Explorers Extend Win Streak To 5 In Win Over Lowly Bonnies

Sports

Nicholas Signoretta, Editor

La Salle Women’s Basketball Week In Review 1/31/23

The final from Tom Gola Arena. (courtesy lasalle_wbb)

Beating up on league bottom feeders is not the most glamorous activity in which a team can partake on a January afternoon, but it’s something good teams have to do to keep pace with the front of the pack. The La Salle Women’s basketball team (14-8, 5-2) took care of A-10 cellar dweller St. Bonaventure (4-20, 1-8) 65-52 at Tom Gola Arena this past Saturday, Jan 28th, to extend their most recent win streak to five games, their longest streak since the 2019-20 season, and their longest such streak in conference play since the 2016-17 season.

The game opened with some back and forth until the Explorers opened up to a ten-point lead late in the 1st Qtr. The Bonnies narrowed the lead down to five just before the close of the 2nd Qtr, but the Explorers would score to take a 30-23 lead into the half. The 3rd Qtr featured some solid play by the visitors to narrow the La Salle lead to one point at 37-36, but the ensuing 19-3 run by the Explorers put the game away for good.

Mia Jacobs is following her sisters’ dominance when it comes to La Salle women’s basketball. (shotbyscornely)

La Salle’s win was highlighted by stellar outings from some of Australia’s finest exports, Claire and Mia Jacobs. Claire led the squad with 21 points, going 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, while her younger sister Mia dropped 17, burying 3 of 5 from range. Charity Shears also reached double-digit points herself, hitting 2 of 5 from three to finish with 10 points, while Kayla Spruill got big down low with 9 boards, all complemented by Molly Masciantonio’s 4 assists.

Molly Masciantonio is currently operating as one of the nation most efficient point guards. (courtesy lasalle_wbb)

With this weekend’s result giving the girls a 5-2 mark in conference play, La Salle find themselves sitting third in the A-10 with a month of basketball left to play in the regular season. Several upsets around the A-10 this weekend, including Davidson, Fordham, and Saint Joe’s all falling on the road have left the Explorers as the lone team with two conference losses. With league leader Rhode Island (17-3, 8-0) not on the remaining schedule, La Salle has some mild upside when it comes to possible seeding for this year’s A10 Women’s Basketball Championships in Wilmington, Delaware.

The girls are hard at work to secure the programs best campaign since the turn of the century. (courtesy shotbyscornely)

This upcoming week’s slate features a midweek matchup at the struggling VCU Rams (6-14, 3-5) who have lost ten of their last thirteen and a major home matchup against the UMass Minutewomen (17-4, 7-1) who are just ahead of the Explorers in the conference ladder. The VCU game will start at 11AM EST on Wednesday, Feb 1st, while the UMass game will begin at 2PM EST on Saturday, Feb 4th. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+. Hopefully I can bring you coverage regarding those matchups, but if I am once again relegated to talking about our exhilarating men’s team, just know that I hate Enrique Carrasco.

La Salle Men’s Basketball Week In Review 1/24/23

Sports

Nicholas Signoretta, Editor

Courtesy of lasallembb

Society’s favorite La Sallian newspaper, may have taken the past month off to enjoy the winter holiday and delightfully dreary weather that plagues the northeastern United States, but the ever-middling La Salle Explorers men’s basketball squad was not afforded the same opportunity. While the average resident of 20th & Olney was bumming around all break, Coach Fran Dunphy and the boys were hard at work on the hardwood battlefield. As always, a new calendar year ushers in good ol’ conference basketball play, and with that, the realization that over eighty percent of the teams in NCAA Division 1 are not making the tourney and will be deeply irrelevant come mid-March. La Salle, for twenty-nine of the past thirty years, has fallen into this irrelevant grouping. Hopefully, the Explorers buck the trend this year (they were picked to finish bottom three in the league in most publications).

Courtesy of shotbyscornely

Since the last publication of my Men’s Basketball Review, La Salle has unfortunately settled into the dreaded swing of mediocrity. A steaming record of 8-11 has been complemented with a sterling mark of 2-4 in conference play. Highlights of the winter break include a 77-75 OT win over the Rhode Island Rams, a 78-77 upset win at the UMass Minutemen, and covering the spread at Saint Louis (very rare). While this start might not be ideal, there is a silver-lining somewhere in there. While our beloved Explorers might be average at best, the Atlantic 10 as a whole this year is frankly a steaming pile of disappointment. A league that began the year with a ranked Dayton team has fallen off in the whooping three months since the season tipped off. The conference is hellbent on the path to having just one team dancing come March, and that squad seems poised to fall to an average Big 12 in their opening tournament matchup. So the silver-lining is that La Salle is not the only “bleh” team in the A-10 this year. Everyone seems to be on their way for a forgettable 2022-2023 season.

