The Crusader

The LC softball teams both had successful seasons, with many more wins than losses and ties. The varsity teams even went to the championships, and they made it very far.

JV player Caitlin Hoos says that her team is like one big family. "I feel like everyone really talks to each other and we work really well together. When we do bad, we help each other, and when we do well, we keep it going!" The varsity team even made the newspaper multiple times - once for a whole article. The article was about the amazing game that ended their season. They had won that game due to multiple home runs and the astounding pitching of freshman Ashley Seal. The last game for JV unfortunately ended in a loss, but nonetheless, pitcher Shannon Hill pitched a great game.

The senior night was Thursday, May 9, and the turnout was large. All the rookie players came to send off the three varsity players that had played for all four years, wishing them the best of luck with their possible softball careers.

By Franco Giacomarra

The Lansdale Catholic 3 on 3 basketball tournament, originally scheduled for Wednesday March 6th, took place immediately after school on Monday the 11th. The tournament has been held annually for the last 7 years and this year’s event was organized by athletic director Steve Alpuche. The tournament serves as a fundraiser for Coaches vs. Cancer, an organization that has contributed over $87 million to cancer research in the United States. There is a fee of $25 per team and with 14 teams having competed this year, the total amount raised came out to $350. After 6 hours of knockout style play, the senior team consisting of Tom Gibbons, Steve Famularo, and Cole Sagan won the final game to take first place. Sagan and Famularo were both members of this year’s men’s basketball team who, despite a heartbreaking playoff loss to Archbishop Wood in the first round, posted their best season since entering the Philadelphia Catholic League in 2009. Steve Alpuche remarked “The tournament went well, everyone had a good time, and, most importantly, it was all for a great cause.” Complimentary Coaches vs Cancer T-shirts were provided for all participants as well as a trophy for the winning trio.

By Sam Covais, Sports Correspondent

The JV Softball team, consisting of fourteen girls, competed in its first game last week. The team competed against Hatboro Horsham High School, led by Shannon Hill, Lansdale Catholic’s fantastic starting pitcher.

At the end of the first inning, the score was 1-0, with LC in the lead. LC’s team played well, with minimal errors and great hits. Their eventual loss to Hatboro-Horsham was more because of their opponent’s superior batting skills. Hatboro-Horsham eventually thoroughly beat the Crusaders, with a final score of 1-7.

Despite this loss, the team is not discouraged. Rather, in a key interview with one of the players after the game, one team member said that she is sure that “by the end of the season, I’m sure we’ll come out on top. Sure it was a tough game and a disappointing loss. But it’s only the beginning of the season. A lot can happen.”

By Nick Maloney

On Wednesday, February 13th, the Lansdale Catholic boys’ basketball season came to a close. Despite a heroic effort against archrival Archbishop Wood, the Crusaders fell to the Vikings by a final score of 38-36. However bitter the final loss was, the 2012-2013 basketball season was one to remember. The Crusaders boasted a 12-12 record, including 4 wins in the Philadelphia Catholic League, one of the elite divisions in the state. Here is a few of the more memorable moments from this season.

• December 11th vs. Upper Moreland: Junior Corey Kirk connects with fellow Junior Kyle Pavlick, who nets a game winning finger roll layup at the buzzer. This thrilling win got the Crusaders off to a 2-0 start to the season.

• December 13th vs. William Tennent: Senior Chris Rudisil goes block for block (and arguably outplays) Tennent’s sophomore “phenom” Horace Spencer. The Crusaders extend their win streak to 3 games.

• December 19th vs. Neumann Goretti: Lansdale Catholic , after a buzzer beating shot by Senior Jim Rock, outplay the Neumann Goretti Saints, a team ranked highly in the state. With Rock’s shot, the Crusaders took the lead to end the 1st quarter, and continued to challenge the Saints throughout most of the matchup.

