The only two high school teams in Iowa using the nickname “Bluejays” met at Dewey Field Tuesday, and after 80 minutes of Raccoon River Conference soccer it was clear the seventh-ranked hosts would brook no comparison.
Perry scored their third consecutive shutout with a 5-0 win over Bondurant-Farrar, moving to 3-0 in RRC play in the process. The Bluejays, now 6-1 overall, were recently awarded a 1-0 forfeit (originally a 2-1 loss) when it was discovered Des Moines North had used an ineligible player during the Perry Tournament April 2.
The host Bluejays dominated play Tuesday and did so in a fashion that left head coach Gary Overla smiling in approval.
“We are moving the ball extremely well and connecting passes while switching the field,” he said. “This team probably moved the ball better than the team that played in the state championship two years ago. We are starting to see alleys open up and that puts tremendous amounts of pressure on opposing defenses.”
Excellent ball movement resulted in both first-half goals scored by the Jays. The first came in the seventh minute when Chance Webster found an open Jesus Rodriguez, who beat the keeper for a 1-0 edge. Rodriguez took a pass from Jeffry Gutierrez and flipped the ball on to Ivan Garcia, who pushed the score to 2-0 by stressing the netting in the 33rd minute.
David Cardenas used a yeoman’s effort to make it 3-0 when he kept with a shot that rebounded several times before the senior found the back of the net in the 49th minute.
Garcia struck for the second time in the game nine minutes later on a blast that rippled the net, with Cardenas connecting with Brandon Juarez on a crossing pass that Juarez buried in the 70th minute to cap the scoring.
“We look to improve our game by playing faster and increasing our speed of play, with less touches on the ball and not holding it as long,” Overla said. “I think if we continue to improve we may be in pretty good position to make a late-season run. We will see. Fight on Bluejays!”
Perry hosts Boone Thursday and will play just once next week, a frosh/JV/varsity three-set at Des Moines East Tuesday. Thursday’s action begins with the JV match at 5:30, with the freshman match at DM East beginning at 4:15 p.m.