This upcoming week, the Explorers get a home date against the Davidson Wildcats (9-10, 2-5) on Tuesday, Jan. 24, as well as a trip to Kingston, Rhode Island, to face the Rhode Island Rams (6-13, 2-5) on Saturday, Jan. 28. I pray they win these contests as they would make next week’s article exciting to write (but equally as painful).

Women’s Basketball humiliates Loyola Chicago on the road

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Courtesy of La Salle Women’s Basketball

On July 1, 2022, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers were officially accepted into the A-10 after years of dominating the Missouri Valley Conference. The Ramblers stated that this move was due to “Loyola’s commitment to the high-level scholastic achievement of all of its students, coupled with its excellent athletic profile, from success in [various sports] to outstanding facilities and resources,” which made the A-10 conference an excellent fit for the school. The Ramblers, however, have failed all season to showcase any form of the same dominance that they exhibited in the Missouri Valley Conference.

On January 22, 2022, the La Salle Explorers Women’s Basketball team faced off against the Ramblers for their 6th game of the new year and first away game of the semester. The Explorers (12-7) were coming off of a 3-game win streak and were looking to continue this streak. On the other hand, the Ramblers (6-12) were coming off of a 4-game losing streak and were looking to end this streak with a win at home.

The game started in favor of the Ramblers, who managed to take an early 7-0 lead over the Explorers. The Explorers, however, would not simply roll over for the home team. Kayla Spruill, Claire Jacobs, and Charity Shears could swish the ball from outside the 3-point line, tying the game at 9-9 with 4 minutes left to play in the first quarter. After a shooting foul from the Ramblers, Senior Claire Jacobs gave the explorers a 10-9 lead after sinking one of her free throws. After the Ramblers went up 13-10, Freshman Mia Jacobs sank her three-pointer, tying the game at 13-12. The Ramblers took an early lead during the second quarter, going 24-20 into the media timeout. The Explorers, however, went on a 10-0 run, giving them a two-point lead heading into halftime. There was a total of four different lead changes in the second quarter.

The half-time break was beneficial for the Explorers, who came out playing as a different team. The Explorers were able to flex their defensive capabilities, holding the Ramblers scoreless for the first 4:34 of the third quarter. At the same time, the Explorers could put up 11 offensive points, further pushing their lead. However, the Explorers went on to commit various defensive fouls, allowing the Ramblers to go 3 for 4 in free throws, bringing the game to 43-31. The Explorers finished the quarter with a 52-37 lead over the Ramblers.

La Salle achieved its highest point difference early in the fourth quarter, with a 16-point lead. The Ramblers, however, refused to go down without a fight, going on their own 7-0 run heading into the media timeout. The Explorers maintained their momentum in the game, going on a 12-5 run to end the game. The Explorers overcame the Ramblers 67-51. Four separate Explorers, Kayla Spruill, Claire Jacobs, Mia Jacobs, and Molly Masciantonio, were able to score at least 10 points, which directly led to their victory over the Ramblers.

Next up, the women’s team will host St Bonaventure for pride day.

La Salle Men’s Basketball Week In Review 12/6/22

Sports

Nicholas Signoretta, Editor

Courtesy of doms.pov

La Salle University Men’s Basketball had a decent rebound week to kick off their post-Thanksgiving stretch. After a tough trip two weeks ago in the Jamaica Classic, the Explorers got the benefit of staying home in the City Of Brotherly Love for all three of their most recent contests.

The Explorers opened the week with a home contest at the ever-cozy Tom Gola Arena against the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday, Nov. 26th. A narrow 65-62 victory almost slipped through the Explorers’ grasp as the Bearcats rallied back from multiple second-half deficits to take a lead with just under five minutes to play. Luckily, the boys from 20th and Olney rallied to bring home that sweet Thanksgiving break W.

