It was an unexpected night at Dollinger Field, as the Cathedral Prep soccer team lost their first match all season. On Oct. 7 the Ramblers played their second match against their rivals, the McDowell Trojans. This followed up on the Ramblers’ previous 4-0 win over them, only a few weeks earlier. 

Cathedral Prep’s goalkeeper managed to shut out the Trojans all 90 minutes in their previous match up. That shutout streak ended at the 35-minute mark of the second game giving the Trojans a 1-0 lead. The Ramblers managed to group back together and began attacking the Trojans the rest of the half. Still, the McDowell student section was present and didn’t back down.

At the end of the half, there was no production from the Ramblers’ offense.

“We just weren’t able to concentrate on scoring, especially with them [the student section] saying some degrading things to us,” said Luke Trocki, a sophomore forward for Prep.

This continued throughout the second half, while the two teams battled it out. The game remained scoreless after the first goal until the 11-minute mark when the Trojans slotted away one more near the end of the game, making the game 2-0 in the Trojans’ favor.

The game played out with no more goals being scored, keeping the game in the Trojans’ hands. It was an upsetting and unexpected loss for Cathedral Prep, who just beat them by four goals no more than two weeks prior. 

This game was played under the organization “Kickin’ It For Cancer.” All proceedings from the purchases of the tickets were donated to fund the organization. Following on this, Mercyhurst Prep senior Aidan Mack came out at half-time to talk about his current battle against cancer. Aidan gave a moving speech, explaining his battle, and thanking those who support him.

Everyone wishes Aidan the best of luck throughout his battle and will keep him in prayer. 

Prep and McDowell have now split their two soccer matches this season.

“We hope to be back next year,” Prep sophomore Noah Handzel said. “We’ll be more prepared for the environment we’re playing in.”

Next year will be an exciting year for soccer, considering the performance of both sides throughout this year.