9.30.07 Crusaders Notch Weekend Double

It was double delight for the Crusaders over the weekend as they downed teams from Arkansas and Florida behind stingy defense that saw So. 'keeper Sean Mapsen (pictured) keep two shutouts. First it was John Brown University from Siloam Springs in Northwest Arkansas that was put to the test and found wanting followed by Webber International from Babson Park in South Florida.

Against JBU on Friday (9/28) Sean McNally headed a Jared Wooley cross back across goal for Carl Reynolds to finish inside of 5 minutes and the Crusaders never looked back. Wooley scored himself just before half-time from an Elliott Lewis pass to give Carey a 2-0 interval lead. In the second period the Crusaders shut down JBU and never looked in danger.

On Saturday (9/29) Webber International proved a much stiffer test. Nationally ranked in 2006 the Warriors dominated possession but were limited to long range shots as the Crusaders again defended intelligently and with purpose limiting the visitors to four on target shots all game. Goalkeeper Sean Mapsen marshaled his defense well and came up big with the save of the night on a one on one breakaway in the first half. Tony Restino in the Webber goal made a superb save from Joseph McNiell but both defenses limited goal-scoring opportunities. Top scorer Jared Wooley nicked the game winning goal in the 54th minute after quick thinking from Joseph McNiell from a quickly taken free-kick. The Crusaders defended their lead resolutely with freshmen center-backs Rob Rogers and Orane Swaby strong through the middle and held on to claim a much needed weekend double and improve to 5-8 on the season.

Coach Boulton was pleased with the performance of his team and said, "We rode our luck a little in the second game against Webber but even though they had a lot of possession we defended extremely well limiting them to long shots. Our concentration and focus was the best it has been all season and we were organized and tough to break down. This was a tremendous team effort from front to back."

The Crusaders are at home to Louisiana College on Tuesday (10/2) at Crusader Field before a difficult road trip to powerhouse N.C.A.A. Division 2 West Florida on Thursday (10/4). The men return home to face Georgetown (KY) on Saturday (10/6) at 7.00pm.