Brother Rice soccer goal in my career.”
Everyone on Brother Rice’s team was able to play in the game against Englewood. This allowed everyone to experience the atmosphere of a playoff game. It also showed everyone that Brother Rice is a team and they can all play.
Jimmy Gricus said, “I really enjoyed seeing all of my teammates take the field and play a great game of soccer.”
This is the first Brother Rice soccer playoff win in a long time. The program for soccer is taking a turn for the better. People are beginning to recognize soccer at Brother Rice to be an exceptional program.
Brother Rice soccer is making a name for itself and there is much more to come.