The next contest the Explorers played was at the pinnacle of all Philadelphia basketball venues, the Palestra. In the first leg of a Philly Big 5 doubleheader, the Explorers tipped off against the second best university north of Market Street, the Temple Owls. While Temple may be a subpar university off the court, the Owls were the dominant squad on the hardwood. Temple guard Khalif Battle had a big night at the Cathedral of Basketball, leading all scorers with 22 points and guiding his squad to a 67-51 victory. The Explorers had a lead with under nine minutes left in the game, but Fran Dunphy’s first game back against his former employer was spoiled as La Salle was outscored 28-7 down the stretch, and the Owls improved their record against the Explorers to 25-7 this millennium.

La Salle closed out the weekend with another game at the Palestra. Their foe was a Big 5 team that also formerly employed Coach Dunphy, the Penn Quakers. Despite the Quakers’ home court advantage, that subpar excuse for a basketball team was no match for the mighty Explorers, led by guards Anwar Gill and Jhamir Brickus, who dropped career highs of 26 and 25 points, respectively. Penn guard Jordan Dingle(berry) scored a career high 37 points, including a three point heave at the buzzer to send the game to overtime, but the Quakers never had a chance to top the overpowering force of the Explorers.

Courtesy of shotsbycornely

With those three games in the books, La Salle now sits at a nice and even 4-4. Home matchups against the Bucknell Bison (6-3) on Tuesday, Dec. 6th, and the Drexel Dragons (4-5) on Saturday, Dec.10th, await the Explorers. With the rest of the out of conference slate looking rather winnable besides an away date with the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-3) on Saturday, Dec. 17th, La Salle has a solid chance to enter conference play with a winning record and a reason to exist come mid-February. Quite the ask.

Men’s Basketball Travels to Jamaica to go 0-2

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Courtesy of La Salle Men’s Basketball

On Nov. 15, 2022, the La Salle Explorers were able to edge out Division II Queen’s University North Carolina to punch their ticket to the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic tournament. The La Salle Men’s basketball team then traveled to Jamaica on November 16, 2022, for a week full of practices and, if they were lucky, numerous different games. The Explorers failed once again to live up to their potential, being relegated to the consolation bracket after losing in the first round to Wake Forest. The Explorers then played Georgetown University for the loser’s bracket championship, where they managed to show why they were in the loser’s bracket, losing 69-62.

The first overseas game the Explorers (2-1) played was against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-0). The Explorers came into the game full of energy, as was evident with their 10-2 lead six minutes into the half, a lead that they achieved thanks to three-pointers coming from Senior Guard Josh Nickleberry and Senior transfer forward Hassan Drame. However, this lead was short lived, as the Demon Deacons were able to go on a 13-5 run against the Explorers, tying the game at 15 a piece. The Deacons and Explorers continued to trade point after point with one another, with the Deacons going on a 17-11 run to give them the lead. Despite this apparent setback, the Explorers were able to go on a 7-0 run against the Demons with only 1:30 left to play in the half. The Explorers were helped out by three pointers coming from Nickleberry and Sophomore Guard Khalil Brantley. The Deacons refused to go down without a fight however, and after a layup and a freethrow, were able to take the lead back from the Explorers at 35-33 heading into half time. The Explorers came out of half time with half the energy as the first, which showed in their game play. The Explorers managed to take the lead back 3 separate times during the second half, but were ultimately outscored 40-30 to finish the game at a 75-63 defeat. The Explorers shot an absolutely horrific 21-53 (39.6%) from field goals but somehow managed to make an impressive 11-26 (42.3%) of their three-pointers. It seems like the wonderful warm weather of Jamaica affected the men’s ability to play, as they played perfectly fine in the cold weather of Philadelphia.

The Men’s team was then relegated to the loser’s tournament bracket after their loss to Wake Forest, where they would face off against the Georgetown Hoyas for the consolation game of the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic tournament. The first half of play has to be single handedly the worst basketball I have seen from the Explorers in my short three years of being an Explorer. The Explorers were outscored 21-41 in the half, and the Hoyas carried all of the momentum. The Hoyas were running circles around the Men’s team, and looked like the vastly superior team all throughout the half. The Explorers however, refused to go down without a fight. The Explorers came out of half time full of the energy and motivation that they lacked in the first half, and were determined to bring themselves back into the game. The Explorers were able to go on an 11-4 run within the first 3:14 of the half. Junior Guard Jhamir Brickus was responsible for 9 out of 11 of those points, and was a pivotal part of the Explorer’s offense in the second half. The Hoyas tried to maintain control of the game, but the Explorers momentum was simply too much for them to handle. The Explorers went on a 28-8 run to tie the game at 62 all, with only 2:14 left in the game. The Hoyas however, were able to stop the Explorers charge, putting themselves up 64-62. After an Explorer defensive foul, the Deacons were able to sink both free throws, putting them up 66-62. The Explorers tried to bring themselves back into the game, but the point deficit they allowed in the first half was too much to handle, ultimately causing the Explorers to lose 69-62.

