DES MOINES — The Perry coaches warned before Thursday’s Class 2A Boys State Soccer Quarterfinal with Winterset that the eighth-ranked Huskies possessed perhaps the best midfield talent the seventh-rated Bluejays had seen all season.
Winterset certainly lived up to their billing, dominating possession in the first half and for most of the second half, but to no avail, as regulation ended scoreless on Field 8 at the Cownie Soccer Park.
Then came a position change for Perry, as Ever Tobar moved to striker and Jesus Rodriguez to wing. Neither team scored in the first 10-minute overtime, but the move paid handsomely 3 minutes and 25 seconds into the second overtime when Rodriguez scored the “golden goal” to give the Bluejays a 1-0 victory.
“I got the ball with my left (foot) and turned the defender and just shot at the second (far) post,” a beaming Rodriguez explained afterward. “I was 100 percent confident it was going in when it left my foot.”
The goal added to his school record for career goals as number 67. It was also the 28th this season, breaking older brother Osvaldo’s PHS standard set in 2011.
“I don’t think he will mind,” the younger Rodriguez smiled.
The win moves Perry (16-4) into a 2:35 p.m. contest today against No. 1 Norwalk (16-4) on Field 6. The defending state champions were 2-0 winners over No. 3 Storm Lake (16-2) in a rematch of the 2016 title match.
The winner advances to Saturday’s championship match, on Field 9, at 2:30 p.m. The consolation game will be played Saturday on Field 6 at 1:40 p.m.
No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier (13-4) was a 5-1 winner over No. 16 Marion (11-5) and will face No. 5 Iowa Falls-Alden/AGWSR (20-0), a 2-1 winner over Dubuque Wahlert (11-7) in the other semifinal.
Winterset began their season with a 2-1 loss to Perry and had then run off 16 consecutive wins before drawing Perry for Thursday’s match.
The Huskies peppered Bluejay junior goalie Anthony Aragon with numerous shots, twice ripping blasts that ricocheted off the post. Aragon came up huge on eight other shots on goal, three times leaving his feet for diving saves to preserve his seventh shutout of the season.
While Winterset kept the ball on Perry’s side of the pitch for much of regulation and had numerous runs up the field, the Bluejay defenders were, every time, up to the challenge, often deflecting shots at the point of attack or clearing the ball away just before a shot could be attempted.
Openings began to appear in the Husky defense as the game progressed, with Perry having a handful of chances late in the second half. The move of Rodriguez to the wing was the clincher, as the Huskies could not easily double or triple-team the RRC’s leading scorer on the outside.
“I was losing my mind a bit in the first half because they had a lot of possession, but we kept fighting, kept fighting, and in the second half we picked it up some and started to play our game,” Rodriguez said. “Ever (Tobar) just makes so much room when he is at striker and it gave me some openings.”
The fateful goal was typical Rodriguez, as he defeated a double team in a scramble for a loose ball just beyond the 18-yard top of the box. He gained half a step and snapped off a lightning-quick strike, one which often catches defenders and goalies by surprise as it comes with little warning.
His winning rip Thursday was too quick for the Husky keeper to cut the angle, and for a long, agonizing moment all eyes watched as the ball skipped toward the far post, nestling just inside the pipe and setting off a delirious celebration by the Bluejay players and fans.
Norwalk denied Perry’s seniors a state championship in their freshman year with a 1-0 state title win. Now, three years later, the Jays will have a chance at avenging the loss and earning a second shot at a championship.
“This is all I have dreamed about,” Rodriguez said. “We know it won’t be easy, but this has been our goal all year, to get to the title game again, and to be just one win away is an amazing feeling.”