• December 21st vs. Pope John Paul II: Juniors Kyle Pavlick and Corey Kirk’s gritty defense kept the PJP offense stagnant for the majority of the game. Junior Brendan Schneider provided offense of the bench in the victory.

• December 28th vs. Harry Truman: Behind Junior Ander Riviello’s spectacular shooting performances, Lansdale Catholic goes 2-0 in the Wissahickon Holiday Tournament to capture the title. Riviello is named tournament MVP.

• January 7th vs. Bonner - Prendergast : Junior Brian Rafferty’s three point shooting and great passing elevates the Crusaders to their first Catholic League victory.

• February 8th vs. West Catholic: Seniors Matt Angelone, Dave Eckroth, Steve Famularo, Sean Hilsey, Jim Rock, Chris Rudisil, and Cole Sagan are honored at LC’s senior night. Dan Baker, the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, made the night extra special by acting as honorary PA announcer, as well as reading the introductions for the seniors. Jim Rock rose to the occasion by scoring 13 points, while Steve Famularo capped off the night by netting a long three pointer as the game came to a close.

• February 10th vs. Conwell Egan: Needing a win to force a playoff to decide the final spot in the Catholic League playoffs, the Crusaders came through with a gutsy, team performance. Brian Rafferty set up teammates Andrew Riviello and Jim Rock for big three pointers, as LC spoiled Egan’s senior night with a clutch victory.

• February 11th vs. Conwell Egan: In their biggest game of the year, where a loss would signal the end of their season, the Crusaders faced Conwell Egan for the second game in as many days and responded to the pressure in a big way. Andrew Riviello’s early shooting catapulted LC to a huge early league, which they never relinquished. Led by spectacular team defense (they held Egan to 35 points for the game) the Crusaders played their way to a resounding 15 point victory. This win gave the Crusaders their first Catholic League playoff berth in school history.

• February 13th vs. Archbishop Wood: Facing their rival Archbishop Wood in hostile territory, Lansdale Catholic played their gutsiest game of the year. To outsiders, the Crusaders were steep underdogs, but they played with confidence and poise for the majority of the game. Jim Rock’s three point shooting and Brian Rafferty’s acrobatic layups silenced the crowd, as they rose to a nine point lead in the early part of the fourth quarter. However, a couple unlucky breaks followed by Vikings three pointers gave Wood a slight two point victory and handed LC an emotional end to their 2012-2013 campaign.

Although the result of the final game of the season leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of the LC faithful, the basketball program certainly has a bright future and high hopes for next year. Four of the five starters from this past season are returning, highlighting a stellar class of 2014. Second year coach Ed Enoch has seen his team improve by leaps and bounds, emerging from their tough previous season to storm into the Catholic League playoffs. Look forward to many more highlights and successes from the Crusaders for years to come.

By Vicki Razzi

The Lansdale Catholic swim team ended their season with a splash during championships. The event were held at Lasalle University and all of the swimmers performed well. Some exceptional races were swam by Nicole Marshall (senior) and Cassidy Fries (freshman); both girls will be moving on to a more challenging competition. 

It's now time for the swimmers to bid farewell to their seniors and get ready for a new season which begins fall of this year. Mary Cate Coyle (sophmore) says, "It was so much fun and I'm really going to miss it. I can't wait for next year!" The swim team had a great season and is now looking forward to many more to come.

And the PCL champions are…LANSDALE CATHOLIC VARSITY!

The LC Varsity cheerleaders recently won the PCL championship and were able to go to the States competion in Hershey! After a long ride, and even longer competition, which ran from about 10am to 9pm, the girls made it to the top ten out of forty other teams. In the end, they placed 9th in the entire state. Freshman cheerleader Gabby Lippincott said that she was not expecting to go to states at all. She explained that it was one of the goals for the season, but she was so surprised when the cheer team finally achieved their goal.  Like any athlete before a big event, she said the whole team was nervous, especially when a few warm-ups went wrong. Despite all this, the adrenaline kicked in when the team stepped out on the mat and they hit a perfect routine.

