After securing a decisive 4-0 victory over the DeSoto Dragons last Thursday, the Pirates not only earned a solid 11-5 season record, but they also won the JCAA championship for the 12th time in 13 seasons. That’s some impressive playing.
It was Treyton Barnett who was the standout player in the game against the Dragons by scoring all four goals for the Pirates and his first goal coming with 16:16 left in the first half, but he was just getting started.
Barnett leads the team with 21 goals and is a pivotal part of the Pirates’ defensive strategy, thanks to his ability to consistently find the back of the net consistently makes him a crucial part of the Pirates' offensive strategy.
“Trayton's an awesome guy,” said head coach Jerry Fulton. “You know, he's a junior this year, and it's really showing that this is his third year on varsity. He's really starting to prepare and I couldn't ask any more out of a kid than what he gives. I think he had a pretty good game, but that goes for the whole team.”
According to Fulton, the Pirates picked up their game late in the action when DeSoto got tired.
“When you have to defend the whole game, it's a lot harder on your backs than if you're attacking the whole game, of course,” he said. “I think that when he got those three goals in about 10 or 12 minutes, 10 or 12 minutes, it was because our guys were pressing really hard and they were coughing up the ball.
“We were able to hold the ball in and gave Treyton a great opportunity there to go. Three of the assists in that game came from the center back, which is impressive, and was involved in three of the goals that were scored. Kade Baudendistel had those three assists. He's played outstanding this year for us as well.”
Fulton also praised goalkeeper Waylon Huber’s part in putting another check in the win column for the Pirates.
“Here's the deal with Waylon — Waylon is awesome. He's solid. He's technically one of the best keepers we've ever had. He made one save in the first half that was going in, and Waylon jumped. He's not very tall, but he can jump. He jumped up, put a hand on it, and lifted it just over the net to keep us at a one-goal lead. That was huge at that point because it kept us in the lead. I'm afraid that if DeSoto had tied that game at that point, things would have changed. So, I've always said if Waylon can make one or two great saves in a game, the rest of the team would do their job — and he does over and over and over again.”
Now that the team are once again JCAA league champs, Fulton gives a lot of credit to the Pirates’ consistency of play through the years. They are a well-rounded team with a reputation in southeast Missouri for excelling in offense and defense.
“We set out at the beginning of the year to try to win conference and then try to get the first seed in districts because those are two things that are important to us during the year,” he said.
The team’s perfect 6-0 record for the season continued Monday night when it shut out the Fredericktown Blackcats 8-0.
