Author: Enrique Carrasco

Women’s soccer team dehorns Fordham

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Courtesy of La Salle Women’s Soccer

On Sun. Oct 9, the Lasalle Explorers women’s soccer team faced off against the Fordham Rams. The Explorers came into the game 6-6-1 in the season (1-4 in conference play), while the Rams came in with a record of 4-7-1 (3-1-1 in conference play). The Explorers’ early success in the season came to a halt midway through the season, grinding their momentum to a screeching halt. This is the first win over The Explorers fell into a mid-season slump, drawing and losing essential games. After a loss to Duquesne, the Explorers were put into a “do or die ” situation if they wanted any sort of shot at a postseason run. Luckily for the Explorers, that is just what they got with this win.

The game was off to a quick start, with both sides trading shots and attempts at goals. Despite this, no team was able to find the back of the net. It was not until the 34th minute that Junior midfielder Kelli McGroarty was able to get the ball past the goalkeeper from 25 yards out, putting the Explorers up 1-0. This goal sparked momentum within McGroarty, as 5 minutes after, she was able to take the ball from the Fordham defender and was able to find the back of the net in the 38th minute, putting the Explorers up 2-0. Not even 3 minutes later, McGroarty was able to complete her hat trick after a pass into the box came from Sophomore midfielder Sunni DiElmo which McGroarty was able to strike into the net, putting the Explorers up 3-0. McGroarty’s hat trick happened in a span of six minutes and 54 seconds. The Explorers outshot the Rams 11-4 in the first half. The Explorers went into halftime leading 3-0. 

The second half of the game was much slower than the first, with only a few shots being exchanged between both teams. In the 53rd minute,  Sophomore midfielder Gabby Picco drew a yellow card after a personal foul on the rams, and in the 72nd minute, a Fordham player drew the first yellow card for her team after a personal foul. The game continued like this until the 80th minute, after a Ram midfielder drew the first goal of the game for the Rams, putting them at a 3-1 disadvantage. The Explorer’s defense would continue to stop the Rams, only allowing them to get off 6 shots in the half, while the Explorers shot seven times. The Explorers outshot the Rams 18-10 in the game. 

Courtesy of Go Explorers

In a post-game interview, the player of the match, Kelli McGroarty, stated, “This win is definitely momentum. We dropped the ball halfway through the season. There were a couple of games early on that we probably should have won, but this game put us back on track. Unfortunately, we have to win out from now on, so this is definitely a helpful game to move us forward in the conference.” Regarding the fact that the team must win from here on out, McGroarty stated, “Our situation is what we call ‘do or die.’ It’s not the situation we want to be in because we’d rather have some wiggle room. We’re in an alright situation right now, we don’t have to rely on other teams [winning or losing], which is good. Also, if you look at the standings and the schedule we have left, we should win, and that should help boost us up in the ranking. This means we potentially have an excellent chance of making the playoffs.”

When asked about the playoffs and their chances of making a long playoff run, McGroarty stated, “We’ve been manifesting A-10s since last year; as soon as the season ended, we were saying it. I think that the chances of us winning are still high. I think our hardest game would be St. Louis, if we make it to the finals, it would probably be us against them, and the game would probably be away, which is good because we do better on the road. Essentially, we have very good hopes.” McGroarty’s hat trick during this game was her first-ever hat trick, and the excitement within McGroarty was palpable. When asked how this is going to influence her, McGroarty stated, “It was a pretty cool feeling. The first goal had fallen down, and when I saw it go in, I just put my head down, and I remember saying, ‘thank God. I have been in a sort of drought since the beginning of the season. I had a few early on, but then I kind of stopped, so it was a nice little pick-me-up. But also, it just proved that when we take shots, they go in, which is something we have been working on as a team [attacking overall]. So, we also did really well with that, we had 11 shots in the first half, and they only had four. That’s a big statement as to why we had so many goals this game.” When asked about the rest of the season, she stated, “the rest of the season looks good. The cards are on our table. We need to win. But you know, things can go south all the time, we had a game where we were up 1-0, and we lost 4-1 (referring to their loss against St. Louis), Everything can change in an instant, so we just have to keep rolling and keep putting balls in the back of the net and let them do it as much. We do that, and we’ll keep winning games.” McGroarty credits the team’s toughness, hard work, and determination to their success thus far and will work towards improving their standings. 

