TOWSON, Md. - As the Landmark Conference counts down to the start of the 2026-27 academic year, the Conference will revisit some of the best stories from its member institutions through the Landmark Rewind series.
Running August 3-14, Landmark Rewind will spotlight one Landmark institution each weekday by featuring two stories originally produced by that school's athletics department. From student-athlete features and championship moments to community impact and campus initiatives, the series gives fans another opportunity to discover the people and programs that make the Landmark Conference special before fall competition begins.
The run that the Catholic men’s soccer program has been on in the Landmark Conference over the past four seasons has been unprecedented, culminating in the completion of the first three-peat in conference history during the 2025 season. Seth Michalak solidified the Landmark championship for the Cardinals when he found the back of the net in the closing minutes against Drew to secure the victory, 1-0.
While the postseason success has spoken for itself for the program, perhaps what is more impressive is what Catholic has been in the regular season against Landmark foes. A streak that started with a 2-1 win over Drew on October 9, 2021, the Cardinals have gone unbeaten in 39 straight regular season conference matches. It has been over 1,700 days since the program has tasted defeat in the Landmark regular season, and since 2019 Catholic has only lost a conference regular season contest once.
“Anytime you can find wins in the Landmark, it’s a proud moment,” said head coach Connor Keenan. “Looking throughout the conference, we have great coaches, great teams, and each week you know it is going to be an absolute battle to try and come away with points. We always try to appreciate and be grateful anytime we can get a result or success in conference because we know how hard it truly is to compete each week against the teams & coaches we have. While we are certainly proud of what the program has continued to accomplish and we don’t hide from the pressure to continue the success we have, we try not to take any moment for granted and appreciate every moment we have together.”
During this incredible run in the conference for Catholic, the team has outscored its opponents 86-19, scoring multiple goals in 21 of the matches and keeping 19 clean sheets over the 39-match run. The success has obviously translated to the postseason for the Cardinals as well, having won five of the previous six Landmark Conference championships, bringing the program’s total to eight, which is five more than the next closest team in the Landmark.
The success for the Catholic program has even extended beyond the conference tournament, as the one season during this run when the Cardinals did not win the conference tournament, they made it to the Sweet 16 in 2022. Despite a loss in the semifinals of the conference tournament that season, Catholic picked up a pair of 2-0 victories over Lynchburg and Christopher Newport in the NCAA Tournament, making it the deepest run in program history. The postseason heroics continued this past season when Holden Woodings buried a penalty in extra time against the defending national champions, Amherst, to secure the program’s fourth-ever win in the NCAA Tournament.
“It is extremely hard to win Landmark Conference games, and the same goes for the NCAA Tournament, but we know the grind of the Landmark will prepare any team in the conference for what comes in the NCAA Tournament,” said Keenan. “We just always try to find new ways to improve our process, continue building strong relationships, enjoy the time we have together, and remember we’re playing for something bigger than ourselves.”
There has been no shortage of recognition when it comes to awards for the Cardinals over this stretch of years as Holden Woodings, Gordie Bernlohr, Darius Siahpoosh and Ben Alexander have combined to win the past Landmark Offensive Player of the Year awards with Woodings and Siahpoosh each earning the award twice. The Cardinals have also rostered two Landmark Rookie of the Year winners in Carson Shamoo (2025) and Owen Allegro (2023). With countless All-Landmark selections during this period, Catholic has also had 18 United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections since 2019, with five of those honorees going on to earn USC All-American honors, including Woodings, who became just the second player in program history to be named an All-American twice.