By Bradley Melchor, sports editor
With the men’s and women’s soccer teams traveling to Abilene to take on arch rivals Hardin-Simmons and McMurry University, both teams went into the weekend with the possibility of securing back-to-back ASC regular season championships.
The women’s team kicked off the weekend with a crucial win over Hardin-Simmons on Thursday night, with a goal from junior forward Natalie Mason and clean sheet from junior goalkeeper Reagen Williams securing a narrow 1-0 victory for the Cru.
The men’s team also took care of business on Thursday night, with goals from sophomores forward Xjavier Martinez, forward Alex Bethke, and midfielder Mason Munoz pushing the Crusaders to a 3-2 victory over the Cowboys.
The women’s team were in control of their own destiny on Saturday night, as they would secure their second consecutive ASC regular season championship with a win against McMurry. The Crusaders found their winning goals early, as a first half brace from senior forward Mackenzie Worthy would be enough to see the Crusaders leave Abilene with a 2-0 victory over the Warhawks and another ASC regular season championship.
The men’s team however would need a little bit of outside help on Saturday night, as they would secure their own ASC regular season championship with a victory over McMurry, and second place Concordia either drawing or losing to Hardin-Simmons. The Crusaders handled their end of the bargain, with a brace from Munoz pushing the Cru to a 2-0 victory over the Warhawks. Just down the road, the final whistle also blew in the Concordia match, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw. With this result, the Crusaders celebrated their regular season championship and secured the right to host the ASC Championship Tournament.
With both regular season championships clinched, the Cru men’s and women’s soccer teams will look to close out their undefeated regular seasons when they host Concordia University on Saturday night for their final regular season game before looking toward the conference tournament. The women’s match will kickoff at 5 p.m while the men’s match will kickoff at 7:30 p.m at the Cru Soccer Fields.
