San Juan Capistrano, CA — The @jserraboyssoccer team nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages in their CIF-SS Open Division quarterfinals showdown with Trinity League rival Mater Dei on Tuesday, as the Monarchs escaped with a 4-3 victory at JSerra Catholic High School. Mater Dei tallied the lone score of the match in the first half to take a 1-0 lead into the intermission. The Monarchs controlled match play throughout most of the second half, pushing across three goals in an 18-minute span to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the 68th minute. But the Lions stormed back with a furious rally in the final eight minutes. Sophomore Carter Biondolillo booted home the Lions’ first goal of the match in the 72nd minute. Two minutes later, sophomore Finn Wilkins connected with freshman Nick Tonsich, who found the back of the net to cut the Lions’ deficit to 4-2. Three minutes later, Tonsich took advantage of a fortuitous bounce that went past the Monarchs goalie and tapped a shot into the open net to narrow the margin to one goal. Mater Dei staved off the Lions’ final attempts to tie the match before the final whistle to escape with the victory. JSerra is now 8-5-4 on the season and will head to Mater Dei on Saturday for the semifinals round. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.