In a matchup pitting one of the top teams in Texas against a perennial national power, a vaunted Torrey Pines defense held Jesuit in check en route to a 9-3 win on Saturday night at Postell Stadium. The Rangers were held to seven shots on goal in the loss and were outscored, 4-1 in the second half after only trailing by three at the halftime break.
 
Seniors Peter Buell, Jacob Jackson and sophomore Sam Teachout scored for the Rangers as senior Zachary Rilley added an assist. Junior Drew martin led the way with six ground balls while classmate Jack Selner caused two turnovers. Senior William Moran racked up 10 saves, earning his fifth double-digit save performance of the year and the third in his last four starts. Torrey Pines put itself in position for the win with a dominant performance at the faceoff "x", scoring 10 wins compared to five by the Rangers. Jesuit went 12-of-16 in clear opportunities and secured 14 ground balls compared to 17 for the Falcons.
 
The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead off of two goals over the first six minutes of the contest, taking advantage of a Jesuit turnover and a transition offense for the two-goal lead. Jackson was able to get past several Falcon defenders into the crease, firing home his first shot of the game past the Falcon goalkeeper to cut the Torrey Pines lead in half.
 
After Torrey Pines scored to end the first quarter, Jesuit harness momentum off of a big save by Moran in the second. The clear attempt led to an opportunity for Jesuit in the offensive end, leading to Teachout's 17th goal of the season which brought the Rangers to within two goals at the 9:48 mark of the second. Torrey Pines would secure two unanswered tallies down the stretch of the opening half to take a 5-2 advantage into the break.
 
Jesuit entered the third quarter a man-up after Torrey Pines was called for a slashing penalty to conclude the second quarter. Buell weaved his way through the defense and fired home a close-range one-timer off of a feed from Rilley to start the second half scoring. However, the Falcons won three of four faceoffs in the quarter and held Jesuit to four shots in the quarter while adding a critical insurance goal with 4:32 remaining in the third.
 
The fourth quarter saw Jesuit limited to one shot on goal, despite winning two faceoffs and converting 4-of-5 clear attempts. Torrey Pines distanced itself from the Rangers, turning a three-goal lead into five with goals at the 10:08 and 7:58 mark before capping the win with a tally at the 1:15 mark.
 
Jesuit will head into the homestretch of the season tied atop the West Division with a matchup against Episcopal School of Dallas on the horizon. The two teams will square off at ESD on Saturday at 12 p.m. Jesuit will return to Postell Stadium for the final time this season on Friday, Apr. 26 for its annual rivalry showdown against Highland Park.