The Explorers will travel to Richmond for their next in-conference game of the season. 

Men’s Soccer Team Decanonizes St. Bonnaventures

Sports

Enrique Carrasco. Editor

Courtesy of Sean Cornely

On Sat. Oct. 1, the La Salle Explorers men’s soccer team faced off against St. Bonnaventures for what would be their third conference game of the season. The Explorers entered the game sitting at a 2-5-2 record (1-1 in conference play), while the Bonnies entered the game sitting at a 3-5-1 record (0-2 in conference play). Both teams sought to improve their standings within the conference, and the Bonnies were looking for their first conference win of the season. 

The game was off to a slow start, with the Explorers and the Bonnies maintaining the ball near the midfield, with neither of them making any actual attempts on goal. It was not until the 18th minute of the contest that the Bonnies were able to filter a perfect pass into the box, where the Bonnie’s forward was able to strike it and find the back of the net, putting the Bonnies up 0-1. Their glory was short-lived, however, when fifth-year forward Omari Cotterell drew a foul right outside of the penalty box. Cotterell was able to get the ball over the wall of St. Bonnie’s defenders and deliver a dagger into the spirit of the Bonnies, finding the top corner with ease. The Explorers continued their aggressive approach throughout the rest of the half, shooting the ball off nine more times, with none of them getting past the goalkeeper. The Explorers went into halftime with the game tied at 1-1. 

The start of the second half was similar to the start of the first half, with neither team doing much besides keeping the ball at the midfield. This pattern continued until the 56th minute of the contest, when fifth-year forward Nigel Buckley was able to get a rocket past the goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner of the net, putting the Explorers up 2-1. The Bonnies were determined not to go down without a fight and kept the pressure on the Explorers for the remainder of the match. The defense, however, showed that they came to play, with them only allowing one shot on the cage in the half, with this only shot being perfectly stopped by Freshman Goalkeeper Filip Sabatti, maintaining the score at 2-1 for the rest of the game, giving the Explorers a 2-1 win, and their third consecutive win over the Bonnies sine 2019 (No sports were played in 2020).

This is truly the only time I can say the Explorers have played at their full potential all season long, and I have no real complaints against them. The team seems to be firing on all cylinders, and the players are looking good. The momentum they have accumulated thus far only seems to grow each passing game, and the Explorers are playing some of the best soccer I have seen in my three years at La Salle. Coach Taylor Thames and co. have been doing an excellent job in preparing the boys for tough matchups like this one, and I, for one, cannot wait to see how the Explorers fare against other teams in the A-10. 

Men’s Soccer team grounds the Hawks in 2-1 win

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Credit La Salle Men’s Soccer

On Sat., Sept. 24, the La Salle Explorers Men’s soccer team traveled to St. Joseph’s University for their second conference game of the season. The Explorers went into the game 1-5-2 in the season (0-1 in conference play) and were looking to better their record, as well as their standings within the conference. 

The game was off to a rough start for the Explorers when Junior defender Aimar Leunda lost control of the ball in the backfield, allowing St Joe to get possession, cross the ball, and ultimately find the back of the net only 18 seconds into the game. It seemed like this goal really affected their game plan, as the Hawks maintained most of the momentum in the first half of the game. Towards the end of the first half, the Explorers gave away a crucial penalty kick after a handball call was made inside of the penalty box. Luckily, Freshman Goalkeeper Filip Sabatti was able to dive low in the perfect direction, perfectly stopping the penalty shot from the Hawks. This penalty stop gave the Explorers the momentum that they needed, and the team seemed like a completely new team. La Salle ended the half down 1-0 but carried all the momentum in the game.

At the beginning of the second half, the explorers continued their momentum and came out of the locker room in full swing. The Explorers were full of energy and continued their aggressive offense to full effect. It was not until the 73rd minute of the game that the Explorers were able to tie the game after Sophomore defender Andres Rodriguez was able to get the ball past the keeper by capitalizing on a blocked shot that rebounded to him. The Explorers used this lapse in defense to their advantage, and two minutes after their first goal, were once again able to find the back of the net after Omari Cotterell was able to send a long pass down the field to a wide-open Nigel Buckley. Buckley drove the ball down the field and managed to put the Explorers up 2-1. St Joe’s did not give up so easily, though, having several corner kicks in the final minutes of the game. Despite this, the Explorer’s defense was able to hold strong and maintained the team’s lead until the end of the game. 

