By Mike Waters / Contributor
Only Mother Nature could slow down Jesuit Dallas on its quest for the Texas High School Lacrosse League Class AA title.
After Sunday’s championship match was postponed due to inclement weather, the Rangers returned to the field Monday in Coppell where they defeated The Woodlands, 9-8, to claim the crown.
The senior trio of Jack Steinbach, David Atwell and Gabriel James each expressed similar sentiments after the Rangers won the program’s first THSLL title since 2022.
“This championship was a credit to the offense, defense, and great goaltending,” Steinbach said. “This senior group has worked so hard. We earned this.”
Steinbach noted that while Jesuit entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, the team relished the role of underdog.
“The underdog gotta eat too,” he said. “This was a total team effort.”
Atwell, a Midfielder and Rollins College signee, added that “this was four years in the making”.
“We’ve been working our tails off for four years for this,” he said. “And it finally paid off. It’s such a great feeling.”
Jesuit goalie and Ohio State signee James echoed those same thoughts.
“Four years,” he said while exhaling. “We did it. It’s a credit to the entire team.”
Things looked bleak for Jesuit early on as No. 3 seed The Woodlands jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead.
“We took a punch in the first quarter,” Steinbach said. “We regrouped defensively, had confidence in our great goalie, and knew our offense would get going. It was a total team effort.”
Duke signee senior Alek Askeroglu, sophomore Finnegan O’Mahoney and Michigan pledge and junior Stockton Steward staked Woodlands to that quick lead.
Atwell finally got the Rangers on the board with 59 seconds left in the first period that began the momentum shift.
After junior Rutgers commit Baron Sager found net less than two minutes into the second quarter for The Woodlands, the Jesuit offense exploded for four consecutive goals, with Atwell scoring twice sandwiched around JC Fife and Jack Lynch finding net.
The Lynch goal, which tied the game at the 4:28 mark, was set up by a Wil Fagan steal off a Woodlands goalie pass. Atwell’s score with 3.8 seconds left forged a 5-4 Jesuit lead, one it never relinquished, at intermission.
Jesuit head coach Chris Surran explained the turnaround.
“We just started winning face-offs, gaining possessions,” said Surran, who has guided the program since 2007. “And attacking offensively.
“The second quarter, and Atwell’s goal just before halftime, was a big momentum swing for us. It gave our team tremendous confidence.”
Jesuit’s success continued out of the halftime break.
Senior Midfielder Marshall Sorokwasz, a Franklin & Marshall (Lancaster, Penn.) signee, registered two goals and Hudson Yeskie added another to counter an Askeroglu score to provide Jesuit an 8-5 advantage heading into the final stanza.
Steward opened the fourth period with a Woodlands goal that was countered with Jesuit’s Andrew Ditchman, a Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) signee, scoring with 7:05 remaining.
The Ditchman goal proved to be the winning score as Askeroglu tallied his third of the game with 4:18 left and Sager added another with 12.3 ticks remaining. The Woodlands controlled the ensuing face-off, but Ditchman made the key steal of a pass that sealed the championship for the Rangers.
“They’re just a great group of players,” said Surran, whose team finished 11-5 on the season. “We faced a tough schedule all season long and that helped prepare us for the playoffs.”
The Jesuit defense came up big for the Rangers.
“We were down two Defenders this game,” Surran said in reference to injuries suffered by Andrew Reames and Jackson Gair. “Other guys stepped up and did a tremendous job.”
Jesuit had defeated Southlake, 11-7, in the regional before stunning top-seed Highland Park, 10-5, in the state semifinal.
The win over HP, which was ranked No. 21 nationally by USA Lacrosse Magazine, gave Jesuit added confidence.
“They’re a big rival,” Surran said. “It was an emotional win for us.”
Surran said he was concerned how his team would respond after the win over HP, and having to wait an added day due to weather.
“You never know how a team will respond to those situations,” he said.
The concern was laid to rest with the championship.
“It’s a credit to our 23 seniors on the team,” Surran said. “This team has great leadership and the team stayed focused.”
James, who was named the Defensive MVP after registering 17 saves in the title game, said he remained focused after the big win over the Scots.
“Yeah, it was a great win over Highland Park,” he said. “But for me, it was just another step toward attaining our goal, which is a state championship. And we got it.”
Steinbach said the team came into the semifinal game against HP, a team it lost 8-3 April 4 with confidence.
“I think [Highland Park] came in a little cocky,” he said. “We were hungry and determined to get to the championship game.”
And Steinbach, a defender, came up big in the championship contest, earning MVP honors. “That is really special,” Steinbach said. “It is great to see a defender getting that recognition, which usually goes to an offensive player scoring a lot of goals. So that makes it very cool.”
Atwell led the Jesuit offensive attack with three goals, all in the first half, in being selected Offensive MVP.
“It’s a great honor,” Atwell said. “But this is a team win, a team championship, all the way.”
Sorokwasz recorded both his goals in the third quarter. Fife, Lynch, Yeskie and Ditchman notched one goal apiece for the victorious Rangers, which avenged a 7-6 setback to The Woodlands on February 21 during the regular season.
Jesuit claimed its fifth overall THSLL crown, having won four other state titles – including back-to-back in 2022 and 2021 – and also consecutive championships in 2016-17 when the largest classification was Division I.
The Woodlands (17-4), now runner-up three of the last four years, was seeking its second-ever THSLL state championship, having won its lone title as Division I in 2018 over St. Mark’s.
Askeroglu led the Highlanders with three goals, while Steward and Sager added two scores apiece, with O’Mahoney contributing one score.
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