Perry Boys soccer team soaring high with riveting play

The Perry Boys varsity soccer team have been on quite a roll this season and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

After dropping their first two games of the season to Veterans (1-0) and Etowah (2-1), Perry has been on an astounding run. The Panthers are currently on a nine-game unbeaten streak (8 wins, 1 tie), where they have recorded five shutouts and have outscored their opponents by a stunning 34-4 margin. Perry has an 8-2-1 overall record, sits atop in first place in the 2-AAAA region at 5-0 and is in prime position to win the region title for the first time since 2013.

“We set high expectations as a team,” said Perry Boys Varsity Head Coach Nathan Dooley, who is currently in his seventh year as head coach at Perry High. “Our motto has been no excuses and we’ll going to strive to get better everytime we step out on the field. We’ve constantly lived up to that, whether in practice or in the game when we touch the pitch and when we walk off. We just don’t want to settle and we’ll looking to get better.”

The Panthers play a traditional 4-3-3 formation (four defensive backs, three midfielders, three forwards), which allows teams to have a nice variation when approaching attacking situations while also gaining control and steadiness in the center midfield area. Perry has thrived this season at putting constant pressure on the opposition and that’s exhibited in their 35 goals scored in 11 games and 3.1 goals per game average.

When asked what he saw as his team’s strengths and weaknesses, Coach Dooley replied, “Honestly, we’ll pretty solid from the top to bottom. We’ll very attack-oriented. We like to push our outside backs up and attack but we have three solid defenders that can handle the load if we get stuck on a counter. This is really the most complete team I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

One of the reasons why the offensive side of the ball has looked so prolific for Perry this season is because of their junior forward Mason King, who has compiled a team-high 17 goals, to go along with four assists. However, Dooley contributes the team’s success to the play of a slew of players.

“Defensively will have three captains who are seniors. Our two centerbacks Lazar Hunter and Tyler Knowles, and Joseph Lee our goalkeeper. They’ve been real solid for us,” said Dooley. “Joseph broke his hand in the fifth game and we had to have sophomore Michael Espinoza come in and he’s really stepped up and played well for us in most of the region games. Offensively, Mason King is our center forward and has been our go-to guy up top. At the center mid positions are sophomores Luke Merritt and Sebastian Molina that have played real solid. Those have been some of our key players so far but I can name any of the starting 11 that’s played well this season.”

An essential factor in the Panthers success can be traced to maturity and a willingness to work. “We were really young last year because we lost a couple of seniors and we played a lot of ninth-graders. We returned a lot of players this year, so another year of maturity is one,” said Dooley. “We also started conditioning in October this year, which is a little bit sooner than we usually do. Just the work ethic, focus and drive of the team has been important.”

The Panthers season has been filled with a good number of decisive wins (10-0 vs. Dublin, 6-1 vs. Mary Persons, 4-1 vs. Howard, 7-0 vs. Warner Robins) but Dooley points to the home victory over Houston County in February as a critical point in the season. “The Houston County game stands out. In my seven years being here, we never beat Houston County and for us to come out and really take control of that game and beat them 2-0, really meant as much to the boys as it did to me,” said Dooley. “We knew that on paper we were pretty strong but seeing it come together has been really big for us.”

This Friday night Perry will play in arguably their biggest game of the season at home against Upson-Lee, who the Panthers beat 2-1 in double overtime on the road just two weeks ago and presently sits in second place in the region (14-1 overall record, 8-1 in region play). It will be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 regional showdown that will surely go a long way in determining who finishes in the number one spot come season’s end. Dooley believes this 2018 group is ready.

“They seem focused. The thing is we’ve had other teams just as talented as this team in the past, like the last time we won the region in 2013. That was a very talented team but this team practices harder than any team I’ve ever had. There focused,” stated Dooley. “There close as a team on and off the field. This group really is a family and you can see it when someone’s having a bad game, someone else steps up. It could be a player coming off the bench and score that one goal we need. Whenever we need someone, someone’s stepping up to help. That’s probably the biggest difference this year.”

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