The Perryville boys’ soccer team ended its regular season last week with a 9-1 victory over Kennett (4-10) on Oct. 28 at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville.
Just a few days later, sixth-seeded Kennett ended its season on the same pitch in the first round of the Class 2, District 1 tournament with an 8-0 loss to St. Pius X.
The Indians managed a goal against top-seed and tournament host Perryville (12-4), which shifted to a junior varsity lineup late in the second half.
“They got one on us in the second half because I put the bench in,” said Perryville coach Jerry Fulton. “My freshman keeper went in, and he made a slight mistake. “I asked him after the game — he’s all upset — I said, ‘Well, Noah, you made a mistake and you let it go in. Did it change the outcome of the game?’ ‘No.’ I said, ‘You learned something, right?’ ‘Yeah, coach, I learned.’ ‘Okay, let it go, then.’”
Senior keeper Waylon Huber earned the win after holding the Indians scoreless through 40 minutes, finishing with 1 save. Freshman Noah Huber had 2 saves.
In their last action before opening district play on Tuesday, the Pirates were led by senior Treyton Barnett, who finished with 2 goals and an assist; junior Dez Hampson had 2 goals, and senior Kade Baundendistel had a goal and an assist.
Bryan Bohnert, Jayden Galeski, Karston Schilli, and Oliver Tucker added 1 goal each. Trey Lukefahr had 4 assists.
As the top seed in the district, Perryville received a first-round bye and was scheduled to play its opening match in Tuesday’s semifinals against fourth-seed Fredericktown (8-12- 1). The Blackcats defeated No. 5 North County 5-1.
Perryville defeated Fredericktown 8-0 on Oct. 20, but Fulton said that doesn’t mean a whole lot.
“You’ve got to play at districts,” Fulton said. “Everybody that’s taking that field knows if they lose, they’re done. What you might get out of somebody during the regular season and what you may get out on a district day is two totally different things. We don’t want to count anybody out. I don’t care what we beat who by or blah, blah, blah, we’re going to come to the field to take care of business every day.”
The other semifinal match will pit St. Pius X (7- 12) against No. 2 Sullivan (18-7), which manhandled Dexter 10-0 on Saturday.
Fulton said he’s cautiously optimistic, even though his players haven’t faced Sullivan or St. Pius X this season.
“Theoretically, on paper, yes, we should win this thing with no problem,” Fulton said. “But I’ll tell you right now, I’ve gone through a lot of districts, and you cannot count on that. You better come Saturday or Tuesday, ready to play. And then if we get fortunate enough to win Tuesday, come Thursday ready to play. And if [my guys] do that, they’ll win this.”
