CARLISLE — Keep attacking and, odds are, sooner or later the ball is going to meet the nylon.
That appeared to be the message Perry head coach Gary Overla had for his Bluejays Thursday, as consistent pressure finally forced the Carlisle defense to break. When it did, the Bluejay blitzkreig was on.
Perry (4-1, 2-0) held a 2-0 halftime lead in the Raccoon River Conference match, but suddenly went off, scoring four times in a 13-minute span in the second half to post a 6-0 victory.
“We were in total control of the game,” Overla said. “The ball was in front of their goal most of the evening. We were able to finally break the ice late in the second half and the goals just flooded in.”
German Alvarenga lofted a corner kick to the box in front of the Wildcat goal in the 19th minute, with Mikey Velasco elevating to head the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Jesus Rodriguez made it 2-0 in the 31st minute. Taking a pass from Moses Tellez, Rodriguez lined up a shot a ripped a blast into the netting to provide an always-key two-goal advantage.
Alex Castaneda scrapped for a loose ball in the box and split the pipes in the 65th minute for a 3-0 lead, with his goal setting off an offensive explosion from the guests.
Castaneda assisted on an Alexis Macias goal three minutes later that drew praise from their coach.
“Alexis came from the back like a train and Alex played a beautiful ball to his feet,” Overla described. “He (Macias) didn’t break stride and drilled the ball into the back of the net.”
Perry scored on a corner kick the 76th minute when senior James Crawford sent a perfectly-placed crossing pass into the mix of players, where Elmer Garcia rose to re-direct the ball into the goal with a header.
Garcia had an assist on the final goal two minutes later, setting up Rodriguez in front of the net, with the senior forward stretching the onion bag to cap the scoring.
“We were able to get some kids some rest and we got a good look at some of our younger players,” Overla said. “We subbed eight players in total, which is a lot for us.”
The Bluejay junior varsity team was also a 6-0 winner Thursday. Details of the JV contest were not available.
Perry, a 2A school in soccer, will step up in class Saturday when they play host Urbandale and Dowling Catholic, both 3A teams, in the Urbandale Tournament. The team will return home Monday to host 3A Des Moines East before hosting Grinnell April 14.
