After starting the season 1-2 and making a few changes to their system, the Perryville Lady Pirates launched a 3-game winning streak that saw them outscore their opponents 18-1.
Then came a road game against an unfamiliar Illinois school. Like Napoleon, the Lady Pirates didn’t fare well at Waterloo, suffering injuries to key players in a 5-1 loss.
On April 15, Perryville played host to Class 3 Villa Duchesne, made even more changes to their system, and despite what coach Dwayne Hadler described as a strong defensive performance, suffered a 4-2 loss, falling to 4-4 on the season.
It was the Saints’ 100th victory since the program began.
“That’s one of the better teams we’ve played all year,” Hadler said. “I really thought we played our hearts out, throwing a new system at them in one day. The way the girls stepped up and played to that system and the heart and desire that they had was exactly what I knew this team could do. Whether or not they believed it was the key, they bought into it and they performed it perfectly.
“It was a very good feeling to see a team come together like that after all the adversity we had. If it wouldn’t have been for fatigue in the last 10 minutes or so, we could have won the game with a little bit of luck.”
Junior midfielder Ava Ernst scored both of Perryville’s goals off assists from senior midfielder Jewel Riney, who earned praise from Hadler, as did senior defender Caroline Gremaud.
“I’m really proud of both seniors, especially with how well we played defensively,” Hadler said. “Caroline Gremaud — she drew comments from the other coach after the game. “They said, ‘We really couldn’t figure out a way around her,’ which is a heck of a compliment for her. She has played well all season, and I thought that was one of her better games. Caroline, defensively, has been awesome and against that team was extremely good. And then Jewel, to get two assists out of the midfield, that was another great performance by Jewel.
“They’re the leaders, they’re the captains, and they really rallied the team together for this difficult game. The whole team played extremely well, and that’s a credit to both of their leadership.”
The injuries suffered against Waterloo forced Hadler to think quickly and make adjustments ahead of the game against the Saints, but he said his team made it work.
“We actually changed our system and tactics and certain things,” Hadler said. “We lost the second- and third-leading — or close to it — scorers on the team. Having them out with knee injuries makes it difficult. And Duchesne is a very good team. They’re very organized, they know how to go at people, and they’re a successful team.”
Perryville was scheduled to travel to Windsor on Monday, then host North County on Tuesday. They will travel to Festus on Thursday and host De Soto on Friday.
