Perryville soccer falls in Whitfield quarterfinal, ushers out historic senior class

Going up north to take on a top St. Louis small school in Whitfield, Perryville girls soccer’s deep run ended Saturday with a tough 2-0 loss in a defensive chess match.

Led by a great effort from the back line and goalkeeper Brooklyn Moll, the Pirates held a phenomenal Whitfield team to just two tallies in the 80-minute affair.

But what it really came down to was missed opportunities, and veteran Pirates coach Jerry Fulton narrowed it down to a couple of early misses that kept the Pirates out of the win column.

“I thought we created chances, especially early,” Fulton began. “We had a couple of really good chances.

“A couple of those go in, or one of those go in and, you know, we would have had a pretty good chance.”

That wasn’t the case, as Whitfield defended home turf with a pair of goals that kept Perryville from generating a real offensive rhythm.

“Unfortunately, the ball didn't bounce our way today,” Fulton said. “Whitfield played a very good game.”

A week ago, Perryville celebrated its third district in four years with a narrow 2-0 victory over St. Pius X, again in St. Louis.

Fulton was candid with his expectations from before the season, openly expressing that he hadn’t directly had his sights on claiming the district gold three months ago.

But as the season unfolded, those girls from Perryville began to rack up more and more wins, eventually finishing nine games over the .500 mark.

Bringing a plaque back to the Ville, despite a rough loss in their Saturday quarterfinal, it was more than a successful season for Perryville as they picked up some big wins against some tough teams in 2024.

“The girls just got better and better as the year went on,” Fulton said.

“I’m very proud, and we're very impressed with what our girls did this season.”

Perryville’s senior class is loaded, both in numbers and in talent. In total, the 2024 class will see nine players move on from their time with the Pirates.

Katelyn Pittman, Delainey Kaempfe, Cloey Richardet, Brooklyn Moll, Aubrey Scott, Ashlynd Yamnitz, Andrea James, Ana Moll, and Alisa Dehlin made up the nine departing seniors of the team.

Leading the team both on and off the field, those seniors were a big part of that four-year run of success for the program.

Fulton spoke highly of that group, putting a bow on their legacy as they move forward having brought the team’s first ever final four appearance and three district titles back to Perryville.

“Our seniors were huge for us this year,” Fulton said. “They all played well, and they all did their job. They were good leaders. The team camaraderie was a lot better this year than in the past.

“They're definitely a good group of kids, and we're gonna miss them greatly.”