Junior Christian Lerma's sixth goal of the season aided a determined Ranger effort in front of a passionate home crowd, vaulting Jesuit Dallas to a 1-1 draw against state-ranked No. 6 Coppell on Tuesday at Postell Stadium.
 
Jesuit trailed, 1-0, with under 11 minutes remaining before Lerma beat the Cowboys' keeper after a pass from senior Chase Burciaga. The Jesuit defense withstood 15 shots from the Cowboys and nine corner kicks, breaking through in the second half to record a tie in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) District 9-6A opener for both teams, and the first of Jesuit's two matches against the reigning UIL 6A State Champions.
 
Senior Luke Ostrander made two first half saves, while junior Joseph Banul logged three stops in the second half. Ostrander saved a Coppell shot 2:12 into the bout, the first of four Coppell shots within the first 10 minutes. Senior Mateo Means placed a shot on goal 15 minutes into the opening stanza. With 13:51 remaining, Lerma flicked a header across the six-yard box to senior Tommy Flaim, who sent a ball towards the goal but was cleared away by the Coppell defense, sending the game scoreless into the break.
 
Coppell appeared to score early in the second half, but the goal was waved off due to an offsides call. Moments later, Burciaga took a long shot that ricocheted off of the crossbar. The Cowboys scored with 34:12 remaining in the second half, stopping several Jesuit shots to keep the lead prior to Lerma's goal.
 
The Rangers looked poised to take the lead with four minutes remaining, but an attempt by Lerma was saved by the Coppell goalkeeper. Coppell had one final attempt at the lead, earning a corner kick with seconds on the clock. After a scrum in the box, Coppell put the ball past the goal line after the final buzzer had sounded, ending the game with a 1-1 draw.
 
Jesuit will hit the road on Friday to battle Richardson at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. Kickoff for Friday's district game will take place at 7:30 p.m.