These two losses for the Explorers have to be detrimental to the team’s morale, especially after the small momentum they had gained after their back to back wins. The Explorers now sit at 2-3 in the season, with no conference games being played yet. The Explorers will face off against Binghamton at home, where the athletic department will do a trading card giveaway, an issue I will talk about in future articles. For now, the entire school is disappointed by the men’s basketball team and how much money the school is giving them, rather than literally anything else at this school.

Men’s basketball plucks the Seahawks at Homecoming.

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

Courtesy of La Salle Men’s Basketball

On Sat., Sept. 12, the (0-1) La Salle Explorers Men’s basketball team faced off against the (1-0) Wagner Seahawks in their homecoming game. The Explorers lost on the road against the nationally-ranked Villanova squad last week, and Fran Dunphy was looking to gain his first win as the Explorer’s head coach at home. Luckily for him, the Explorers were able to overcome the Seahawks and come away with the win.

The Explorers were off to a quick start at the beginning of the game, immediately putting pressure on the Seahawks. Senior Guard Josh Nickelberry and Senior Transfer Hassan Drame put up 5 points each within the first 10 minutes of the game, allowing the Explorers to get an early 19-8 lead over the seahawks. The Explorers continued this trend during the rest of the half and were able to go into half-time with a 39-26 lead. The Explorers made a statement at the end of the half, with a dunk coming from Senior transfer Fousseyni Drame. The Explorers went 15/30 (50%) on field goals and 3/9 on three-pointers (33%) in the half.

The Seahawks came out of the half with much more energy than in the first half. Within the first few minutes of the half, the Seahawks could lower the Explorer’s lead to only 5 points. The Explorers, however, would not allow this comeback to continue and answered with their own 3-pointer bringing the game into a media time-out. The explorers continued their momentum, bringing their lead to 51-40. The Explorer’s defense held the Seahawks for the rest of the game while the offense continued their momentum throughout. The Explorers went off to win the game 77-69. This win marked Fran Dunphy’s first-ever win as the head coach of the Explorers.

The Explorer offense has been off to an explosive start thus far this season. The Explorers scored an impressive 68 points against a nationally ranked team and showcased this at home with their win over Wagner. Sophomore Guard Khalil Brantley scored 22 points against Wagner, an impressive show of skill. Brantley seems to have flourished more under Fran Dunphy, and it’ll be interesting to follow his progress throughout the rest of the season. If the Explorers can continue to play games like this, many more wins will be coming to 20th and Olney, and hopefully, a bid to the 2023 NCAA Championship.

Phillies are headed to the World Series

Sports

Andrew Plunket, Staff

For the first time since 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies are headed to the World Series. The Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 in Game 5 of the NLCS to become the 2022 National League Champions. This win represents Philadelphia’s ninth overall pennant and its first since the 2009 season, ending a historic championship drought for the Phillies.

The Phillies held an early lead against the Padres thanks to a two-run shot from first baseman Rhys Hoskins in the bottom of the third. Juan Soto, the star outfielder for the Padres, then responded with a home run in the top of the fourth to cut the Phillies’ lead to 2-1. Despite the occasional hit, the game featured a marvelous pitching battle between Phillies’ ace Zach Wheeler and Padres’ veteran Yu Darvish, which held both teams scoreless until the seventh inning. Ultimately, the rainy weather and a slew of wild pitches forced the Phillies into errors, allowing the Padres to jump out to a 3-2 lead.

Enter Bryce Harper. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with one runner on, Harper crushed a ball into orbit to give the Phillies a 4-3 advantage. With this shot, Harper immortalized himself in the Philadelphia history books and punched the Phillies ticket to the 2022 World Series. Pitcher Ranger Suarez closed out the game for the Phils, and Citizens Bank Park erupted into a euphoric state of celebration. The Phillies were presented with the National League Championship trophy, and Bryce Harper was awarded the most valuable player of the series.

