With school now winding down and summer now creeping up, that can only mean one thing: Jesuit lacrosse is gearing up for another state championship run.
The regular season ended well for the Rangers after their successful spring break excursion, finishing with nine wins and only one loss. This left Jesuit with an impressive 13-1 record in intrastate play, emerging as one of the top team in the South region.
On March 20th the Rangers defeated infamous rival St. Marks 9-5, beating the lions for the second regular season in a row. Jesuit’s domination continued with crushing victories over fellow Jesuit school Strake Jesuit (12-1), Plano (17-1), and Allen (16-8).
The only loss from the state of Texas (the other loss came from the Gilman Greyhounds from Maryland who defeated the Rangers over spring break) came from perhaps Jesuit’s biggest rival, Highland Park. The game was close, and Jesuit barely lost a nail-bitter 6-7.
However, the Rangers did finish on a positive note, defeating ESD 8-7. The Buell brothers, Carson Buell ‘13 and Jackson ‘Fratson’ Buell ‘14, finished with two goals each. Others pitched in as Will Carney ’14, John Wheeler ‘14, Connor Fox ‘13 and Garret Van de Ven ‘13 all had one goal. Lee Belland ‘14 also had a crucial assist.
“It’s good to have momentum going into the playoffs,” described attack-man Jason Myers ‘14, “We lost two games that we felt we should have won, so we believe we could have gone undefeated. But overall, we are happy with how we played this year.”
The road to the state championship started this past weekend and Jesuit earned a first round bye with their second seeding. Playoffs then commenced in Houston, featuring the best teams from the competitive state of Texas. “We feel we can beat whoever we play,” said Myers, pre-playoffs with a strong tone of confidence, “but there are some really good teams such as St. Marks, ESD, and Highland Park.” (Highland Park is the reigning state champ).
In their first game of the playoffs, Jesuit crushed Episcopal of Houston 13-2. Carson Buell finished with a hat trick, while Jackson, Lee Belland, and Connor Fox each pitched in with two. Zach Coker ‘14, who is recovering from injury, rebounded with a hat trick as well, having one goal and two assists.
This advances Jesuit to the final four, a place they have become very familiar with over the
past few years. And sure enough Myers was spot on with his predictions as the final four features all north Texas teams. St. Marks is to play Highland Park while Jesuit again is matched up with ESD.
The Rangers hope to rebound from last year’s disappointing loss in the semi-finals. However, their goal is not only reachable, but also likely as this year’s senior class features seven outstanding collegiate lacrosse recruits as well as impressive underclassman.
For live updates during the remaining Jesuit lacrosse games, follow @sfoxnd83.
