The Nimitz boys soccer team is getting hot at the right time, and it’s contributed to a breakneck rise through District 19-5A.

Jesus Renteria and freshman Nathan Ariay each scored a goal Tuesday night to pace the Cougars past Memorial 2-1 at Tully Stadium.

Nimitz, which entered the game three points shy of MacArthur for the district’s fourth and final postseason berth, won its fourth straight game after a six-game losing streak at midseason.

Tuesday was the third straight late-game victory for the Cougars (8-8-5 overall, 5-6-2 district), who finish the regular season Friday against Eisenhower.

“I just told the guys to keep fighting. That’s all we’re doing,” Nimitz coach Salvador Fernandez said. “At this point, we have the confidence we can win games. Before we were losing games 1-0, 1-0, 2-0 and we never had that confidence. Now we have it, and we’re fighting.”

Nimitz lost the previous meeting with Memorial 2-0.

Ariay scored the game-winner – his fourth straight game with a goal – with 21:27 left.

Memorial (5-11-4, 3-7-3) took a 1-0 lead four minutes into the game on Keith Tura’s goal from straight in front of the goal.

But Nimitz tied it 13 minutes later, when Renteria scored a one-timer off Guilmer Granados’ assist.

Memorial’s Thomas Morales got off one final blast as time expired, but Nimitz goalie David Zamarripa capped an outstanding game by diving to his right and making the save mid-chest with no time left.

“I just reacted,” Zamarripa said. “We thought we were out (of the playoffs), but then we saw the standings and that gave us hope. We’ve come out hard every game and tried to do our best.”

The loss dealt a serious blow to Memorial’s hopes of making the postseason.

Entering Tuesday, 19-5A bore a strong resemblance to the NBA’s Western Conference. The fourth- to seventh-place teams were in a cluster; fifth-place Nimitz was two clear of Memorial and Northbrook, which were two ahead of backyard rival Stratford.

“We can’t afford to lose. Basically we have to win out,” Mustangs coach Jason Zimmerman said before the game.

Memorial finishes its regular season Friday against Spring Woods at Grob Stadium.

At the same time, the Cougars will seek to extend their season. Who will step up is anyone’s guess – after all, the team’s leading scorer, 12-goal scorer Granados, didn’t score Tuesday.

“We don’t have stars,” Fernandez said. “We just work hard, then they come out and play. When we come out and play, we get games like this. We get good wins.”

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