A roaring crowd and an offensive onslaught helped lead the Christendom Crusaders rugby team to its second straight win over the Homecoming weekend, defeating Washington and Lee University 53-38. The Crusader soccer team followed that game with its own victory, thrashing Valley Forge 7-0, while the Lady Crusaders volleyball team won its 11th straight and the Lady Crusaders soccer team fell 7-0 to Howard Community College.
The Crusaders came into Saturday's rugby game 2-2 on the season, after a tough opening stretch against D-II rugby teams. The team, made up of many first-time players this season, is starting to gel at the right time, putting up big numbers against VCU last weekend and continuing that trend against Washington and Lee. Nick Cuddeback led the team with three tries, with Patrick Newton scoring two of his own. The 53-38 victory cements them near the top of their conference with one game left to play in the regular season. Another victory would seed the Crusaders favorably for upcoming tournaments, which will determine if Christendom can once again compete for the NSCRO National Championship.
The enthusiastic crowds, on campus for Homecoming, gave the Crusader soccer team an extra boost as well. After suffering a tough loss to #1 Johnson & Wales on Thursday, the Crusaders looked to grab an early lead against Valley Forge and did just that. Pete Day, once again, powered the Crusaders, with James Foeckler not far behind him. Together, the two scored all the goals for the Crusaders, with Day scoring 4 and Foeckler 3. Day now sits at #2 in the nation in goals scored with 17, only two behind the leader. The #4 Crusaders are now 6-2.
Away at Davis College, the Lady Crusaders volleyball team entered its match riding a 10=-game winning streak, which has seen them ascend all the way to #3 in the nation. The team has entered "refuse to lose" territory, and they kept up that attitude over the weekend, defeating Davis in straight sets 3-0. The Lady Crusaders are now 13-5 on the season.
At home, the Lady Crusader soccer team suffered a tough loss to Howard Community College, 7-0. The loss ended the Lady Crusaders' shutout streak at two games, dropping them to 5-6 on their season.