Pirates shut out Tigers in boys soccer action

~ Bryce Weibrecht scored both goals in Perryville's 2-0 victory

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perryville sophomore Bryce Weibrecht had two golden opportunities to score against visiting Central on Wednesday night.

He buried them both, and his Pirates prevailed 2-0.

"We really wanted to come out here and prove a point that we could play at their level," Weibrecht said. "Show them what we had."

The Pirates (7-6) did just that, although they started off slow.

Central (4-13) applied early pressure, nearly breaking through in the 18th minute when Michael Denmark's cross drilled the crossbar.

"Central came out hard, which we knew they probably would," Perryville coach Jerry Fulton said. "They pushed hard. We were just a little on our hind end, not doing things we need to do. A little chewing on at halftime got them fired up and I thought we outplayed them in the second half."

The Tigers almost scored twice late in the first half.

Derek Parker took a pass in the middle of the box and fired a shot that was blocked by Perryville defenseman Wade Lawrence. Vance Toole drew a foul near the box to set up a free kick that sailed through the box untouched minutes later.

"That's been our problem all year long," Central coach Dan Martin said. "We can't find the back of the net. When Perryville capitalizes and we don't, that's the difference."

Perryville's defense held strong.

"I think our defense came together when we moved Wade Lawrence back to sweeper," Fulton said. "The defense tightened it up and played very well. They definitely deserved a shutout."

The Pirates' offense capitalized in the second half.

Weibrecht received a pass near midfield and took off down the ride side early in the half. He beat Central defender Erik Allen just inside the box, and cut it back and buried a shot past keeper Jamie Pickel to make it 1-0.

"Break away pretty much," Weibrecht said. "I just got it around my defender and it was just me and the goalie and I cut it back in and took a shot."

The goal helped swing the momentum in favor of the Pirates.

"It's huge," Fulton said. "Anytime you can score first, it puts the other team on their heels. The icing on the cake is when you go up two."

Weibrecht would strike again 15 minutes later.

Miscommunication between Central defender Andrew Hileman and Pickel let Weibrecht in the door.

After a ball was played into Central's box, Hileman went to head it back to Pickel. He failed to make the play and Weibrecht stepped around and buried it past a charging Pickel for a 2-0 lead.

"That was huge," Fulton said. "Even the assistant coach was like, 'Gosh, I wish we could get a second one. I would feel more comfortable.' But it's huge because one mistake won't kill you."

Perryville continued to pressure, with Weibrecht setting up multiple opportunities to add to the lead.

"Bryce has very good foot skills," Fulton said. "He's been trained. I would love to take the credit for it, but he came to me that way. He hustles, he uses his brain, not to panic and do the right things. He's only a sophomore, so we're looking for a very bright future. He's a hard worker and a huge asset to this team."

Weibrecht was just happy with the win.

"Huge win to show that we can play with a bigger school like this," Weibrecht said.