Jesuit Tallies Five Goals in a Rout of the Raiders

Christian de Gracia treads air after pummeling the ball through the Raiders’ goalkeeper’s legs to score Jesuit’s second goal of the match. The score came in the 35th minute and gave the Jays a 2-0 lead.

Jesuit’s Next Opponent: The Jays (12-3-4; 4-0-1) play the Irish of Grace King (6-8-1) in a non-district match.
When: Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Where: John Ryan Stadium (Note the new venue! Originally scheduled at Joe Yenni Stadium, the game was moved on Monday, January 16, to The Ryan.)
Kickoff: 7 PM (No change in kickoff time.)
Admission: $6 adults; free for Blue Jay students and Grace King students with school IDs; students from other schools pay $3; children ages 6-11 pay $3.

Into the Lens: View the Jesuit – Rummel Soccer Photo Gallery

Jesuit’s soccer team just might be peaking at the right time.

The Jays have registered seven consecutive shutouts (six wins and one tie) going back to the Mandeville game on December 21. The Jays’ most recent was an exciting 5-0 district win over Rummel last Saturday, January 14, at John Ryan Stadium. Four Blue Jays scored goals in the 13^th, 35^th, 40^th, 62^nd, and 76^th minutes.

Ashton Perkins shoots from 25 yards out and nails the kick to open the scoring for the Jays in the 13th minute.

“To score five goals in a game against a quality opponent like Rummel is a big achievement,” said Coach Hubie Collins, noting that the first match the Jays played this season, back on November 19, they beat Rummel, 2-1, in a close non-district game. “I knew Rummel felt they were coming out today with something to play for. But I’m glad we were able to score our opportunities and have a shutout from a conceited point of view.”

Nothing conceited about a solid and timely win, one in which the Jays had three corner kicks and at least one dozen shots on goal. Rummel struggled and had no shots on goal nor a single corner kick.

It led to the question by sports media about the Jays’ peaking.

“It’s a great question because it’s important to peak at the right time,” replied Coach Collins. “We’re very fortunate this week because we’ve had three or four players come back off the injury list who got in some good minutes for us today. The boys who were asked to step up to play when we had these injuries have done a phenomenal job. I think our squad is a very deep squad. We think that over the next couple of weeks that we’re going to come into our stride.”

Christian de Gracia (12) battles for the ball on a corner kick as Benton Moore (25) stands guard.

While the journalists covering prep soccer are salivating over a Jesuit – Brother Martin showdown on Thursday, January 19, the Jays must first play Grace King on Tuesday. Both games this week are at The Ryan and both are non-district events. The Jays have played both teams once in the St. Paul’s Holiday Invitational Tournament. Jesuit lost to Brother Martin, 1-0, then came back and beat the Irish, 2-1. Keep in mind that the teams were playing 30-minute tournament halves. The regular season halves are 40 minutes.

“We take it one game at a time so our focus today was on this game,” said Coach Collins. “But we know that with Grace King, we have to focus on them because they’re going to give us a great game. Brother Martin towards the end of the week will be a fantastic match-up, too. But we’ll take it one game at a time. We’ll prepare for Grace King now.”

The Irish are 8-6-1 and coming off a 4-1 loss to Brother Martin in a district match.

Braden Brignac connects with his second penalty kick of the match, this one coming in the 62nd minute and giving the Jays a 4-0 lead.

Against Rummel at The Ryan, the Jays once again started strong. Ashton Perkins opened the scoring in the 13^th minute with an assist from sophomore midfielder Jacob Torres.

“The ball was in front of me, defender’s in front of me, I just touched it to the side, and put it away,” said Perkins. “I didn’t think that much about it. Generally when I think, I get into trouble, so I try to avoid that.”

Imagine that — a sophomore striker with a sense of humor!

In the 35^th minute, junior striker Christian de Gracia, with an assist from junior midfielder Benton Moore, struck the ball firmly into the Raiders’ goal to give the Jays a 2-0 cushion.

Suddenly, before the referee blew his whistle in the 40^th minute, the Raiders fouled inside the box and Braden Brignac hammered home the penalty kick, giving the Jays a comfortable 3-0 halftime lead.

Jake Chanove (29) hits the post but keeps on trying. He eventually kicked Jesuit’s fifth and final goal in the 78th minute. When he did make his goal, it was with an assist by Arthur Ross (13), on the right.

After another Raider foul inside the box, Brignac scored his second PK of the match in the 62^nd minute, increasing Jesuit’s lead to 4-0. The final goal came in the 78^th minute courtesy of senior midfielder Jake Chanove, with an assist by sophomore striker Arthur Ross.

Perkins said each victory boosts the Jays’ confidence a little bit more.

“This allows us to rely more on our individual skills and our own mental capabilities within the game so we’re not rushing,” said Perkins. “The win here is definitely boosting our morale and we’re looking forward to the Brother Martin game. That’s a major win we need to get.”

Brignac agreed that Jesuit is playing really good soccer.

“We’re passing the ball much better than we were in the beginning of the season,” he said. “A lot of non-selfish acts are definitely working out well for us. Ashton and all of our strikers have been playing really well… It’s working out well for us, we’re firing on all cylinders.”