Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s game between the Crusaders and Tigers at Arcata.

By Ray Hamill — The Crusaders have returned to the soccer field this fall as eager as anyone to enjoy the season.

After not fielding a boys team during the shortened spring season because of a lack of numbers, St. Bernard’s is back this fall and embracing the challenge of matching up against some of the powerhouse programs in the H-DNL.

The SB girls are also back on the soccer field this fall after a young roster went winless in the spring, and they have already posted their first victory since 2019.

And Danny Rosce, who is the head coach of both teams, says his players are excited to be back.

“They really want to play soccer,” Rosce said of the boys team. “Over half of them have never played soccer before, so just having them out there is great. They want to field a team. They want to represent their school. They’re giving it their all.”

Several other H-DNL coaches have complemented the team on its return and said that having the Crusaders competing again is a good thing for the H-DNL, with only Ferndale and Hoopa now unable to field boys teams.

It has been a juggling act of sorts for the Crusaders, with some of their players also playing football, and Roscoe had only nine of his 13 players available for Saturday’s 7-1 loss at Arcata, with the Tigers agreeing to play nine-on-nine.

“I thought that showed a lot sportsmanship from their coach,” Roscoe said.

Leading the way on this year’s team are captains Sam Zhong and Garrett Sobol, each of whom “have great attitudes and play their hearts out,” according to their coach.

German exchange student Sam Matysek also has been playing hard for the team and scored the only goal in the game at Arcata.

The St. Bernard’s girls, meanwhile, should compete for a Little 3 title, and got their conference campaign off to a winning start last week with a 3-0 win over South Fork.

Unlike in boys soccer, Ferndale does field a girls team, and the three small schools will play each other four times in conference play.

And the Crusaders should be right in the mix.

“One thing I really like about this group is that’s a nice mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen,” Rosce said. “And everybody seems to be getting along.”

On Saturday, the SB girls matched Arcata well in the first half, before eventually falling 6-1 to the Big 5 frontrunners.

Several players have impressed early in the season for the team, including captains Emma Wilson, Ema Brenes and Jessica Ruttter.

Rutter, a midfielder, is out injured at the moment, but when she returns the talented trio will give the Crusaders a solid core up the center of the field, with Brenes playing sweeper and Wilson up front.

Sophomores Bella Maki and Olivia Eads have also impressed early for the team, as has freshman Laila Florvilus, who has settled into the high school level quickly.

Another sophomore, stopper Hannah Finck, also impressed against the Tigers, as did junior forward Shaya Robinson.

Both St. Bernard’s teams will be in action this Friday when they host Ferndale at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.