After an 11-2-1 season for the Crusaders Men’s Soccer team, they enter the postseason with a long awaited excitement to get the job done in the state championship game after placing 2nd last year.
This year, coach Skipper’s squad has come into this year with a much younger team, losing many seniors who played a key role the past couple of seasons. Finishing the regular season ranked 3rd in the state, the young squad has proven they are one of the toughest teams to beat in Oregon.
Both of the Crusaders losses this season were from two of their three toughest opponents this year.
They lost their second game to the Summit Storm down in Bend, losing 1-4. The Storm have always given Jesuit a hectic match the past couple of years, although being a 5A team.
The Crusaders second loss came from the former state champions Lakeridge Pacers, losing 3-0 away. The Pacers have been the team to beat this year, and are hoping to win state two years in a row.
The Saders one tie came from their metro league opponents, the Beaverton Beavers. The final score for this entertaining game was 1-1. Beaverton has put on a wonderful performance this season with their lock down defense, also winning the Metro League this year. Their late equalizer in their home match against Jesuit clinched the 2nd seed in the state playoffs.
The Crusaders have had a few ups and downs throughout the season especially with injuries. They were lucky to have senior Chase Adams make his season debut at center back, and he has exceeded expectations. Adams had gone through a chronic injury last year tearing his right ACL and meniscus. Fortunately, he was able to recover quickly and get back on the field.
“The recovery process has definitely been a mix of ups and downs. But, you know, I’m very happy to be back, and it seems that it’s all paying off, especially going into the playoffs ranked number 3,” Adams said.
Another senior captain, Grant Sasaki, also had a sudden injury during the season when he rolled his ankle during practice. The midfielder is a key piece to the defense and midfield, being one of the couple seniors who was on the state championship roster two years ago. He was out during the crucial game against Beaverton, but is now healthy and good to go for the playoffs.
Along with the injuries and crucial games, the team had made a couple gambles with their formation and new roster, but it has successfully gone their way.
The biggest addition for the Crusaders has been sophomore Vala Saghafi. Coming off a 28 goal season at La Salle his freshmen year, the winger leads the team in scoring and has recorded 22 goals going into the postseason. With the sophomore’s impressive skill and talent, they look forward to using him this postseason and the next two years.
Coming right behind him in goals scored was senior Diego Nieves. Nieves has come back this year at striker and racked up 8 goals this season. His presence and return has brought strength and power to the Jesuit front three. The front three include Nieves, Caden Hoppes, another senior captain playing on the left, and Saghafi playing on the right. These three lead the Jesuit offense, also being one of the most intimidating offenses in the state.
Another success has been the leadership of the seniors. Most of the seniors on this year’s squad are returning varsity players, but the seniors new to the team this year have also been productive, including center back Ryan Jack, winger Nikhil Chaudhari, and midfielder Declund King.
Along with the players on the field, goalkeeper and junior Fox Mason has done a spectacular job, especially being his first year as a starter. With 3 clean sheets and many difficult saves, Mason is ready for the postseason, and is looking forward to his senior year. His highlights can be found on JCTV, and his most impressive performance was against La Salle at home.
On the fifth episode of the Jesuit Sportscast, coach Geoff Skipper was able to talk about his view of his team this season, especially going into playoffs.
“I thought we had a lot of eager kids that didn’t get as much playing time last year who came into this year ready to play. It may have looked like we graduated a lot of seniors last season, but we had a lot of talent waiting to take over, especially in the wings. I’m really proud of the seniors and juniors who have stepped up this season and how well they have performed,” Skipper said.
One of the main focuses from this season was organizing the defense, especially after losing many of their players from last season.
“Our defense has really picked up from our first game of the season. We started out by playing three in the back, but then switched to four instead. Players like sophomores Carlos Botiva, Kian Stone, Henry Vanderhoff, and senior Ryan Jack have really performed well and brought the defense under control,” Skipper said.
The Crusaders will begin their playoff run this Saturday, November 1st against the 30th ranked Willamette Wolverines at home. Make sure to keep up with the OSAA men’s soccer playoff bracket for more information.
