The No. 17 Cabrini Cavaliers’ five-game win streak came to a halt against the No. 8 Roanoke Maroons on Sunday, April 10 with a final score of 14-13. This loss is the Cavs third loss by one goal this season.
While the Cavs current record is 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the CSAC, Roanoke currently has a record of 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
“We knew they were ranked higher than us, but I do not think that had any effect on the game,” Dan Terenick, senior midfielder, said. “We knew they were good, but we also knew that we could play with them. You have to go into every game thinking you are going to win with the game plan you have. That’s how we think going into every game.”
Terenick isn’t the only player who had a positive outlook on the game against Roanoke.
“I was very excited about playing Roanoke considering they are the No. 8 team in the country,” Bobby Thorp, CSAC player of the week and sophomore attackman, said. “They got the best of us last year and we wanted to fire back strong this year.”
Even before the second half began, the match was neck and neck in its entirety.
Sophomore goalkeeper Erick Zarzecki made his career-high of 22 saves in his 30th-career start for the Cavaliers.
“Erick played a great game in the cage for us and proved he can hang with any shooters in the country,” Thorp said.
Ending the first half, the score was tied 6-6. Then, minutes before the game came to a close, senior defenseman Steve Heaps scored with only 18 seconds left on the clock, making the final score 14-13.
“We battled until the very last second of that game,” Joe Strain, senior midfielder, said. “It was a tough loss to take but at no point did anyone on the field quit on his teammates. Heaps put the team on his back when he scored with 18 seconds left to bring us within one goal, which gave us the opportunity to win the ensuing face-off and tie the game.”
Although Strain did win the face-off after Heaps’ goal, senior attackman Paul Skulski’s shot was blocked as the clock ran out.
Thorp led the Cavs with five points (four goals and one assist). Terenick tallied four points, three goals and one assist while junior attackman Brian Hill recorded two points with one goal and one assist, which marked his 100th point in his career.
Freshman attackman Matt Biegel also recorded two points with one goal and one assist.
Besides Thorp tallying five points for the Cavs, he was also named CSAC player of the week after the match against the Maroons.
“Bob really stepped up on Sunday and proved why he is one of the best players on our team and one of the best in the country,” Zarzecki said. “He is one of the hardest-working players on our team and definitely deserves it [CSAC player of the week] for his five-point performance on Sunday. He really kept us in the game.”
“It is pretty cool to be CSAC player of the week. But I would definitely trade it for a win against Roanoke,” Thorp said.
During the tight game, Heaps collected seven groundballs and Strain won 8-of-11 face-offs.
“I honestly was a bit disappointed in my performance on Sunday,” Strain said. “At certain points in the game, I illegally procedured and lost the chance of possessing the ball off the face-off, which is crucial in big games. Late in the game, when I stopped false starting, I did have some success.”
Despite this being Cabrini’s third-straight loss against Roanoke, the Cavs aren’t ready to give up on the rest of the season.
“This is the third tough loss of the season,” Terenick said. “We need to get greedy and steal a one-point win against a good team, and I think that will put our confidence as a team over the edge and allow us to win bigger games and play with more confidence.”
Upcoming contests for the Cavs include a non-conference game against Washington College and CSAC matchups against Marywood University and Immaculata University.
The Cavs next CSAC game is away against Centenary College on Saturday, April 16.
“Knowing that we are also a nationally ranked team, we are not scared of any other team,” Zarzecki said. “We always believe we have a shot against anyone if we execute our game plan.”
