Lady Panthers Soccer Team Defeats Elkton 4-0

By Kevin Phillips

Perryville–Perryville controlled possession for much of its UCBAC girls’ soccer battle with visiting Elkton, generating several scoring chances en route to 19 total shots on goal.

After scoring one goal on nine shots in the first half, the Panthers played unselfishly in the second half as they exploded for three more goals en route to earning a 4-0 victory over the Golden Elks.

“The main thing we wanted to talk about the girls is unselfishness. After getting that lead, we had girls who wouldn’t get much time stepping up. Two of our starters said, ‘I don’t want to be in, put these girls in,’” Perryville head coach JohnMyers said. “We wanted to possess the ball and find those open passes. That’s what we did.”

The Lady Panthers quickly titled the field to their attacking side, consistently applying pressure on the Elkton defense, and that pressure eventually paid off when Sarah Murrell won possession near midfield, raced her way towards the net and deposited the ball into the goal to give Perryville a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

The Golden Elks put together their strongest stretch of game late in the first half when they had two of their four shots in the final two minutes of the first half, but the Panthers defense held strong and kept Elkton off the board.

Perryville limited the Golden Elks’ scoring chances the rest of the way as they spent the rest of the game neutralizing Elkton’s speedy forwards.

“We knew they would play over the top. They have speed up top,” Myers said. “We just had to take that away and play more physically and not let them run through the middle of the field. When we lose the middle of the field, they are going to have chances. We just made some adjustments and took over the middle of the field.”

Macy Forest gave Perryville a two-goal lead just seven minutes into the second half when she gathered a rebound off a Peyton Geis shot and placed it into the net, and less than a minute later, the Panthers struck quickly when Geis made it 3-0 when deposited a Sage Cole pass in the net.

“I was going up the field and Sage (Cole) crossed it. I went up and kicked it,” Geis described her goal. “I didn’t know it went in until everyone started screaming.”

Cole capped the scoring in the 55th minute when she settled a long through ball and chipped a shot just inside the far side goal post to make it 4-0, and Myers knew that the Panthers would eventually capitalize on their scoring chances.

“That’s something we work on practice all of the time,” Myers said. “We work that every training session, and we knew that they would come. We just had to keep generating those opportunities.”

Elkton goalkeeper Leann Pugh made 14 saves.

THANK