Perry squelches Cyclone state tourney hopes, 3-1
HARLAN (May 26) -- For the first 30 minutes of Saturday’s scorching substate final at Merrill Field, the Perry boys soccer team dodged one bullet after another fired by Harlan Community.
It was only a matter of time, or so it appeared, until the fifth-ranked (Class 2A) Cyclones would break the seal and start scoring goals on the No. 16 Bluejays.
Unfortunately for HCHS, that key over-the-hump moment never arrived in its quest for the program’s first trip to state since 2006.
Perry began to even out the possession battle late in the first half, the Cyclones’ once-plentiful scoring opportunities dried up and it was the Bluejays who broke through first with just under 30 minutes left in the match.
Perry scored twice more in the next 14 minutes and held off Harlan 3-1 to punch the Bluejays’ fourth state tourney ticket in the last five years and their 12th overall. They will take an 11-10 record to Des Moines and face top-seeded Pella in a 2A quarterfinal Thursday at the James C. Cownie Soccer Complex.
HCHS, still searching for its elusive second state tournament berth, finished the season 16-3 and has now gone 31-6 over the last two years.
“They’re a very good team,” said Harlan head coach Dave Voge of Perry. “They have been (to state) before and we have not been there since 2006. I thought this was our best opportunity in quite a few years to make it and we just didn’t capitalize on things like we should have.
“The key is that we didn’t finish. We had several opportunities and we should have had five, maybe six, goals there in the first half. Their goalie [Anthony Aragon] did a fantastic job. He was in the right place at the right time, every time."
2A Boys Substate Soccer Final • May 26 • at Harlan
Perry 3, Harlan Community 1
Perry: Rudy Rivera Sarceno goal (Cori Alamina assist) - 2nd half, 29:51 left.
Perry: Anthony Velasco penalty kick - 2nd half, 26:38 left.
Perry: Cori Alamina goal (Rudy Rivera Sarceno assist) - 2nd half, 16:04 left.
HCHS: Keaton Jones header goal (Michael Heithoff assist) - 2nd half, 2:35 left.
STATISTICS
Total Shots: HCHS 26 (Dylan Eshelman 5, Cole Kramer 4), Perry 7.
Shots on Goal: HCHS 15 (Kramer 3, Jordan Fink 3), Perry 7 (Rudy Rivera Sarceno 2).
Goalie Saves: HCHS 4 (Keaton Jones 4), Perry 14 (Anthony Aragon 14).
Steals: HCHS 23 (Andrew Shelton 4, Drew Voge 4).
Intercepts: HCHS 29 (Trey O’Neill 6, Voge 5).