Despite a 4-1 series win for the Phillies, the Padres proved to be a significant test for the underdog team. Like the Phillies, the Padres themselves were a scrappy underdog. The team won impressive victories against the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers, propelling them to postseason success. The talented bullpen of the Padres and the contributions of star players Juan Soto and Manny Machado tested the Phillies in each game in this series. Yet, as the first law of physics states, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion.”

The Phillies are simply red hot at the moment. They are undefeated at home in this playoff run, with a 9-2 record overall. Led by heavy hitters Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins, the Phillies’ offense has been producing significant runs at a breathtaking rate. And, perhaps most importantly, Bryce Harper has had a historic playoff run. He has the most XBH in a single postseason for the Phillies with eleven, has hit four major home runs, and is on a nine-game hitting streak, one shy of Phillies legend Lenny Dykstra’s postseason record. The Phillies have simply overwhelmed opponents with raw talent and fierce determination, both of which position them quite nicely for a World Series showdown.
With the Philadelphia Eagles currently boasting a 6-0 record, the Philadelphia Union headed to the MLS Eastern Conference Finals, and the Philadelphia Flyers’ season in full swing, the Phillies’ win caps off a jubilant few weeks for the city of Philadelphia. The Phillies will play the Houston Astros, an American League juggernaut fresh off an ALCS sweep of the New York Yankees, in the 118^th World Series. The series’ first game is scheduled for Friday, October 28, in Houston. The Phils will play two games in Houston before heading home to Philadelphia for games three and four. While the Phillies certainly face a significant challenge in the series ahead, they will keep dancing on their own for now.

Women’s soccer team dehorns Fordham

Sports

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

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.

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.

Eagles Remain Undefeated with Victory Over Jaguars

Sports

Charlie Hug, Staff

It’s been 18 years since Philadelphia sports fans have felt this much excitement over the Eagles. The Birds’ 4-0 start to the season marks the first time that this has happened since the 2004 season, which ultimately resulted in a Super Bowl appearance. After this Sunday’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, there is a widespread belief that history might repeat itself.

The fourth week of the NFL season brought us Doug Pederson’s much-anticipated return back to the City of Brotherly Love. Under the pouring rains of Hurricane Ian, the former Eagles head coach was welcomed back to Lincoln Financial Field with an overwhelming standing ovation after bringing the city its first Super Bowl trophy back in 2017. Unfortunately, this was most likely the highlight of Pederson’s day.

The Eagles came out slow to start the game, allowing 14 quick points to the Jaguars after an interception off of Jalen Hurts was returned for a touchdown on the first drive, and was followed by a quick offensive touchdown scored by the Jaguars with 3:50 left in the first quarter. The Eagles Defense bounced back in a big way, holding the Jaguars without a point for the following three quarters until they finally scored a touchdown with 7:19 left in the game. The defense was led once again by Hassan Reddick and the defensive line, who collectively forced five fumbles throughout the game, four of which were recovered by the Eagles. James Bradberry tacked on an interception at the end of the second quarter to give the Eagles defense five total turnovers on the day. Through four weeks, the Philadelphia defense has now tallied five interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and 16 sacks, making them one of the most intimidating defenses in the league.

On the offensive side of the ball, Jalen Hurts finally showed signs that he is, indeed, human, throwing for 204 yards, one interception, and zero touchdowns. He did rush for one touchdown, but it was all Miles Sanders offensively for the Eagles. It was a breakout day for the fourth year back out of Penn State, one that has been long-awaited for by Philly fans. Sanders racked up 156 total yards and two touchdowns, reaching career highs in both rushes (27) and rushing yards (134) while also scoring his most touchdowns in a game in the past two years. Call it a product of the bad weather or just a great player due for a great game, Miles Sanders’ performance this past Sunday definitely turned some heads for fans who had started to doubt the young star’s backfield presence.

Coming into Week 5, the Eagles could not feel more confident. They stand as the only undefeated team remaining in the league and have already taken down some highly-regarded teams. Week 5’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals could prove to be one of the Eagles’ tougher matchups so far this season, but with a 2-2 record and two tight wins against mediocre teams, this game could be a chance for the Cardinals to show whether they are true competitors this year. Arizona’s only two losses have both come at home this season, which is where the Eagles will face them next Sunday at 4:25 EST.

Men’s Soccer Team Decanonizes St. Bonnaventures

Sports

Enrique Carrasco. Editor

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.