Crusaders fall to Ramblers in Catholic League opener

 

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By Dan Santaromita

During a winless start to the season, it’s natural to lose a bit of confidence.

Brother Rice has taken its lumps this season and that continued with a 3-0 loss at Loyola Academy on Tuesday night in Glenview in a Catholic League opener for both teams.

Coach Nick Markulin insists what his Crusaders (0-5-3, 0-1) lack is not in talent, but rather in intangibles.

“Not enough leadership in key positions,” Markulin said. “There’s no emotion, there’s no fire. That’s what bothers me.

“We gave it away, we gave up three simple goals.”

Of course, that kind of talk and the result could have been much different if Brian Kane’s chip from long range had dropped into the net instead of hitting the crossbar.

Kane spotted Loyola goalkeeper Sebastien Chavannes (4 saves) off his line, but the 40-yard shot was barely too high.

Instead of taking the lead, the Crusaders fell behind a goal less than 10 minutes later. Kevin Francis beat his defender and slotted a low shot past Brother Rice keeper Kevin Myren (7 saves) at 15 minutes.

The Ramblers controlled the run of play following the goal and Francis netted his second five minutes before halftime.

To add insult to injury Loyola scored the third before halftime under some controversy.

With a Crusader down injured and Francis appearing offside after hitting a shot off the post, Richard Poulton was able to score.

“Sometimes when you have chaos, chaos breeds chaos,” Markulin said of the strange sequence.

The Crusaders played a much cleaner second half, creating as many chances as the hosts for the final 40 minutes.

“We calmed down a bit, we played tighter,” Markulin said. “We put a little bit more pressure and we didn’t allow them to move around too freely.”

Kane, the team’s sophomore playmaker, showed quality in the middle of the field and junior forward Josh Chavez had some chances but the Crusaders didn’t have enough.

On a night when Markulin had few good things to say, he spoke very highly of Kane, who is also the field goal kicker for the football team.

“He’s going to be an incredible player,” the coach said. “I was just telling him you gotta start talking and going after everybody here.”

Markulin hopes someone will step up and be the team’s leader and take charge. He said a leader should take control and help to instill confidence in the rest of the group.

Starting the season winless through eight games wears on everyone involved with a team and the Crusaders are feeling that.

The Brother Rice coach hopes his team can get the monkey off their back and let the wins start.

“They’re great kids, great students, but it’s going to be quite a challenge,” Markulin said. “We’re going to improve, but how far we go it depends how much they’re willing to be pushed.

“All of this can be solved with a little bit more leadership.”

The Crusaders will look to get in the win column when they host Fenwick on Thursday.