The Jesuit Crusaders opened their season the right way on Monday night, beating the Canby Cougars 19-4 at home. Coming into the game, there were high expectations after last year’s state championship loss, and the team made it clear they wanted to start strong. “We want to set the tone for the season and play hard,” senior defender AJ Bayne said before the game.
Jesuit did exactly that from the start. Senior captain Mackie Malkiel got things going early, scoring the first goal of the season with a shot into the top left corner from about 10 yards out. From there, the offense stayed consistent all game, with scoring spread across multiple players. George Malkiel, Dimitri Lampros, Noah Kwon, Elliott Hire, and Davis Dolp each finished with three goals. Ryan Devine added two, while Mackie Malkiel and Patrick Kennedy each had one. The balanced scoring showed the variety of offensive attack this team has, even after graduating a large senior class last year. Canby managed to score once in the second quarter, once in the third, and twice in the fourth, but Jesuit stayed in control the entire game.
Late in the game, the Crusaders were able to rotate in younger players who had not seen much varsity time, giving them valuable experience early in the season.
Even with the blowout score, players know there is still work to do. “We could have played better help defense,” senior captain defender Owen Vance said. “We had some late slides to some of their best guys, and we also turned the ball over a couple times during the clear. Our on-ball defense was solid but could definitely still improve. Communication is beginning to gel well.”
On the offensive side, the team also saw growth throughout the game. “There was a lot of me ball, not we ball at the beginning, but we definitely improved in the second half,” senior attack Ryan Devine said. “I could feel the offense coming alive.”
The win is a strong start, especially for a team looking to bounce back after falling one goal short in last year’s state championship. Still, the players know tougher challenges are ahead. Jesuit now heads to Seattle this weekend, where they will face three high-level teams in a quick time period. It will be an early test to see how this new group stacks up against stronger competition.
For now, the Crusaders can feel good about starting the season 1-0, but if their goal is to get back on top, they know this is just the beginning.
