It was a moment 23 years in the making.
After knocking on the door before falling just short of a final four appearance last season, the Perryville girls soccer team busted the door down in 2022. A late first half goal swung momentum Perryville’s direction and they never looked back, defeating Bishop DeBourg 4-1 in a Class 2 quarterfinal Saturday at Don Burris Field.
It is the first final four appearance in the history of the girls soccer program that began in 1999.
"We came in a little bit, I don't know if it was overconfident or just a little nervous, and it took them a while to get those nerves out," Perryville coach Jerry Fulton said. "But they never gave up. Heart and determination carried us again and I'm hoping that can carry us for two more."
That nervousness and jitters kept the game tight for the first half as Kyla Schnurbusch and Bishop DeBourg’s Charlsie Longland exchanged goals in the first 15 minutes of the game.
It was just the 11th goal surrendered by the Pirates this season and first in the postseason run.
"We knew that (Gnade) was their best-skilled player," Fulton said. "I thought Delaney (Kaempfe) contained her a good deal. The only thing is she got out of the way and didn't block the ball which allowed her to make a good pass. Nobody marking the girl running in is something we'll talk about."
But the biggest swing of the game came with less than one minute left in the opening half. The Pirates buckled down and kept the pressure on the Cavaliers after surrendering the goal, and peppered DeBourg goalkeeper Genesis Rhodes with shots, by evidence of her 15 saves in the game, while Perryville’s Brooklyn Moll made five saves.
That pressure finally paid off when Cloey Richardet took a shot from just outside the 18-yard box and deposited into the top corner with 34 seconds left to give Perryville a 2-1 advantage at halftime.
"If we go into halftime 1-1 they still have some momentum on their side," Fulton said. "Getting that goal right before half was huge to twist the momentum in our direction."
Junior Carlie Holdman added another goal just two minutes into the second half, to add some insurance on the scoreboard. For Fulton, the third goal may have been even bigger than the second.
"I thought getting the one at half was definitely huge because it did cause momentum to shift our way," Fulton said. "But getting that goal in the first five minutes of the second half, I think was the dagger that put them out."
Freshman Jewel Riney scored the Pirates' final goal with 25:35 left in the game on an assist from Ashlyn Rodewald. Alyssa King and Schnurbusch also recorded an assist in a winning effort.
"That was devastating (for DuBourg) to have a team come out, barrel down and put two goals in," Fulton said. "I look back and I think there was 34 minutes on the clock when we were up 3-1. We wanted one more just to have a little cushion and we got that. I thought we should have had a couple more but their goalie made some good saves."
I thought we left some opportunities out on the field to put even more goals up,” Fulton said. “I felt like we could have had 7-8 goals, but I’ll certainly take the four we got.”
With the victory, Fulton has led both the girls and boys teams to the final four in the same year.
"To go back-to-back with the boys and girls programs has never been done in any sport at PHS," Fulton said. "These girls have worked their butts off. They deserve this opportunity. I mean, we'll prepare like we always do. Whatever happens, happens at state. Just being able to get them in there for the first time ever, the program started in '99, it's been a long time coming."
Perryville (19-2-1) will face Orchard Farm (19-5-1) in the MSHSAA Class 2 State Semifinals on Friday at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton. Orchard Farm defeated Southern Boone 3-0 on Saturday in another quarterfinal. MICDS (14-6) and Pleasant Hill (17-5) round out the other side of the bracket. It really didn’t matter to Fulton who his Pirates faced and while he is glad to be there, Perryville is playing to win.
"We've just got to stay focused," Fulton said. "If we stay focused, I think we've got as good a chance as anybody."
