Archbishop Stepinac didn’t get off to the most auspicious start. Coming off a strong 2010 season, the Crusaders began this year with a tie against St. Peter’s and a loss to Regis. Neither opponent finished with a .500 record a season ago.
Those two results made Tuesday’s game all the more important. And Stepinac came through with a significant, 1-0 victory over Xavier in CHSAA Class AA boys soccer at SUNY Purchase.
“This is a big result for us, because we felt like we let the first two games slip away from us by making little mistakes,” Crusaders coach Jason Vargas said. “We didn’t want to let another one slip away.”
Jason Vargas Jr., the coach’s son, had the game’s lone goal on an assist by Chris Bernard. Goalkeeper Michael Pizutti had five saves in the clean sheet. Stepinac (1-1-1) hosts Archdiocesan foe Fordham Prep in another big match Thursday.
Xavier (1-1-1) had been coming off a tie with Fordham Prep and win over St. Peter’s. The Knights meet defending champion Iona Prep in New Rochelle on Thursday.
Holy Cross 3, Monsignor Farrell 2: Brothers David and Robbie Lago each had goals and Nick Ziangas had another to lead Holy Cross (1-1-1), which scored all three times in the second half. Frankie Palazzo tallied twice and Matt DiBuono added an assist for Farrell (1-2-0).
St. Francis Prep 8, Xaverian 0: Chris Joseph and Kenny Redzematovic each had two goals to lead St. Francis (2-0-1). Jason Gonzalez, Christian Mosqueira, Jefer Valladares and Brandon Silva also scored. Michael Kaleda and Lawrence Nikaj each had two assists. Xaverian drops to 0-3-0.
OTHER SCORES
Iona Prep 5, St. Peter’s 1