In a whirlwind of white pennies flying across the field, amidst a sea of golden helmets and pristine metallic staffs, the players sprint across the field, quickly maneuvering past defenders until the referee blows the whistle, signaling yet another Jesuit goal.
As a nationally recognized team this year, the Jesuit Rangers Varsity lacrosse team blew past plenty of stout opponents and looked to continue their smart, tough play during the 2012 Jesuit Classic over spring break.
The team kicked off the annual Jesuit Classic, an all-Jesuit high school lacrosse tournament, at Strake Jesuit in Houston, on Friday, March 16th. Fresh off an impressive win against ESD, the third ranked team in Texas, the Rangers faced stiff competition against the undefeated Saint Ignatius Prep Wildcats of San Francisco.
Although the Rangers played well, they lost by a score of 7-6 in what junior and Duke commit Garrett Van de Ven ’13 called an “absolute heartbreaker.” Down 5-1 after the first half, Jesuit rallied in the second, scoring 5 goals, but also conceding 2 goals that eventually led to their first defeat of the season.
Despite playing the Wildcats very well, both offensively and defensively, many players, including junior Connor Fox ’13, noted that they “lost to a very, very good team.” In fact, according to laxpower.com, the Saint Ignatius Wildcats are the highest ranked team in the state of California and the seventh-ranked team in the country. Without question, the Wildcats were the hardest competition the Rangers have faced and will face all season.
Despite their heartbreaker against Saint Ignatius, the Rangers bounced back strongly and did not have much trouble the rest of the Jesuit Classic, simply overpowering the 6-5 Tampa Jesuit Tigers by a score of 6-3.
They also manhandled a winless Fordham Prep Rams team by a score of 6-2. Although these two teams did not provide as much of a
challenge, many players, including Van de Ven and Fox emphasized the importance of “showing heart, even in the less competitive games.”
Although Jesuit lost its first game of the season, the Rangers are still holding on to the number 1 ranking in the state of Texas, according to laxpower.com. They are also ranked 27th in the nation, a ranking that could escalate if Jesuit secures some key wins down the stretch.
The two biggest matchups to note this season are against rivals St. Mark’s and Highland Park. After losing in the state semi-finals to Highland Park two years ago and fighting for the number 1 spot in the state with St. Mark’s all year, the Jesuit Rangers are hungry to prove that they are the best team in the state. In fact, when further asked about the Rangers’ performance in the Jesuit Classic, Van de Ven realistically stated, “If we want to beat St. Mark’s and Highland Park, we have to play competitive games against good teams like Saint Ignatius, and that’s exactly what we did.”
The team plays Highland Park on April 10th and St. Mark’s on April 19th in the last game of the regular season. In the meantime, they face the Coppell Cowboys in a rematch of last year’s state title game, which the Rangers barely lost 10-8, this Friday, March 30th at Jesuit. Come out for the 7:30 PM game and support your Rangers as they near their goal of being state champions.
Photography by Kelly McClure