Lippincott said that she hopes to make it to States again next year because “It was a great experience... it was really fun and interesting to see all of the teams and the talent on each team.” This was not the end of the season for the cheerleaders, however. On Saturday, February 16th, the LC cheerleaders hosted their own competition, and met some incoming freshmen cheerleaders.

They are truly showing just how great LC is everywhere the students go, and the community hopes for the best for the LC Cheerleaders during the rest of the season!

The Lansdale Catholic co-ed swim team had a great start to their season with their first meet. While both the boys and the girls on the team performed well, only the girls won their meet. There were lots of personal accomplishments made by certain swimmers as well. Nicole Marshall won the 100 freestyle and Cassidy Fries won both the 500 and the 100 breaststroke. The girls also emerged victoriously from all of their relays.

The swim team has been working hard to prepare for competition season since almost the end of last season. Before practices even started, they all attended a swim clinic during pre-season. Their coach also gave them a packet of workouts to complete over the summer to help them keep in shape. Now, five days a week from 5:30 to 7:30 in the morning, the team practices at the Lansdale YMCA. Though this sounds challenging, the swimmers all agree that it is rewarding. Mary Cate Coyle says, “It’s tough, but it’s so much fun and everyone should join”. When asked what the goal of the team is for this season Mary Cate said, “We really want to send a relay to states”. Hopefully with all the hard work and dedication each member contributes they will be able to make that happen.

Last Sunday night, October 28, during the onset of Hurricane Sandy, LC history was made when the Varsity volleyball team beat Cardinal O’Hara for the PCL Championship title.

When the girls arrived at Cabrini College for the biggest game of the season, their energy level was high, but so were their nerves. With a student section that vastly outnumbered LC’s, O’Hara seemed pretty invincible. This was the first time that LCVB had ever made it to the PCL champs, and their nerves got the best of them during the first set. O’Hara’s girls came ready to play, and they trumped LC by a huge deficit in the first set. Sophomore Brianna Gaul recalls, “But after that, our coach and captains gave a pep talk in the huddle and in the second game, we ended up going right down to the wire and winning by two!”

With their spirits lifted and their confidence restored, the varsity girls kept their momentum and fed off each other’s energy to play the best they had all season against their toughest competitor. Coach Joann Pisch supported her girls louder than any cheering spectator, and the team beat O’Hara in both the third and fourth games, winning the championship three games to one. The girls went wild and the post-game celebration was something they won’t ever forget as they proudly raised their Championship plaque above their heads and cheered. The feeling was especially sublime for seniors Ellie Greenhalgh, Taylor O’Neil, and Megan Mascornick, who have been working to earn this coveted title for four years. This title is the third PCL title that LC has won in the past three years.

The Varisity Volleyball team continued to the District 12 Championships last Friday, November 2, where they defeated Masterman Charter School. Now with both the titles of PCL and District 12 champions, LCVB will continue to PIAA Championship this week!

Congratulations and good luck, girls!

 Click here to see video coverage of the game, courtesy of LC Community and Alumni Youtube Account.

The Crusaders defeated Cardinal O'Hara 33-28 in their homecoming game this Saturday, October 27. 

LC started slow, with O'Hara scoring 21 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, LC came out strong and scored two touchdowns, giving the crowd some hope. At the half, the score was 14-28 with O'Hara in the lead. 

After the Homecoming Queen crowning at halftime (congrats to Mary Kate Brokans), LC had an explosive half, led by James Ward and Pat Dugan. Dugan had several strong drives and James Ward scored three touchdowns. LC also shut out O'Hara in the second half, pathing the way to victory. 

Congrats to all seniors who made the victory possible. 

A more comprehensive story is to follow, including quotes from key players. Stay tuned! 

While you're waiting though, enjoy pictures, stories and more about homecoming available at the "Homecoming 2012" section to your left. 

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