On Tuesday, May 6, the Jesuit men’s lacrosse team solidified their position as Metro League champions after defeating the Sunset Apollos. The Crusaders hosted Sunset on Cronin Field, where they won 17-5.
#1 Jesuit Crusaders opened the game against #6 Sunset with a low-scoring first quarter. It was a defensive battle early on, with both teams struggling to score. A couple minutes into the first quarter, Elliott Hire ‘26 put the first point on the board for Jesuit with an unassisted goal.
Shortly after Hire’s opening goal, Sunset responded with a quick strike by Nick Ogg to even the score. From there, the teams traded goals back and forth. By the end of the first quarter, Jesuit held a narrow 3-2 lead over the Apollos.
The second quarter kicked off, where Jesuit took a solid lead over Sunset. Deuce Bechtold ‘25 knocked in two goals throughout this quarter, with smooth assists from Elliott Hire and Brady Bayne. Additional goals from many other Jesuit players and one goal from Sunset brought the halftime score to be 10-3 in favor of the Crusaders.
Going into halftime, the Crusaders outscored Sunset in the second quarter 7 goals to 1 goal.
“During halftime our coaching staff highlighted a couple of our goals for the rest of the game, and where we could improve from the first half. We needed to give up less turnovers and clear the ball more efficiently from defense to offense. Our goal for the second half was to play first team offense and focus on the success as a team, rather than our own successes,” said Owen Vance ‘26.
Jesuit took that advice to heart and capitalized on it. They began playing a more patient game, which led to better team chemistry.
On their first possession of the second half, Brady Bayne had some success putting another one in the back of the net. Following Bayne, Ryan Jack and Deuce Bechtold scored near the end of the third quarter. Sunset bounced back, with a strike from Marcus Hamn.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 15-4.
The pace of the game slowed going into the fourth quarter as Jesuit focused on ball possession. However, in the final minutes, Brady Bayne and Ryan Devine each scored, closing out the game with two more goals.
Jesuit’s defense shined this quarter, shutting out the Apollos entirely. As the final whistle blew, the Crusaders celebrated their victory over the Sunset Apollos.
Each game, the Crusaders choose a Player of the Game. In Tuesday night’s matchup, Elliott Hire earned the honor. With 4 goals and 2 assists, his performance played a major role in the team’s victory.
“All my success came from my teammates as they were able to set me up for success in the moments. We run a very fast ball movement offense, and I was able to take advantage of the plays my teammates set up for me,” said Elliott Hire.
