The Jesuit soccer team kicked off district games January 9th at Highland Park. Since then, Jesuit have only conceded three goals in their seven matchups, but scored 11. They’ve been on fire this year, currently sitting 2nd place in the district. Additionally, MaxPreps has them ranked 7th in the state for 6A soccer (2.7.24). Here are a couple recaps of memorable matchups this year.
Season Opener vs. Highland Park
Coming off of their impressive Meinster Tournament victory, Jesuit expected to fly into the regular season. However, playing district rivals Highland Park away in our first game seemed a large task. But the Rangers didn’t back down and gave an impressive defensive performance to keep a shutout against the Scotts. However, Jesuit was unable to score and therefore came away with an exhilarating 0-0 tie. Coach DeLong told me that “the players played well and have the ability to score and beat opponents.” But, he continued, saying “we lacked the final touch and the right decision making that game, so we ended up tying.”
Home Opener vs. Bryan Adams
However, scoring proved to be the least of our problems against Bryan Adams. In the Ranger’s home opener, senior Jason Ogbolu netted two goals, with senior Lucas Parra and junior Octavio Monjaras each scoring one. Octavio Monjaras described the victory as “a real team effort.” He said that “it took all of us tonight, working with and for each other.” He continued by commending the defense, saying “the backline and goalkeeper did really well for us, which allowed us to send numbers forward and get those four goals.”
Senior Night vs. MacArthur
On January 26th, Jesuit hosted Irving MacArthur for their senior night. Before kickoff, they celebrated the 10 seniors from the 19 man roster. Additionally, the Rangers received new Nike jerseys to wear for the remainder of the season. Jesuit secured a decisive 3-1 victory at home, with senior Mario Parra finding the back of the net once, and junior Clyde Araiza netting two. After the match, the Rangers had their traditional snowball fight on the field to celebrate their victory. Sophomore, Cooper McGough described Senior Night as “incredibly fun” and said the win was “decisive and it was good to finish our chances.”
Come out and support your Jesuit brothers at their next couple of home games (Feb. 9 against Nimitz and Feb. 13 against HP) as they continue their excellent run of form.