HARLAN — Perry entered Saturday’s Class 2A Substate 8 Final with host Harlan ranked 16th and 10-10 overall. The Little Cyclones were 16-2 and rated fifth. It mattered not at all.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
The Bluejays outplayed the home team in nearly every aspect of the game, scoring twice in the first 20 minutes of the second half to open a 2-0 lead en route to a 3-1 victory and their fourth trip to the Class 2A Boys State Soccer Tournament in five years.
Perry faces top-ranked Storm Lake (16-0) on field 9 (main stadium) at Cownie Park in Des Moines at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Storm Lake slipped past Denison-Schleswig, 1-0, in their substate final Saturday.
A win would send the Jays into a Friday match, also on field 9 at 2:30 p.m., against the winner of No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-7) and sixth-rated DC-G (15-3), who Perry defeated, 2-0, this season.
The 2A bracket also includes No. 2 Marion (15-0) facing No. 9 Hudson (14-4) and fourth-ranked Pella (16-2) battling unrated Newton (14-5). The championship match is Saturday, at 2:30 p.m., on field 9.
Harlan dominated possession in the first half but came away empty on several scoring chances. Perry defenders Luis Guzman, Mario Cruz and Brandon Ruiz, along with Jehovany Rivera and others, frustrated a potent Little Cylone attack, forcing hurried or off-target shots that kept the game scoreless at the half.
Perry relaxed in the shade at the break under tents provided by Jeff Fox, and, although Harlan also had shade, it was clear the advantage lay with the visitors once play resumed.
Cori Alamina had a long run down the side to stretch the Harlan defense, with Rudy Sarceno putting the ball in the goal moments later for a 1-0 Perry lead. A foul in the penalty box committed against Tomas Lopez gave the Jays a penalty kick, which Anthony Velasco rocketed into the lower right corner, giving Perry a 2-0 lead entering the hydration break with 20 minutes to play.
Alamina beat the keeper later in the half for a 3-0 Perry edge, and although Harlan scored with four minutes left and ratcheted up the intensity in the waning minutes, they could come no closer, setting off a wild celebration among the blue-and-white.
The 3-5-2 formation Perry has turned to of late worked magic again, as the Jays ran off their fourth straight win after stumbling through a 2-7 mid-season skid. Ever Tobar, Bryan Catalan, Mike Velasco and German Alvarenga helped control the action in the victory.
Strength of schedule may have played a role in the win, as Perry faced a strong Des Moines Lincoln team, along with 2A qualifiers Pella and DC-G, in their final three matches, with Urbandale, ADM and Winterset (twice) also in the mix.
While never something to take for granted, reaching the state tourney is beginning to be the least that Bluejay teams expect. Perry was second in 2014, a quarterfinalist in 2015 and the fourth-place team in 2017 after falling a game short in 2016. The 2018 seniors will mark the second consecutive graduating class to have reached state in three of their four high school seasons.
Perry is coached by Gary Overla, with Nathan Krohn and Scott Pierce assisting and Abraham Cardenas and Luis Arreola volunteer coaches.
