The Rangers fell victim to another first half goal as McKinney upended Jesuit, 1-0, on Tuesday night at McKinney H.S. Jesuit racked up six shots and four corner kick attempts, but a Lions' goal in the 19th minute proved to be the difference as the defensively-minded McKinney squad was able to keep the Rangers away from the equalizer.
Four Rangers racked up shots, led by senior
Kazuma Hirota, who earned the team's lone shot on goal in the contest. Two shots from senior
Chris Flabiano, a pair of attempts by junior
Diego Sierra and a shot from senior
John Scott Lacina completed the Rangers' offensive attempts as senior
Connor Tullis added four saves in goal.
McKinney started to mount pressure early, taking three shots over the first 15 minutes of the opening half before scoring in the 19th minute to take the opening 1-0 lead. The Lions scored on a ball which was sent through the right side and slotted past a diving Tullis to break the early tie.
In the 25th minute, Hirota sent a header towards the cage and was denied by the McKinney goalkeeper as a follow-up shot on the rebound from Sierra was blocked by the Lions' defenders. The Rangers aimed to tie the game in the second half but shots by Sierra, Flabiano and Lacina were turned away.
The Rangers will conclude the season on Friday when the Blue and Gold travel to Kimbrough Stadium to battle Plano East. Jesuit and Plano East tied, 0-0, in the first matchup between the two teams on Feb. 12.