Perryville boys soccer team claims district title with 2 OT win

~ The Pirates won the Class 2 District 1 tournament with a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame

Pablo Mattingly found himself at the top of the 18-yard box staring at three Notre Dame defenders in his path to a district championship.

No problem for the calm and collected sophomore.

Mattingly danced between three diving defensemen and ripped a bullet into the back of the net to help Perryville defend their Class 2 District 1 crown and score a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame in double overtime Thursday night.

It was truly a golden goal.

Notre Dame midfielder Ben Dohogne dribbles the ball away from Perryville midfielder Matthew Moran during the first half of the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

"We got to the side like we always practice, threw it back in the middle, and I just cut it back in and hit a hard shot," Mattingly said. "It's a team effort though; it's not just about me."

It certainly was a team effort, but Mattingly provided what neither team could -- a goal.

"We knew we were going to have our hands full coming down," Pirates coach Jerry Fulton said. "Notre Dame is a class act. They always have been and always will be. Matt [Vollink] is a very good coach; he controls a very good program."

Perryville came out with the poise and tenacity a person would expect out of a defending district champion. The younger Bulldogs struggled to find their ground early.

"Notre Dame is a very good possession team," Fulton said. "The only way to mess up possession is to be in their face all the time. I know they want to pass the ball around and I was willing to let my forwards chase, everyone else was to be on a man. I have six more forwards sitting on the bench, so if they got tired I'd throw two more out."

LEFT: Perryville defender Trevor Martin, left, chest traps the ball next to Notre Dame forward Devin Ziegler. (ABOVE: A shot by Notre Dame’s Joshua Haggerty is blocked by Perryville’s Matthew Moran as Luke Schlichting and goalie Luke Dobbelare look on during the second overtime of the Class 3 District 1 championship game.)

The strategy worked to perfection in the opening 30 minutes.

Notre Dame was consistently on its heels, and the Pirates were threatening on each possession.

"In a game like this you have a lot of guys that really want to win," Vollink said. "They're nervous, amped up. As the game wore on their confidence rose and they calmed down a little bit."

Perryville nearly capitalized twice while Notre Dame was trying to figure out their game.

The first opportunity came just nine minutes into the game when the Pirates' Luke Schlichting crossed a low ball into the box from the left side.

A shot by Notre Dame’s Joshua Haggerty is blocked by Perryville’s Matthew Moran, as Luke Schlichting and goalie Luke Dobbelare look on, during the second overtime of the Class 3 District 1 championship game Thursday at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

The ball went untouched through the box until it came to Mattingly, who had trouble settling it before rushing a shot just right.

Perryville was handed their second opportunity, but again failed to convert.

This time the Bulldogs' Joshua Haggerty played a lazy ball across the backfield that Perryville's Emilio Mattingly intercepted 25 yards out.

Haggerty hustled back into the box to slide in front of Mattingly's shot, forcing the forward to rush a shot that Notre Dame goalie Thomas Himmelberg deflected over the net.

"We had a game plan and the guys stuck to it," Fulton said. "I thought we got our opportunities. According to my bookkeeper, we outshot them throughout the night."

Perryville forward Emmanuel Miranda tries to work a pass away from Notre Dame defenders Ryan Hulshof, left, and Joshua Haggerty during the first half of the Class 2 District 1 championship game Thursday at Central High School.

Notre Dame finally settled in and started to turn the tables in the second half.

The Bulldogs first good chance came with 29 minutes left in regulation.

Notre Dame forward Devin Ziegler threw a long throw-in deep in Pirates territory across the box, but the Bulldogs failed to get a foot on it.

The Bulldogs' best chance came with 20 minutes left.

Ben Wedemeier played a long ball into the box that Perryville attempted to clear with a head ball, but the clearance went straight to the Bulldogs' Blake Bauwens inside the penalty box.

Bauwens settled the ball, took a step and fired, but a Pirates defender deflected the shot wide at the last second.

"When you have two teams that were evenly matched tonight and the defenses were holding, most of the play was in the midfield," Vollink said. "It was just back and forth, it was just hard to get anything going."

The teams continued to battle until the second overtime.

That's when Fulton noticed a change in his team's demeanor.

"Between the last two overtime periods my guys had an intensity I hadn't seen in the huddle," Fulton said. "They were like, 'Guys we have to finish this and we have to finish this now.' They didn't want to go to a shootout."

Mattingly took care of the matter.

"We wanted it out and we came out to win the ball," Vollink said. "Because we were nervous, anytime you get a ball at the top of the 18 you get a little nervous, so we came in and dove in, and the guy went one or two around us and put one in the back of the net. He was calm, it was a good finish."

Now the Pirates turn their attention to a sectional opponent in De Soto.

"What a great goal," Fulton said. "It was just a great season, now we know we're going to host sectionals and we know De Soto is coming. My guys worked very hard this year for this, we're going to celebrate tonight and then get ready for next week."