By Josh Torres ‘25
The Brother Rice Crusaders soccer team fell to the host St. Laurence Vikings in a 0-0 game (7-6 in penalty kicks).
Coming off a strong 4-2 win against the St. Ignatius Wolfpack, the Crusaders went in ready to take home the Christian Brother Cup. The Crusaders came out cold as they didn’t possess the ball well, almost letting up a couple goals to leave them behind going into the second half.
Junior goalie David Valencia didn’t let that happen. He saved a penalty kick to keep them in the game.
Valencia said, “I chose that side (left) because when he was setting the ball up, his eyes were looking at that side as well (left). His run-up went more to the outside which makes it harder for him to shoot it to my right.”
The Crusaders possessed the ball almost the entire second half, but couldn’t execute when it came time to score. Due to their great defense, the Crusaders were left scoreless.
Jimmy Gricus said, “We should have won that game. We had the ball almost the whole second half, but couldn’t take advantage of the chances we had.”
The Crusaders lost 7-6 in penalty kicks, keeping the Christian Brother Cup at St. Laurence High School. After their tough loss, the team looks to learn from their mistakes.
Angelo Piech said, “As a captain, big things for me were making sure everyone was focused and ready to go, and for the younger teammates since it was their first or second time playing in the Chicago Catholic League, I told them just to play loose and be relaxed.”
The Crusaders are taking it one game at a time to be the best they can be. They take on the Mount Carmel Caravan looking for a win.
