Mepham was back on its heels early in the first half as Walsh and juniors Franklin Flores and Ryan Lao all tested Heller, but the Pirates managed to open the scoring 10:20 into the contest when senior Harly Hosty converted a crossing pass from junior Dylan Christie. Cunha made two key stops to keep it 1-0, and the Jets pulled even at 21:59 when James Lim set up fellow senior Marvin Pineda for his second goal of the year.

Pineda’s first goal came in the first meeting when Mepham took a 3-1 home decision Sept. 12 behind a pair of Ippolito goals and one from sophomore Corey Gringer. It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Pirates since that victory, but Koester is optimistic about a playoff run.

“We probably need to steal some points from the top teams to get in,” Koester said. “It’s not impossible.”

The Jets are in the same boat. “This was a rough week for us with three games,” Elder said. “We’re a little banged up, but I like the way we played.”