A game-opening tally from senior
James Koshakji and three points from junior
Diego Sierra propelled Jesuit Dallas to a 3-1 victory over Plano West in the team's regular season finale on Mar. 22 in Murphy, Texas. The Rangers secure their first district win of the season in the 2019 finale to end the season on a positive note after a vicious run through a stacked district.
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Sierra scored twice to finish the season with 11 goals while senior
James Koshakji added his third goal of the season in the early moments of the bout. The junior added an assist on Koshakji's game-opening goal as sophomore
Ryan Shea tacked on an assist on Sierra's first tally of the game. Jesuit dominated the Panthers offensively, taking 24 shots while holding the Panthers to five attempts on the day. The Rangers earned two corner kick attempts while senior
Connor Tullis made three critical saves to help propel Jesuit to the win.
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Koshakji struck in the 21st minute after Koshakji dispossessed a clear attempt from the Panthers' defense. The senior pushed forward and fed the ball to Sierra, who found the senior open on the wing for the game-opening tally. The goal capped a dominant opening stint for the Blue and Gold, who saw Koshakji, Sierra, Shea and junior
Stratton Ross take shots on goal over the first 15 minutes.
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Jesuit continued to dominate through the opening half, as the defense had the opportunity to shine after Koshakji's goal. Plano East recorded its first shot on goal in the minutes after Jesuit took the lead, and Tullis responded with his first save of the contest. The Rangers tilted the turf back in the favor of the Blue and Gold over the final 15 minutes of the second period as a blocked header by sophomore
Jason Davis and a shot on goal by junior
Danny Ruggiero primed the Rangers for their second goal.
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Shea made a stellar run through the Plano East defense, beating three players before launching a shot that clanged off the crossbar. The rebound fell to the waiting feet of Sierra, who gave Jesuit a 2-0 lead seconds before the halftime buzzer. In the second half, Sierra added his second goal of the game with a 26-yard bomb, slotting the shot into the back of the net on the near side of the goal for a 3-0 lead.
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Plano East snapped the shutout bid with a goal minutes after Jesuit's third goal of the contest, but the Rangers dominated down the stretch. Jesuit racked up 14 shots during the second half and 11 shots over the final 25 minutes of the second half to clinch the victory.
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The victorious match provided a proper conclusion for the Jesuit soccer Class of 2019. Including several members of Jesuit's state title run in 2017, Ranger seniors
Chris Flabiano,
Will Foerster,
Kazuma Hirota,
James Koshakji,
John Scott Lacina,
Aleksei Ramirez,
Angel Tello,
Connor Tullis and
Erik Ventura concluded their Jesuit careers.
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