Perryville soccer rolls past De Soto 6-0 in Class 2 sectional

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Frigid temperatures Tuesday evening did little to cool off a red-hot Perryville soccer team.

The Pirates scored four first-half goals on their way to a 6-0 whitewash of De Soto in a Class 2 sectional at the Perryville Soccer Complex.

"After such a disheartening sectional game last year, the guys were really focused tonight," said Perryville coach Jerry Fulton after his squad improved to 24-4 on the season. "You could see it in practice that they wanted this game. Their goal has been all year to make it to state. We need another win to do that. We'll go back to the practice field [Wednesday] and start working on that."

The Pirates will face St. Mary's (13-11-2), a 4-0 sectional winner over Affton, in Saturday's quarterfinal round.

It was just under a year ago that the Pirates, despite outplaying Windsor throughout, were ousted 1-0 on penalty kicks in a Class 2 sectional. Perryville was determined not to let the same scenario play out again.

Perryville midfielder Matt Moran celebrates after kicking his team’s first goal against DeSoto in the first half of the Class 2 sectional Tuesday in Perryville, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Matt Moran scored just seven minutes into the game, cranking a shot from 18 yards out, the first of four Perryville goals over the first 14 minutes. He duplicated the feat with another goal from virtually the same spot at the 11:18 mark, then assisted on a goal by Emilio Mattingly just over a minute later that made the score 3-0.

"It all started with my teammates. I couldn't have done it without those guys," Moran said. "I love playing with them. They just fed me the ball at the top of the 18, and I just buried it.

"It feels good whenever things are clicking."

Pablo Mattingly scored off an assist from Luke Schlichting at 13:31, and the rout was on.

The quick start was just what Perryville wanted and De Soto dreaded.

"I think we started well, and it looked like we might give them a challenge," said De Soto coach Nate Reiser, who squad finished at 7-17. "But after the first one, the next three came in just a spurt where [we] felt like [we] were overpowered and just couldn't compete."

Perryville outshot De Soto 17-2 in the first half and 23-4 for the game.

"We've been pretty good all year about getting a lead and hanging onto it," Fulton said. "We have come out hard on some teams and got goals early. Last week, we didn't do that. But we worked on a lot of things this week, and they were focused tonight."

Perryville midfielder Michael Volansky dribbles against De Soto defender Jacob Dahle during the first half of the Class 2 sectional on Tuesday in Perryville, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

That focus was somewhat difficult to maintain as temperatures dipped into the low 20s by the end of the contest. Pirates goalkeeper Luke Dobbelare, who didn't make his first save until 10 minutes into the second half, tried to stay warm by running 10-yard sprints in front of the goal while his teammates kept the play on the De Soto side of the field.

"A lot of running back and forth trying to stay warm," Dobbelare said. "Just trying to stay in the game as much as I can and not think about the cold."

As dominant as Perryville's offense was, its defense continually thwarted every De Soto attack and made life easy for Dobbelare.

"They played great," he said. "A lot of good step-ups by Trevor Martin, and they just kept them out the whole game. They did a great job."

Juan Hernandez took a pass from Martin early in the second half and dribbled from right to left along the 18-yard mark before uncorking a low, left-footed shot into the corner of the net to make it 5-0. De Soto gave up an own goal moments later, a defender inadvertently putting a shot into the goal while trying to clear a crossing pass, to account for the final score.

Emmanuel Mattingly said it was difficult to stay warm on the frigid field, which began teeming with frost in the second half.

"Just grab as many blankets as you could," he laughed. "We always try keep the same mentality if it's cold or it's hot. We play in the hot weather, or like right now, we just keep the same mentality. Nothing affects it."