Perry soccer took an early blow when Pinnacle’s Jayla Patrick got the Pioneers on the board 1-0 in Tuesday’s 6A soccer semifinal, with fans yelling in frustration because of a controversial no call on the goal scored.
Just like the year before Perry was in a 1-0 hole early in the critical semi final match, it seemed to bring back memories to many fans and returning players when the opposing team scoring early on a controversial call by a referee.
When talking with senior Trinity Kaufman she felt “it was definitely a flashback,” to last year’s semi final match against the Xavier Gators when the Gators got to a quick 1-0 lead on a controversial call. But going into halftime feeling optimistic about what the second half will bring, Seniors Emma Richey, Anissa Montoya and Kaufman knew what they had to voice to the team. With motivation coming from the seniors, Richey wanted to make sure everyone was “keeping the energy up,” and Kaufman wanted to remind the team “this is why we practice for three hours, this is what we are made for.”
Montoya wanted to make sure the team blocked out any distractions and was laser focused on our one goal which was getting to state any way possible. Coming out of half there seemed to be a new vibe about the team and more importantly a different one from the first half. Their energy level was up and the girls seemed to start connecting on passes and getting much more shots on goal.
With time running out and shots not bouncing the way they wanted Kaufman took it into her own hands and scored with minutes left. With the crowd being louder than it’s ever been the whole night, it put that extra spark into the team to work even harder.
While grinding out two full over time periods. It went to the stressful penalty kicks. With a crucial block by senior keeper Makayla Aman and with Perry not missing one goal yet, it was up to Jackie Gilbert to finish it off.
With a slow walk to the box, Gilbert was ready to go, the whistle was blown she took her shot, being placed very well the goalie could only get some fingertips on the ball ending in a winning goal for the Perry soccer team. The girls ran to greet Gilbert and dogpiled as a team that felt as they lifted a curse, and the No. 2 Pumas will take on top-ranked Xavier in the state title game Saturday at 11 a.m. at Campo Verde High School.