The Jesuit Crusaders advanced to the quarterfinals and continued their Metro League dominance, beating the Westview Wildcats 6-1 on Tuesday.
Starting their postseason chase with a 3-0 win over Willamette last weekend, Jesuit entered Tuesday’s contest looking to win their 6th straight match against Metro League opponents. Jesuit had previously beat the Wildcats 6-1 on October 14th, and with strong attacking play and a hungry midfield, Jesuit came out with the same result on a brisk night at Cronin Field.
Jesuit, averaging around 3.5 goals a game, came out firing early with a goal from Metro League Player of the Year, sophomore Vala Saghafi in the 13th minute off an assist from junior Luc Schmidt.
Westview responded with great control of possession in the midfield for the rest of the first half, resulting in a goal scored from right winger Oliver White to tie the game heading into halftime. Coming out of halftime, Jesuit’s formation struggled to create chances in their attack, until Saghafi came up with another clutch goal to turn the momentum.
Dancing on the right wing, Vala created another self-opportunity and scored a low screamer near post around the Westview goalie to take the lead. From there, Coach Geoff Skipper’s defense held their line, allowing 0 goals for the rest of the half, while Saghafi and seniors Caden Hoppes and Nikhil Chaudhari ran up the score, where the game would finish at 6-1 and a satisfying win in the Round of 16.
While Jesuit beat Westview, the Lincoln Cardinals came back from a 2-0 deficit in South Eugene to save their season and advance to play Jesuit at Cronin Field on Saturday.
“We’re very excited to play Lincoln another time this season,” Hoppes said. “Earlier in the year, we beat them 2-1 in a loud atmosphere, so we’re happy that we can face them on our turf where we’re comfortable.”
Jesuit has 8 seniors, one of which Hoppes, who are all looking to make memories as their high school soccer careers come to a close. Along with determination to not play their last game, Jesuit knows they have unfinished business with some of the top squads still remaining including Beaverton and Lakeridge, who they’ve had tough battles with already.
“Obviously we’re trying our best to take the playoffs one game at a time. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, everyone is a tough opponent. But there’s a couple teams we would love to face again, especially after the way last year ended.”
Jesuit lost in the state championship game against Lakeridge last year, who’s continued their good play, ranked #1 at the end of the regular season. Jesuit has a chance to face Beaverton in the semifinals as well if they come up with a win on Saturday.
However, Jesuit will focus on what’s gotten them to this point, playing good soccer and taking every opponent seriously, especially in their upcoming game on Saturday.