Despite this win for the Explorers, a dark cloud still looms over the team. The team is still 2-5-2 in the season and every game from here on out counts. The Explorers have had trouble finishing attacks, and this has translated to the various defeats the Explorers have suffered. The Explorers must ensure that they win every game from here on out if they want any possibility of making it to the playoffs. This win over the hawks was a perfect step in the right direction for the Explorers, and cannot wait to see what they do next.

Field Hockey defeats Rider at home

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor


Courtesy of Sean Cornely

On Sunday, Sept. 11, the Explorers faced off against the Rider Broncs for their home opener game. The Explorers came into the game on a 3-game losing streak and were looking to end the streak with a win at home. The game was off to a slow start in the first quarter, where the defense stole the show on both sides of the ball. The quarter ended with only two shots, both of which came from the Explorers. The Explorers seemed to pick up the pace during the second quarter, where they not only doubled their shots but also managed to come away with their first goal of the contest at the 28th minute. The goal came after a corner pass from Junior forward Tatum Johnson to Sophomore Defender Sofia Pla, who then got the shot off, but the ball ricocheted off of the goal post. Freshman defender Malena Balduzzi then recovered the shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper. Johnson was able to scoop up the rebound and get the ball past the goalkeeper, putting the Explorers up 1-0 before the end of the half.
The Explorers seemed to carry the momentum through halftime as they came out of the break full of energy and drive.  The second goal of the contest came from yet another corner, where Johnson passed the ball to Pla, who was able to rip a shot and give the Explorers a two-goal advantage over the Broncs. It wasn’t until the end of the last quarter that Pla once again took a shot on goal after a pass from the corner, although the shot was saved by the Broncs’ goalkeeper, Junior Forward Paige Doyle was able to capture the rebound and put the ball past the keeper, putting the explorers up 3-0 at the end of the game. 

In an interview after the game, Sophomore Sofia Pla stated, “I was excited [after the win]; I felt like we needed that win more than anything.” The Explorers went on a 3-game losing streak prior to this win,  giving them a 2-3 record. Thanks to this win against the Broncs, the Explorers improved their record to 3-3. In regard to this, Pla stated, “Winning at home, having everyone staying despite the rain made it great… I feel like the team felt happy to see the hard work we had been putting into practice actually work. We came from three consecutive hard losses, so winning as we won on Sunday was a great way of ending the bad streak. The team felt good and comfortable at home, we managed to capitalize out of APC’s [Attack penalty corner], and we got our three goals out of it.”

The Explorer’s victory over the Broncs marks their first win over them since 2018. The Explorers advanced to a 5-win and 10-loss record against the Broncs, with this win being the highest margin of victory for the Explorers over the Broncs. Next up, the explorers will travel to Lock Haven for their first conference game of the season. 

Men’s soccer goes 1-1-1 to start the season

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Courtesy of Sean Cornely

With the new school year off to a hot start, it was only a matter of time before sports returned to 20th and Olney. Luckily, that is what we got this first week back on campus and the week before. Men’s soccer started their season at home against Stonehill, later traveling to St. Francis Brooklyn, ending their trifecta of games at McCarthy stadium, facing off against the Manhattan Jaspers. 

In their season opener, the Explorers were off to a rough start, with a goal from Stonehill coming at the 4th minute of the game. Despite the early deficit faced by the Explorers, they pushed through, and after 39 minutes without a single goal, fifth-year student Omari Cottorel was able to find the back of the net after a pass from Giammarco Rodio, equalizing the game right before halftime.

The Explorers carried the momentum coming out of the break, and in the 51st minute, Junior Justin Brunow was able to score the go-ahead goal after a rebound shot came off the keeper. Shortly after Brunow’s goal, Senior Midfielder Isak Sedin was able to find the top corner, putting the Explorers up 3-1. It was then that Cottorel was once again able to put the ball past the keeper, increasing the Explorer’s lead to 4-1. Despite this astonishing lead, Stonehill refused to go down without a fight, scoring two more goals in rapid succession, tightening the game up at the 66th minute. It was not until transfer student Talla Faye scored in the final minute of the game that the game was indeed out of reach for Stonehill. 

After this, the Explorers traveled to Brooklyn, where they were defeated 3-0, moving them to 1-1 in out-of-conference play.

