Jesuit scored two goals in the final 20 minutes to rally past Flower Mound Marcus, 3-2, in the third-place game of the 36th Annual Jesuit-Meintser Invitational Soccer Tournament on Saturday, January 14 in Postell Stadium. The Rangers fell to Sachse in penalty kicks, 4-3, on Friday, leading to a matchup between two nationally-ranked programs.
 
Junior Christian Lerma scored two goals, including the team's initial goal in the first half and equalizer in the 51st minute. Ranger third year Andrew Gilchrist tallied the game-winner in the 54th minute, scoring his first goal of the season. Senior goalkeeper Luke Ostrander and junior Joseph Banul split time in goal, making critical saves to help propel Jesuit (2-2-0) to a third-place finish. Junior Brian Meza assisted on Lerma's first goal, while senior Tommy Flaim assisted on the game-winner.
 
Marcus, which entered the weekend ranked 21st in the nation and fourth in the state according to TopDrawerSoccer, pushed the pace early, forcing Ostrander to make two saves in the first 10 minutes. In the 16th minute, Lerma scored Jesuit's first goal by chipping a service from Meza over the Marauder goalkeeper for the early lead. Ostrander finished the first half with five saves, but Marcus scored two goals in the final nine minutes of the opening stanza to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
 
After a halftime formation change, the Rangers began to charge at the Marauder lead early in the second half. Senior Chase Burciaga, who scored in Jesuit's Thursday matinee against Bishop Lynch, made a first half attempt that went wide of the goal, and Lerma took a shot minutes later that clanged off the far post.
 
With 19:58 remaining in the second, Lerma collected a deflected shot from Flaim, who meandered his way through the Marcus defense, and put home a shot from close range to tie the game. Flaim then crossed a ball to Gilchrist, who gave Jesuit the lead with 16:25 remaining. The Marauders made their last effort in the final seconds, an attempt with seven seconds left that was saved by Banul to hand Jesuit the victory.
 
On Friday, Sachse controlled the pace in the first half, launching six first half shots saved by Banul compared to only two opportunities for the Rangers.  Early in the second half, senior Will Kennard just missed a header that would have given the Rangers a lead, but Ostrander stood tall in the second, making seven stops to force the extra session.
 
Jesuit took a 1-0 lead in penalty kicks after senior David Morgado put home the first attempt and Ostrander made a stop on the initial Mustang try. Sachse tied Jesuit after a Ranger miss, then Flaim put his penalty away to match the ensuing Mustang tally. Kennard converted his try to keep Jesuit tied with Sachse, but the Mustangs clinched the win by scoring on their final two kicks.
 
The Rangers will battle Sachse against Postell Stadium on Tuesday, January 17. Kickoff between Jesuit and the Mustangs is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.