Seventh-ranked Perry was handed two setbacks while claiming one win Saturday in the first Perry Tournament at Dewey Field.
Temperatures in the low 40s and a west/northwest wind that frequently gusted up to 30 mph made for cold conditions and hampered teams playing into the wind.
“It was definitely a challenge, but the weather was the same for all of us,” Perry head coach Gary Overla said. “Naturally we would have liked to win all three (games) but we saw a lot of good things and saw everyone play. We saw what some guys can do and cannot do in different situations and from different spots — I was certainly not disappointed.”
Perry opened the tourney against Des Moines North and grabbed a 1-0 lead when German Alvarenga ripped a free kick past the Polar Bear goalie. North tied the game in the second half, then emerged with a 2-1 win off an own goal when Perry defender Miguel Gonzalez was injured on the play as the ball found its way into the Bluejay goal.
The hosts were 2-0 winners in their second match with a pair of first-half scores against Lewis Central. Ivan Garcia broke into the open in the early moments and stressed the nylon for a 1-0 lead.
Brandon Juarez made it 2-0 later in the half when he took a pass from Javier Miranda, cut past a defender then fired across his body, catching the Titan keeper flat-flooted and giving the Jays an important — but, in the end, unneeded — insurance goal.
Southeast Polk blanked Perry, 1-0, in the tourney’s finale, leaving the Rams 2-1 on the day and Perry 1-2. Lewis Central was scoreless in dropping three matches, with North claiming three wins.
North was a 3-0 winner over SEP and scored a 2-0 win over Lewis Central, with SEP topping Lewis Central, 1-0 (5-4 on penalty kicks), in other games at the tourney.
Perry hosts Winterset Tuesday in a freshman/junior varsity/varsity three-set beginning at 4:45 p.m. Carlisle visits Dewey Field Thursday for a JV/varsity coupling starting at 5:30 p.m. with Perry traveling to Des Moines Hoover Friday for a frosh/JV/varsity triple-dip beginning at 4:45 p.m.
