EARLHAM — Perry avenged a regular season loss Wednesday while ending Winterset’s season for the second consecutive year with a 4-1 win in their Class 2A Substate 8 Semifinal.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
The win sends Perry (10-10) into Saturday’s Substate Final against host Harlan (16-2), a 6-1 winner over Glenwood (7-8) Wednesday. Perry will be seeking their third consecutive trip to the state tourney and fourth in the last five years. The match will start at 12 p.m.
“Great effort by the team,” Perry coach Gary Overla said of Wednesday’s win. “I think our formation may have given them some trouble and some frustration. We have switched to a 3 – 5 – 2 and that puts a ton of pressure on your defenders and midfielders if you have forwards that just play with an offensive mindset.”
The Bluejays struck quickly, with red-hot freshman Mario Saldano — fresh off a four-goal effort against Carlisle Monday — beat the keeper in the ninth minute. Saldano was back at it nine minutes later to push Perry into a 2-1 lead.
Officials stopped the match at the 20-minute mark for a water break, a move Overla said might have worked against the Jays, who appeared to lessen their intensity and pressure on the ball.
The result was a Winterset goal one minute later, but a costly red card (and automatic ejection) against Husky standout Garrett Nevshemal forced the hosts to play a man down for the remainder of the game.
Despite being a player short, the Huskies kept the game close until Mike Velasco found the nylon in the 69th minute for a 3-1 Bluejay lead. Rudy Sarceno capped the scoring minutes later to secure the victory.
Winterset started the season 6-0 but finishes 10-7. Perry has now won three straight after enduring a mid-season skid that saw the Jays drop seven of nine.
“Now we just have to get players healthy and hydrated for Saturday as we go to Harlan,” Overla said. “Game time is noon on Saturday, and we hope to see some Bluejay faithful at the pitch.”
