Perryville girls soccer team can't tame Farmington for third time in district championship

The third time's a charm.

Farmington finally got that elusive victory over district rival Perryville in their third meeting this season.

This time it was for the Class 2 District 1 girls soccer championship.

The Black Knights scored 15 minutes into the game and their defense made it hold up to take down the top-seeded Pirates 1-0 on Wednesday night.

"I knew playing them a third time, I said that [Tuesday], it's going to be hard," Perryville coach Stacie Sargent said. "They had nothing to lose and everything to gain today, so it's credit to them."

Perryville's Natalie Gremaud heads the ball away from Farmington's Tanner Lynn, left, and Brittany Gladbach during the second half Wednesday.

Farmington captured its first ever district win Tuesday night in a wild 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on penalty kicks. It took home its first district championship Wednesday.

"It's huge for our girls," Farmington coach Rusty Sancegraw said. "A lot of confidence. We're pretty young, but our seniors have done a great job. They've really, really stepped up in districts."

The game plan all night for the Knights was to score and hold on. They did just that.

Their defense proved to be impenetrable all night, stuffing the majority of Perryville's opportunities.

"I knew they would have more energy than we had because their game wasn't as tough as ours last night," Sancegraw said. "We exerted a lot of energy last night and I knew it'd be really hard for us. I was hoping to get a couple more and just kind of hang on. That was really the game plan, just kind of battle and work through it."

Perryville's Megan Moldenhauer and Farmington's Tayhlor Milfeld fight for control of the ball during the second half Wednesday night.

Farmington struck 15 minutes into the game when freshman standout forward Taylor Sancegraw hit a perfect corner to the heart of the box that found a wide-open Emily Mosier, who headed the ball into the right side of the net.

"[Mosier] and [Sancegraw] play together at Gallagher in St. Louis," Sancegraw said. "They've been playing together since they've been 9. So every time we have a corner or a throw-in, we send [Mosier] up to get her head on the ball. Fortunately tonight they finished one. They've been struggling lately finishing that play. Tonight it was finally good to get one in."

Added Mosier: "It's just kind of something we try to do all the time. It goes either way. I play and she gets it or she plays and I get it. It's just kind of the adrenaline rush of you want to play and you want to score. That's the third time we played that team and we lost to them the first two times. I was like we want to score this time."

Perryville had one prime scoring opportunity with five minutes left in the first half.

Farmington's goalie met a streaking Kelsey Schremp at the 18-yard line and attempted to clear a ball. The ball bounced off Schremp and landed at her feet with an open net in front of her, but Schremp pushed the ball wide right of the net.

"We have played down quite a bit this year or come from behind," Sargent said. "But the one instance that makes a difference is that open-netter. That's not to put anything on that one player, but we got to have that. I think if we score, it's a different ballgame. I really believe that, but you never know."

It was one of few good scoring chances for Perryville.

"We lost our game plan today," Sargent said. "All you can do as a coach is say this is what you need to do and hope they execute it. Last night we were moving the ball up and down the field beautifully, and tonight we got to dump and run and we can't play that way and we know that."

Any attack the Pirates mounted resulted in a strong clear by the Knights.

"Defensively, we went to a new formation," coach Sancegraw said. "That has helped us defensively to keep things a little more organized. But the last two games where [Perryville] scored most of their goals have been on long balls played in and they battled out of the air. I told the girls coming into tonight we have to win balls out of the air and we have to make sure we're back post on crosses. Defensively, we did a pretty good job."

The Pirates avoided a 2-0 deficit early in the second half when Taylor Sancegraw drew a foul inside the box.

But Perryville senior goalkeeper Natalie Bauwens made a diving save on Sancegraw's penalty kick to keep the Pirates' hopes alive.

The Pirates had one final good opportunity when Sam Amberger took a cross and put a shot on goal toward the low left post, but Farmington goalie Haley Roberts made a diving save.

"It's going to be tough," Sargent said. "We say goodbye to nine seniors, but hopefully you live and you learn. I told the girls I hope nobody else forgets how this feels."