The Explorers then traveled back to 20th and Olney and faced off against the Manhattan Jaspers. The first half was full of physical plays and an abundance of yellow cards. In the 42nd minute, one of the Jaspers received his second yellow card of the game, thus putting the Explorers at a man-up advantage for the remainder of the game. Despite this, the Jaspers were able to score in the 47th minute, putting them up 1-0. The equalizing goal came soon after, with Sophomore forward Giammarco Rodio putting the ball past the goalkeeper and scoring. The score remained the same until the end of the game, with the draw bringing the Explorers to a 1-1-1 record. 

Although the trifecta of games only brought a single win to the Explorers, there was an abundance of positive notes for the young Explorer squad. Despite losing many starters this off-season, most noticeably Center back Franc Gamiz Quer, whose presence single-handedly changed the pace of the Explorer’s soccer, the team seems to have amazing chemistry. The younger players on the squad seem to be learning fast from the upperclassmen, and coach Taylor Thames is training the Men properly, bringing them up to a Division I standard. If these trends continue into the season, it’ll be interesting to see how far the squad can go.

Lacrosse beats St Bonnie’s, falls to Duquesne

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Header Image: GoExplorers

As the semester begins to wind down, so do the seasons of various sports, including the Lacrosse team. The Lacrosse team found themselves traveling to St. Bonaventure, New York to face the Bonnies, then to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to face off against the Duquesne Dukes, all in one weekend.

The Explorers found success against the Bonnies, coming away with a 12-11 win. Graduate student and midfielder Emily Johnston led the team in goals, accounting for a third of the team’s total goals (4), while sophomore midfielder Maddie Henderson led the team in assists with a total of two.

The Explorers were off to a hot start on offense, with Henderson, Johnston, Lola Quigley and senior Kiki Venza all scoring goals within the first quarter, with Henderson acquiring both of her assists during this quarter. On defense, the Explorers were able to hold the Bonnie’s to only a single goal in the first quarter. The Bonnie’s seemed like a completely different team in the second quarter though, outscoring the Explorers 4-1, tying the game at 5-5.

The half time break seemed to benefit the Explorers, as they seemed to come out with the energy  that they were lacking in the second quarter. Venza, graduate attacker Maddie Dachowski, Henderson and Johnston all tallied a goal in this quarter, with Venza achieving an assist. he Bonnie’s came back with a lot of energy in the fourth quarter, though, outscoring the Explorers 5-0. With 4:02 left on the clock, the Explorers were able to score the last three goals of the game, and ultimately rally back for the 12-11 win. This 4-goal game for Johnston marks her fourth hat trick of the season.

The Explorers did not have as much luck in their game against the Dukes though. The Explorers fell to the Dukes 18-9, and fell to 2-4 in conference play in the season.

The Explorers were off to a slow start against the Dukes, with the Dukes scoring the first two goals of the contest. Quigley and Dachowski both answered with a goal of their own, tying the game at 2-2, with the Dukes scoring one last goal before the end of the quarter. The explorers outscored the dukes 3-2 in the second quarter, with Henderson scoring her 19th goal of the season, and Johnston scoring her 32nd goal.

It seemed like the half time break benefited the Dukes this time, though. After a 5-5 half, the Dukes went on a 8-0 run in the first minutes of the third quarter, ultimately outscoring the Explorers 9-3 in the quarter. It seemed like this quarter really got to the Explorers, as they were outshot 16-6. This momentum carried onto the fourth quarter, where the Dukes outscored the Explorers 4-1, ending the game at 18-9.

Once again, Johnston led the team in goals in this game, coming away with three goals in the game, marking her fifth hat trick of the season. Venza led the team in assists this game, coming away with two assists in the game.

The Explorers head onto their next game of the season, taking on the University of Massachusetts for their last home game of the season on April 14 at 1 p.m. 

New men’s basketball head coach is announced

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Header Image: Atlantic 10 Conference

Monday Mar. 21, 2022: After four seasons, La Salle University decided to cut ties with head coach Ashley Howard, with no inkling of a replacement announced to the community. Some students were elated, some players even, but some students and most players were rather upset with the abrupt announcement. Yet, in a somewhat unexpected move, on Tuesday Apr. 5, 2022, La Salle announced to the community that they have convinced alum Fran Dunphy, ‘70, to return to his alma mater to coach the men’s basketball team.

