Sports

Homecoming Recap

By Hailey Hokanson (hhokanson@css.edu)

October 25, 2024

     Homecoming at CSS was full of nail-biting finishes and season opening performances. With football, volleyball, and men’s tennis all having home competitions during the weekend of October 5th and 6th, there were plenty of athletic events to attend throughout the weekend. 

     Not only was their excitement in Duluth, but other Saints teams held their own while competing on the road. On the soccer field, both the mens and womens teams traveled down to Northfield to take on Carleton College. The men's team fell to the conference opponent with a final score of 0-3 while the women also fell to the Knights 0-6. The women stayed down south for a Sunday competition against Bethany Lutheran where they finished with a 1-1 tie. 

      The men and women cross country team also headed over to Carleton for the annual Running of the Cows meet. The women ended with an impressive fifth place in the competitive 22 team meet. The men were in the middle of the pack with a 14th place finish out of 24 teams. The men’s golf team competed at the MIAC championships in Edina. 

     Back in Duluth, the men’s tennis team took on Carleton at home on October 6th, their first duals match of the season. In a matchup of the second and third seeds in the 2024 MIAC playoffs, the knights prevailed, sweeping the Saints with a score of 9-0. The tightest match of the day came from the second doubles court as Dane Patten and Jack Onkka teamed up for a close 8-7 (7-3) loss. 

     On Saturday in the Reif Gym, the volleyball team took on conference opponent St. Bens in a competitive matchup, but the Bennies prevailed with a 3-1 win over the Saints. After a strong start in the first set, the teams went back and forth, with St. Bens winning the first set 25-21. The Saints turned it around in the second set, tying up the match score after winning the set 25-22. The rest of the game was a tug of war battle between the sister schools. With tight finishing sets of 25-23 and 25-19, the Bennies walked away with the win after a competitive night of play. 

     Across town at Denfeld High School, hundreds of Saints fans anxiously watched a Homecoming game that came down to the wire against Macalester College. After holding a significant lead throughout the game, the Saints football team showed dominance heading into the fourth quarter. However, their momentum fell apart following a serious injury on the Macalaster sidelines.                               

     Following a 20 minute game stoppage, the Saints and Scots took the field once again, shaking off stiff muscles from the injury timeout. Up 27-13, the Saints aimed to put the game away, but the Scots came storming back, scoring two touchdowns in less than a minute. The Saints took the ball back, plowed down the field and with three seconds left, put the game in the hands of kicker Jacob Andrews. Down by one point, Andrews sailed the kick through the uprights as the clock expired to put the Saints up by one, winning the game 30-28.