Perryville soccer maintains home dominance with decisive win over Sikeston

Perryville has preserved its perfect home streak with a 5-1 win over Sikeston on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Tuesday was the first of a crucial four-game homestand for the Pirates, leading up to their regular season finale at Cape Central. Such a stretch bodes well for the Pirates (9-5), who are 4-0 at home.

Treyton Barnett scored the first two goals for the Pirates, one in the first half and the other shortly after the start of the second half. The junior striker leads the Pirates in scoring with 15 goals and 11 assists.

Barnett said his touch and change of direction have been key areas of improvement between a successful sophomore year and now. He also said chemistry has been a major factor in Perryville, which has always had a competitive soccer team, finding itself trending towards its best winning percentage (.643) since 2021, the year the Pirates went to the state championship game.

"We're not really fighting or arguing," Barnett said. "We are just talking it through to everyone and then fixing things at halftime instead of just picking at each other."

Dez Hampson also scored two goals for the Pirates, finding the net late in the second half for the team's fourth and fifth goal, one on a header and the other through a point-blank strike while surrounded by Sikeston defenders.

"On the corner, I basically went far post because I knew it was going over everyone. So I was just there ready to put it in," Hampson said. "Then my second one, Treyton put it in the middle for me and I ran up and touched and shot."

Hampson spent his entire youth on the soccer field but gave football a try as a freshman. He returned to the pitch as a sophomore and as he looks like a natural, he feels like he has made the right choice.

"The environment is better," Hampson said.

In between both impressive performances, Vincent Schaaf scored the third goal for the Pirates. Goalkeeper Waylon Huber allowed only one goal and recorded four saves on the day.

Keith Branson scored the only goal for the Bulldogs in the 16th minute of the second half. Sikeston (9-4-1) has lost three of its last four games and will travel to North County on Thursday.

Perryville will host Saxony Lutheran on Thursday in a rematch of the Class 2 District 1 Tournament quarterfinals in which the Crusaders won in penalty kicks after the Pirates' starting goalie was out with an injury. The Crusaders started the season 4-0 but are currently 5-3 entering the matchup.