SPC Counter Recap: February 5th-February 6th
Casady’s winter sports teams experienced great success in their Dallas competitions.
Men’s soccer played two back to back counter games. To kick off the weekend, the team faced a 1-2 loss to the Cistercian Hawks. After Cistercian’s opening goal, CMS was able to bounce back from the 0-1 deficit when junior Jes Stanfield (‘22) drilled an impressive penalty kick past the goalie. The Hawks, however, broke the tie during the second half and emerged victorious. Despite Casady’s loss, Adi Bhaktaram (‘23) expressed that the game was “one of the best” the boys have had all season in terms of intensity and team dynamic.
The following day, the Cyclones demolished the Oakridge Owls with a final score of 6-nil. During the competition, CMS’s starting keeper Luis Lopez (‘22) ventured beyond the goal and played in an attacking position for the first time in his soccer career at Casady. All season long, he’s been attempting to persuade the coaches to let him play on the field. So, when such an opportunity presented itself against the Owls, he didn’t hesitate. Lopez had an impressive run -- he took multiple shots on goal, one of which even managed to hit the crossbar. In addition to Luis’ contributions, Hanan Ashraf (‘24), Alex Angeles (‘22), and Ben Stanford (‘22) were responsible for the six goals scored against the Owls in the shutout. Manager Lizzie Lees (‘22) expressed that the boys had “tons of fun,” as the whole team got to experiment with new positions.
Men’s basketball embarked on a quick down-and-back to Cistercian and managed to secure the win with a final score of 64-51. According to senior DJ Freeman (‘21), this competition was one of the team’s better games overall, both offensively and defensively. Freeman attributed much of the team’s success to those on the bench who spent the game communicating with players on the court: “They’re the real reason we win our games!”
The team had a rocky start, and at the close of the first half, the score was much closer than what had been expected. At halftime, however, Coach McLeod issued the team a stern talking-to in which he reminded the boys to “play [their] basketball, limit [their] turnovers, and stay solid on defense.” As the second half progressed, Casady’s performance gradually improved, and the Cyclones were able to secure the victory against the Hawks.
Leading scorers were DJ Freeman and Zac Dunn (‘23) with fifteen points each. Evan Raupe (‘21) and Jackson Kennedy (‘21) both dropped nine points, while juniors Neil Luhar (‘22) and Steph Okenge (‘22) had 8 points each.
Women’s basketball played two games within the span of four hours against Fort Worth Country Day and Greenhill, and was able to walk away with impressive wins against both teams. The final scores for the games were 63-34 and 76-36, respectively. According to team leader Modesti McConnell (‘22), the team went into both games with great intensity: “Everyone really wanted it. I’ve never been so proud of my team.” McConnell and senior Jordyn Turner (‘21) were the leading scorers over the weekend. Since basketball will not be hosting an SPC tournament this year as a result of Covid-19, the girls had their eyes set on the next best thing: winning the North. The prospect of becoming Northzone champions fueled the girls’ enthusiasm going into the games. (Update: As of last Thursday, our Cyclones are the official Northzone champs!)
Although sports this year have been anything but conventional, these teams continue to work hard and perform at a high level. We wish our Cyclones the best of luck as they close out the season this upcoming weekend!