One question remains after all the dust has settled after this announcement: Is Dunphy the right answer for La Salle’s failing program? La Salle’s program has a history of being one of the hardest jobs in the A-10’s due to financial and facility issues. Some critics of La Salle’s athletics administration seem to be on the side of Dunphy, and here are some reasons why they may be accurate in their assessments of him as a coach.

Howard had his first ever head coach position as an Explorer, and amounted to a .388-win percentage. In his four seasons as the head coach, Howard only went above .400 once (during the 2019-2020 season). In his first year as a head coach, Dunphy went .462 (1989-1990 season), not the best, but better than most seasons Howard ever had. In his seventeen years as head coach of Penn, Dunphy reached the NCAA tournament a legendary  nine times, being regular season champs in every single one those seasons. Penn is in a significantly harder conference than La Salle, the Ivy League conference, and if any of that success can be replicated at La Salle, the Explorers’ basketball program is likely to see both Atlantic 10 and NCAA tournament success in the future..

Take not only his seventeen years at Penn, but also look at his historic record at Temple. In only his second year there, Dunphy was able to win the A-10 conference tournament, booking their ticket into the NCAA March Madness tournament. In his 13 years as head coach of Temple, Dunphy was able to take the Owls to the post season tournament eight separate times.

This coaching experience is exactly what the Explorers are looking for, as the school has only reached the NCAA tournament only once since joining the A-10’s in 1995. The school has not had a winning record since the 2014-2015 season and has consistently placed along the bottom of the conference, stowing a culture of losing. The athletic department, represented by Brian Baptiste in an email to the La Salle community announced that Dunphy is the answer to these problems — the one slam dunk La Salle has been looking for in order to revive the program. While La Salle will no doubt be fighting an uphill battle,still having to play schools such as Davidson and 6’10” forward Luka Brajkovic, Dunphy may end the losing slump that La Salle has been suffering in the past several years.

Asking students around campus their opinion on this hiring, some users seemed to be excited for the new hiring.  Brian ’23, stated, “A great hire. Might go .500 next year. Can only get better with Fran.” ISBT senior Raymond Kovacsics said “I think it was a great hire. Dunphy brings stability, experience, and a new mindset to the program. After a tumultuous run, La Salle needed fresh blood. Dunphy is a familiar figure who understands the culture at La Salle and wants to restore the program to its glory days. Baptiste hit a home run. Overall, I think the administration did an excellent job finding Dunphy, and I think Fran will find success.”

Even students who don’t keep up much with sports, such as our News Editor Kylie McGovern, stated “Things can only go up right? I don’t know a lot about sports, but he seems like the best option from what the university said in their email.” Noah ’25, even boldly stated, “He is the GOAT we have been looking for.”

Whether Dunphy is the right option for La Salle is something only time will be able to tell. Dunphy could very well come in and do worse than Howard, or he might have a dream season and take La Salle to the Elite Eight. 
Editor’s Note: I am personally very excited for what is to come, and as editor of the sports section, am very much looking forward to writing about the men’s team next season, and look forward to seeing how “Mr. Big 5” will do as the head coach of La Salle university.

Ranking the hottest players on the Men’s Water Polo team | Foolegian

Foolegian, Satire

An Impartial Judge, Staff

Hey there girlies. The annual hottest player awards are in, and omg you would not believe who is the #1 most totes hottest guy at this school! Let’s begin! 👄💓💓💓💓💓😍😍😍😍💅💅💅💅

10. Ryan Gosling in “Drive”

Drive (2011)

Ryan Gosling is totes hots, yo. He is like super hot and he had a lot of votes from you guys, putting him in the top 10 for the first time in his life. Only specifically in “Drive” though, he is not one of the hottest water polo players on campus outside of “Drive.”

50. Vladimir Putin

fabiusmaximus.com

Also known as the father of Assistant Coach Veljko Kotorica, Vladimir Putin has constantly been amongst the top three hottest water polo players on campus for some time now. But due to an embarrassing performance in their game against Navy, and invading Ukraine, has dropped to the 50th spot. Not a personal favorite, but I’ll take what I can get. 

67. The entire country of Iraq

Iraq Flag

‘Nuff said 😎

7. Salma Hayeck

Salma Hayek

Simply put: Mommy

5. Josh Delilo 

Truth be told, it was a tie for 1st place so I randomly generated numbers and used it to dictate their position within the list. So the 5th hottest person on the water polo team, the one, the only, THE Josh Delilo.

