Cathedral Crusaders Aim For Another State Tournament Run Despite Losing Top Scorer

The Cathedral boys soccer team has made 5 straight state tournament appearances which includes a 2nd place finish in Class A in 2025 and a 3rd place finish in 2024.  Cathedral head coach Alex Hess joined me on WJON.

Photo courtesy of Julie Murphy and Cathedral Athletics

Big Shoes to Fill at Cathedral

The Crusaders graduated some key players from last year's team which included the State's leading scorer, Jacob Oliver.  Hess acknowledges they had some key players to replace but feels the team is playing their best soccer of the season right now after a slow start.  The 10-5 Crusaders are seeded 2nd in the east portion of section 8A and will play 3rd seeded Long Prairie-Grey Eagle tonight at 7pm at Whitney Field.

Players Filling Different Roles

Hess says they knew their scoring chances would be less this year so he says execution is crucial to their success.  He says when they play top teams, they know they have to defend really well.  Jacob's younger brother Sam Oliver has become the top scorer for the Crusaders with 20 goals this season.  Hess says Sam has had a great season after asking him to step into a different role as more of a scorer this season.  Drew Lesnau has 9 goals and Jack Ziemann has 6 goals for the Crusaders.  Hess says it is great to see players who've been more defensive minded, get on the scoresheet.

Photo courtesy of Julie Murphy and Cathedral Athletics

Flexible Roster

Hess says they have a lot of players who've fit into roles, "nicely".  He says they have great depth and flexibility with their roster which consists of 10 seniors.  Hess credits the success of Cathedral boys soccer to the work of previous coaches Larry Haws and John Pepper, who helped build the tradition of success at the school in boys soccer.

Target on their Back

Hess says Long Prairie-Grey Eagle is a very talented team who've recently knocked off the section's #1 seed, St. John's Prep.  He believes his team will not overlook them.  Hess knows that despite not being the #1 seed in the section this season, that they have a target on their back due to winning the section title for the past 5 seasons.

Cathedral Roster:

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Alex Hess, click below.