Southeastern Pa. boys’ soccer notes

Though Mark Casasanto Jr.'s injuries proved not to be dire, as he lay on a stretcher in the trauma unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Roman Catholic senior was clueless to the severity of his condition.

He had a concussion, it was determined, but doctors were still assessing what appeared to be a serious neck injury. He wore a brace, but X-rays and a CAT scan were needed.

Casasanto, one of three captains on the Cahillites soccer team, had gone up for a routine head ball in the second half of a Catholic League game at Lansdale Catholic on Oct. 11.

As the 5-foot-4, 140-pound midfielder leaped through the air, an opposing player also contesting for the ball undercut him. Casasanto, his legs flinging over his body, landed with a thud on his back, his head bouncing off the turf.

His initial reaction was to jump up and continue play, but as he got to his feet, he immediately collapsed back to the ground.

"Scary to say the least," said his father, Mark Casasanto Sr., an assistant coach.

With the help of school trainers and another player's mother - a nurse - Mark Sr. rushed his son, who began to lose some sensation in his feet, to CHOP in the backseat of his car.

With the boy's status critical, emergency-room doctors were readying to perform X-rays and scans. With the bulky brace already in place, they told Casasanto that they would cut off his soccer jersey with scissors to avoid aggravating his neck.

He wouldn't let them.

"You're going to have to find a different way," Casasanto told the doctors. "Take off my neck brace or find a way to maneuver it because my jersey isn't being cut."

Doctors insisted, saying the metallic crest on the Cahillites uniform would reflect light and render the scans ineffective, but he wouldn't budge.

"This is my team and I do too much for my team," Casasanto said in an interview. "I'm a captain. This is my senior jersey. It's not getting cut. Even if I was a freshman, they weren't cutting my jersey."

After deliberating with a radiologist, the ER doctors decided they would give the tests a shot even with the jersey still on.

Results showed a severe neck sprain, and nothing more. The family was relieved.

Casasanto missed six days of school recovering from the injuries, and he still experiences some pain in his neck. On Monday, he was cleared to begin doing some physical activity.

Roman (7-5-3) beat Conwell-Egan in the quarterfinals of the Catholic League playoffs Tuesday, 1-0. Though he hasn't played since his injury, Casasanto was on the sidelines in full uniform.

If Roman can reach the league championships on Nov. 1, he hopes he can return to the field. Either way, he'll be with the team, jersey and all.

"I told my coach I'd still be there as a captain," Casasanto said. "That's why he picked me."

Stat of the regular season. La Salle did not allow a goal in 14 Catholic League games this season, shutting out every opponent en route to an undefeated league record. Senior goalkeeper Leonardo Romero has allowed just five goals in 16 games.