Jesuit bounced back after their loss to Lincoln with a 4-2 win against the #2 ranked Westview Wildcats. 

The Crusaders were determined to start the Metro League off strong. Westview had a record of 6-0-2 going into the game. Jesuit knew it would take a strong performance to break the Wildcats’ undefeated streak. 

As the game kicked off, Jesuit immediately put on the pressure. Only five minutes into the game, the Crusaders found their first after Omar Barajas cut the ball back to Nico Hidalgo, who fired the ball into the right corner of the goal. 

Not long later, Jesuit increased their lead. Dominic Hoar-Weiler had a left-footed shot that was saved by the keeper, but the ball fell to Drew Pedersen who tapped it calmly into the goal. 

Against the run of play, Westview cut the deficit after Sasha DeVassie won a penalty. DeVassie slotted the penalty into the bottom left corner, and brought the game to 2-1.

The Crusaders responded as Hidalgo passed the ball to Pedersen who fired a first-time shot past the keeper. The half ended with a 3-1 lead for Jesuit. 

As the second half began, the Crusaders attempted to keep cool under the impending attack from the Wildcats. A strong performance from defenders Kogen Albertini, Griffin Scott, and Richard Anderson kept Westview’s offense to a minimum. 

Halfway into the half, Hidalgo scored again as he snuck a 20-yard free kick into the back of the net. With a 4-1 lead, Jesuit were fully in control. 

Westview made one final push to get back into the game. Following a corner, the ball was headed in by the Wildcats to cut the lead to two. Yet, the final effort was not enough as Jesuit held strong to win the game 4-2. 

Barajas expressed his feelings on a huge win against a tough Metro League team. 

“Coming off that loss against Lincoln, we wanted to show that we could compete with any team in the state,” Barajas said. 

Barajas also talked about how the win against Westview will help the team for the rest of the season. 

“I think we’re looking to stay ahead,” Barajas said. “We just got to take it a game at a time, and make sure we don’t make any silly errors.” 

Goals Galore

So far this season, Jesuit has scored 32 goals in 9 games. Their offensive performances stem from strikers Pedersen and Barajas. They will look to continue scoring with their next matchup against Southridge on Monday night.