Perryville gearing up for another State Championship run

Seasoned Perryville soccer coach Jerry Fulton saw his team just one win away from a chance at a state title appearance last spring.

With only one player graduating from that team, Fulton is expecting another successful season in 2023.

“Anna Gremaud was our only senior last season,” Fulton said. “Gremaud was huge for us on defense but we were able to bring back everyone else so experience will be an advantage for us for sure.”

The Pirates finished the 2022 campaign 19-4-1 and finished fourth in the state tournament after losing to eventual Class 2 State runner-up Orchard Farm and falling to Pleasant Hill in the third-place game. Fulton believes this year’s team gained invaluable experience from those two losses.

“I think we got caught up in the whole awe of being at state,” Fulton said. “I believe that experience of us being there and getting our feet wet has ignited a spark in these girls I’ve honestly never seen before. They have come into this season more hungry and more focused so we have set some pretty lofty goals for this season.”

Those goals, with help from returning leading scorer Kyla Schnurbusch and fellow seniors Rachel Riney, Carlie Holdman, Ashlyn Rodewald, and Alyssa King as well as juniors Brooklyn Moll, Ana Moll, Delainey Kaempfe, Ashlynd Yamnitz and many sophomores and freshman eager to get their feet wet, have set the bar high for themselves to get back to state competition but only with a different outcome.

“We are far more advanced this season in practices than we were a year ago,” Fulton said. “Plus, we’ve added three really good freshmen to the roster in Ava Ernst, Brynn Wibbenmeyer, and Reese Behrle who will give us good minutes right from the start.”

Perryville’s first home game will be on March 27 against Farmington. Other home games include Fox, Fredericktown, DeSoto, North County, St. Vincent, and Hillsboro. Perryville will play Cape Central, St. Pius X(Festus), Festus, Sikeston, Windsor, Notre Dame, and Saxony Lutheran on the road as well as taking part in the Hannibal tournament in mid-April.