Perryville soccer dominates Festus at home

Perryville dominated Festus with an 8-0 victory on Tuesday in Perryville.

The Pirates scored seven goals in the first half, and after a quick halftime break, scored the final goal within the first minute of the second half.

Treyton Barnett notched his second hat trick of the season.

"It kind of feels selfish but it helps the team win," Barnett said. "The hat trick is the thing you always want to get but if you can't it's okay. Just try to get the ball in the net and win the game."

Aiden Wendel scored two goals while Eli Angle, Andrew Welk, and Kale Adams each scored one to force the eight-goal mercy rule.

The Pirates improved to 5-2, and all but one of their wins have come on eight-goal wins.

After seven games into the season, they are on pace to improve on their 15-10 2022 record. The Pirates posted a 2.6 goals per game average last year but are scoring 5.3 GPG this year, which is even more than in their 2021 state runner-up season (4.9).

"We've exceeded a lot of expectations," Barnett said. "We started the season pretty hot, started the first game with a loss, but we were testing out, seeing what we needed to change positions and everything. Last year was pretty rough. It was hard to find those opportunities to put the ball in the net, but now we're getting them quickly."

Despite their improvement, the 2023 season for Perryville may have a similar inflection point as 2022. The Pirates' season ended on penalty kicks against Saxony Lutheran in the Class 2 District 1 Tournament. Both teams are trending toward meeting again in the district tournament this time, but these recent games have the Pirates thinking of a different future.

"We're going far," Barnett said.

The Pirates travel to Hillsboro on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.