The Eastside Catholic Crusaders and the Nathan Hale Raiders played a competitive match on Friday, April 19th, at EC High School. Both teams were extremely physical and had great team dynamics, but the EC boys were able to outplay Nathan Hale and secure the win by a score of 3-1.
The Crusaders went into this game missing three of their key players, one of them being their team captain, junior Eddie Davis. Davis broke his left wrist April 9th in a game against Bishop Blanchet, which has led to his absence on the field ever since. Davis is a great leader on and off the field, though, as he was cheering on his team and giving them guidance from the sideline. Also missing was senior Karam Singh, a forward who fractured his ankle and has had limited playing time since. Junior Santi Miguel has still been out all season suffering from a broken hip.
The first half started off strong for the Crusaders, securing the opening goal within the first 8 minutes. The goal was assisted from a free kick by sophomore Deo Antoun and headed in by sophomore James Civitts. Throughout the whole game, EC held most of the possession, as they passed well and played through the Raiders defense. Outside back, freshman Brady Beauparlant, had an impressive save in the 27th minute, kicking the ball out of bounds in the final third before Hale could have a shot on goal. The game was an aggressive one, as key defender Cole Luesebrink was injured with just 12 minutes left in the first half, but was able to get back up and continue playing. The goalie for the Crusaders, Gunnar Dark, made an incredible save, diving to get the ball on a one on one with a Hale forward with just 8 minutes left in the first half. The Crusaders then ended the first half on a high, with a second goal similar to the first. Antoun took yet another free kick that was finished by sophomore Cade Boehl with just 30 seconds remaining.
At the start of the second half, the Raiders had a chance to score but took a bad touch, which Crusader Xak Mitchell recovered and cleared up the field to Boehl for a breakaway. Under pressure from defenders, Boehl was forced off balance and just managed to get a shot off, hitting the post. Mitchell recovered the ball yet again and took an astounding shot, just off target and hitting the crossbar.
Although the Crusaders were dominating most of the game, the Raiders took up every opportunity they had to finish and did so with just 20 minutes left in the game. The ball was crossed from the right side and was headed into the right side of the net, leaving EC’s goalie no time to even react.
The Crusaders earned a penalty kick late in the second half with Boehl stepping up to dispatch the spot kick and seal the 3-1 result for the hosting Crusaders.
Eastside Catholic improved to 10-1-1 with their win, and Nathan Hale fell to 8-5 on the season. Nathan Hale will play their next game against Ingraham on 4/23 at 4:30 PM, while EC will battle Rainier Beach on 4/22 at 4:00 PM at Eastside.
