Ashton Perkins Scores Twice as Jesuit Leaves the Bruins in the Ruins

Ashton Perkins deftly avoids the slide tackle and keeps control of the ball.

Jesuit’s Next Opponent: The Jays (10-3-4; 2-0-1) board a bus for a trip down to the parish where they will battle the Chalmette Owls (3-5-1) in a district match.
When: Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Chalmette High School, 1100 E. Judge Perez Dr.
Kickoff: 5 PM
Admission: $6 adults; free for Blue Jay students and Chalmette students with school IDs; students from other schools pay $3; children ages 6-11 pay $3.

Into the Lens: View the Jesuit – Bonnabel Photo Gallery

The Blue Jays found the net early (in the fourth minute) and added one for insurance (in the 55^th minute) to shut out a persistent Bonnabel team in a district match on Tuesday afternoon (January 10) at John Ryan Stadium.

It was the Jays’ third consecutive win and the second match in a row in which they scored in the opening minutes of play. The Jays’ 2-0 victory also marked their eighth shutout win of the season.

Both of Jesuit’s goals were courtesy of sophomore striker Ashton Perkins, who had an assist from senior midfielder Hunt Navar on the first one. Coming in the fourth minute of play, Perkins said the goal was huge.

Surrounded by Bruins, Vincent Baumer takes a shot.

“Generally when we’re up a goal, we’re able to settle down, play our game, and not always be in a rush and lose our composure,” said Perkins. “We talked at halftime about keeping our composure, losing our mental focus when we’re down a goal or if we don’t score in the first 20 minutes. So getting that goal as soon as we had an opportunity was very important.”

Coach Hubie Collins really likes it when the Blue Jays start a game as if they’d been shot out of cannons.

“Hunt got down the wing and made a great cross in and Ashton was able to get us a great header goal,” said Coach Collins. “The goal allowed us to settle down and get into a rhythm. But in fairness to Bonnabel they came back, they responded, they fought hard, and we were pushed all the way through the first half. We probably could have gotten a second or a third goal in the first half but it didn’t drop for us. We

Brett Balser charges after the ball.

persevered and probably had the majority of possession in the game which allowed us to be able to create chances. We were able to get that second goal in the second half. Ashton was able to get a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, it was a great finish, and that really was the clincher of the game. But like I said, Bonnabel played hard, they played tough.”

Senior midfielder Patrick Rees is credited with an assist on Perkins’s second goal, which came in the 55^th minute. The “clincher” allowed the Jays to breathe easier.

“We’re starting to meld together as a team and we’re really coming together,” said Perkins. “We’re starting to produce results, getting our goals when we need to, so finishing opportunities is by far one of the most important things we need to do. I’m just happy that now we’re starting to put up our numbers on the board and our team is looking pretty good. I’m excited to see how we turn out later this season.”

The Jays had eight shots on goal to one for the Bruins. Jesuit took eight corner kicks to three for Bonnabel.

For the Jays defensively, the match was their eighth shutout win this season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the goalkeeper (senior Reese Leonhard) and the back four,” said Coach Collins. “Psychologically, not giving up goals and having clean sheets is very beneficial to the team in general.”

Read More…

Nola.com: Ashton Perkins scores a pair to lead Blue Jays to victory

The New Orleans Advocate: Jesuit soccer team shows offensive improvement in 2-0 win over Bonnabel