4. Veljko Kotorica

Despite being an impressive 6’5”, the Serbian candidate couldn’t crack the top four once again. Many attribute this to the yellow water he drinks, but I personally think it is because he is simply too hot to handle. 

3. Tyler Williams

What can be said about this hunka meat that can’t be seen? He is absolutely gorgeous and like totes a hotty. Like totes magoats.

2. Jorden Mcveagh

Simply put: Mommy

1.  David O’Brien 

In its most basic explanation, David O’Brien can be regarded as the ideal human, and the best defensive player in the history of La Salle athletics, nay, collegiate sports. His perfect track record on defense of zero goals allowed in four years constantly keeps O’Brien as the hottest player on the water polo team. 

Opinion: Athletic department finally does something right

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

The day is Monday, March 21, 2022. My flight from Guadalajara, Jalisco had just landed in my hometown of Ciudad Juarez at 9 a.m. MT. After turning off airplane mode on my phone I receive a plethora of texts from friends with the most amazing news I have ever seen: the words “Howard’s gone” with the link to a tweet stating he had been fired. I was overwhelmed with joy at reading this news, and as a previous doubter of the Athletic Department, I can finally say that they made the right move.

EBK_Koff via Twitter

I have been an avid critic of Ashley Howard ever since my team got cut, have shown this hatred throughout my articles during the semester and have been a known hater of the basketball team

But at the end of the day, my hatred was not for the team, but rather the coaching staff. How is it that a man who is getting paid $750,000 a year, gets 95 percent of the athletic budget and had a record of winning championships can produce something as miserable and terrible as Ashley Howard has? How is it that this man has every single thing set in place for him to win, fails to do so, embarrassing an entire school in the process? La Salle went to the Sweet 16 only six years before, so some sort of winning culture still existed within the program, some sort of pride in the team. This man drove us from a respectable team to second to last or last within the A-10s.

For years I had been dreaming of the day that Howard was gone, and the rumors I heard earlier in the year that stated that he would be fired next year if he did not win only helped hype this dream on. I dream of a basketball program where people have to camp outside the stadium simply to get tickets for the games. I want big wins at home, I want a respectable basketball program, something that can only be done without Howard at the helm of the program.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no expectations for next year’s team to do any better, but at least not having Howard at the helm of things will make it easier to bear. Various other coaches across the nation are prime candidates for this position, and, if given the right incentives, might be making their coaching debut at 20th and Olney some time soon. 

Courtesy of Alt.Universe.Lasalle

International sanctions decimate Russian economy

Business

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

As Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine goes on, various different countries across the world have decided to place sanctions on Russia, and oftentimes, refusing to do any business with anything Russian-related. Several companies, such as: Apple, ExxonMobil, Ford and many others, have decided to shut down all of their operations in Russia, something that has had detrimental effects on the Russian economy and the Ruble. 

According to various Kremlin officials, including spokesman Dmitry Pskov, “Russia’s economy is taking serious blows… But there is a certain margin of safety, there is potential, there are some plans, work is underway.”

Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has decided to stop all operations within Europe, as various regulators and sanctions across Europe have caused depositors to withdraw all their money, in order to try and avoid the sanctions placed by the West on Russia. These sanctions only prove to be a bigger part of the response by the West in order to slow Putin’s plans of Ukraine’s invasion. Global experts have estimated that nearly $1 trillion of Russia’s assets have been frozen as a response to the invasion. As the invasion of Ukraine continues, so do the international sanctions placed on Russian businesses, banks and assets. Russian banks have been cut off from international trade, further tanking the economy and the price of the Ruble. At the time of writing this, the Russian ruble is valued at .0099 U.S dollars. That is to say, one Ruble is the equivalent to $.0099, less than a penny. Weeks ago, the Ruble was trading at $.013 per Ruble, a significant decrease in price. Experts have estimated that the Ruble has fallen by approximately 40 percent since the invasion started. In fact, the Ruble has gotten so low, that various other currencies are valued at a much higher price. Take for example, the “Robux.”Robux is an in-game currency for the kid’s game “Roblox.” Robux, although having no use or value outside of the video game, is valued at approximately $.0125. One can buy 400 Robux for $4.99. This comes to show how decimated the Russian economy has become because of the invasion. Many experts believe that many more sanctions are to come to Russia if the invasion continues, and these sanctions will do anything but help the already struggling Russian economy.