VIDEO, PHOTOS: Quick rebuild helps give Crusaders title aspirations

Posted: September 17th 2024

Wildwood Catholic's Teddy Woolery moves the ball into the final third against St. Joseph.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

STONE HARBOR – As recently as two seasons ago, the Wildwood Catholic Academy boys soccer program wasn’t in a good place.

The team won just one game during the 2022 season, playing a handful of contests without substitutes due to a lack of numbers. Players were begging classmates to join or remain with the team to ensure the season could continue uninterrupted.

Those days now appear to be long gone as Wildwood Catholic is in the process of creating a path to a return to its glory days of being one of the better small-school programs in the Cape-Atlantic League.

A 4-1 win over St. Joseph on Tuesday leaves the Crusaders in first place in the CAL United Conference. Wildwood Catholic (5-1 overall, 4-0 CAL United) is the only remaining unbeaten team in CAL United play.

The Crusaders have certainly deserved their status as the conference’s top team. They’ve outscored CAL United opponents by a combined 23-1 margin through four conference games.

“It’s been a great start to the season, one that we’re excited about because it’s been a while since Wildwood Catholic had a start like this,” Wildwood Catholic coach Tommy Bolle said. “The kids have been putting in the work. There are a few things we have to tighten up but we’re happy to be undefeated in our division and unbeaten in our division. It’s huge moving forward for these guys and their confidence. … Hopefully, this continues.”

Sophomore Nick Catanoso scored twice and freshmen Joey Tenaglia and junior Calvin Kiker each scored goals in Tuesday’s win over the Wildcats (4-2, 4-1). St. Joe did not enjoy many chances in the contest, getting its lone goal on a penalty kick early in the second half.

“St. Joe is a good team,” Bolle said. “They always give us a tough, physical game.”

Wildwood Catholic, which went 7-12 in 2023, has benefited from talented freshmen entering the program over the past two seasons, as well as the addition of some transfers with solid experience. Catanoso was the jewel of last season’s freshmen class, while this season has seen debutants Tenaglia, Charlie Flickinger and Evan Papageorgiou each make strong contributions. Seniors Chase Critchfield and Teddy Woolery have joined Kiker as transfers who’ve made significant impact. Meanwhile, homegrown players such as seniors Chase Adams, Christian Sorensen and Gonzalo Gonzeles and junior Chris Papageorgiou have helped anchor the team’s renaissance.

“We’re very happy with the freshmen class coming in this year, and then we’ve gotten some transfers the last couple years, which is nice,” Bolle said. “I’m super happy with the way the program is growing. Guys are excited to come out and play, especially now that they see they have a chance to make some noise, not only in our division in the CAL but also in the future in the state playoffs.”

Going from struggling to simply field a team and compete to having an opportunity to win a regular-season conference title and qualify for the CAL playoff tournament is plenty of motivation for the players.

“It’s definitely driving them,” Bolle said. “They know they have a real good chance of getting some type of title. But we have to keep working and we have some things to tighten up in order to do that. But I believe we can.”