Weather, Seckman get better of Perryville girls soccer team

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Seckman girls soccer coach Jeff Perry may think twice before he makes his next inquiry about lights.

Amid darkening conditions, Perry asked the officials if the lights at the Perryville Soccer Complex were going to be turned on moments before the start of the second half of his team's game against the Pirates.

It took less than two minutes for the request to be addressed.

The only problem was the Jaguars and Pirates received lightning instead of lights.

Officials stopped play just 81 seconds into the second half when a flash of lightning was spotted in the distance, and the game never resumed.

Perryville's Kaitlyn Ellsworth dribbles away from Seckman's Donna Jolliff during the first half Friday in Perryville, Mo. Check out more photos from the game at semoball.com. (Fred Lynch)

Seckman, which outshot Perryville 14-0 in the first half, drove away with a 1-0 victory after more lightning was spotted during the 30-minute mandatory delay.

State regulations call for play to be stopped for 30 minutes after any sign of lightning, meaning the clock resets with each flash during a delay.

Perryville coach Jerry Fulton had no problem with his team taking the loss despite having nearly a full half to make up its one-goal deficit.

"They're an hour north. There's no sense in being here 'til midnight trying to get in a game that is not a conference game, not district game -- really irrelevant," said Fulton, whose team dropped to 2-2.

Fulton, who was missing senior Shea Leible due to a concussion and junior Natalie Gremaud due to another commitment, started five freshmen against a Jaguars team that had just one freshman on its roster.

Perryville's Libbi Schnurbusch, back, battles Seckman's Alyssa Theissen during the first half Friday in Perryville, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

"I was very proud of my girls the way they stayed in," Fulton said. "It was clear Seckman was a much more controlled club than we are. They are a much bigger school, and of course they can field more players."

Seckman (3-3) controlled the ball throughout the opening 40 minutes and forced Pirates freshman goalkeeper Miranda Stortz to make nine saves.

"I thought our girls did exactly what we asked them to do," Fulton said. "We asked them not to run themselves out of the game. Don't chase and get the passing lanes, and when we get the opportunities, we make our breaks. That's basically what we did."

Seckman had numerous scoring opportunities, including a ball off the post, before finally breaking through with 6 minutes, 40 seconds left in the half.

Seckman senior Taylor Giese fed a cross pass into the goal mouth from the right wing, and forward Alli Diekmann, the Jaguars' lone freshman, directed the ball into the lower left corner.

Perryville's Courtney Borden kicks the ball against Seckman on Friday.

Seckman senior Donna Jolliff nearly added to the lead with 10 seconds left in the half. Jolliff made a charge from near midfield, weaving her way through the Perryville defense before lining a shot that Stortz deflected over the crossbar.

"She made a wonderful stop on the one-on-one break there," Fulton said. "No. 18 dribbled right through our players, which was a little disheartening as a coach, but I was real proud of our keeper that she held her ground and got the ball up and over the goal."

Stortz is among the freshmen who is making her presence felt. Forward Libbi Schnurbusch, midfielder Alexandria Spears and defender Brooke Molle also have started for Fulton, the varsity boys coach who has added the girls program to his duties for the first time.

"We knew it was a building year," Fulton said. "And it wasn't that we didn't have a lot of seniors, it's just that our junior and sophomore classes aren't real big. So we had some holes, but luckily we have some really good freshmen that have come in."

Perryville has recorded victories over Poplar Bluff and Fredericktown despite injuries and young players in the lineup.

"The injuries hopefully will get better and we'll be a better squad probably by mid-April," Fulton said.