Perkins draws another tough test in regional

PERKINS TWP. — The Perkins boys soccer team is getting ready to play in its fourth-ever regional semifinal Wednesday at Norwalk's Contractors Stadium. As Pirates coach Paul Lea pointed out, their opponent, Liberty-Benton, is playing in its fourth straight regional semifinal. Perkins doesn't have quite the same experience, but is ready for the challenge when it faces the Eagles at 7 p.m. "We know we're up against a really tough team," Lea said. "But, we have Danny (Buga) in goal and we have Titus Normington-Slay up top. I would bet Titus is going to be the best player on the field. The question is are they going to put two or three guys on him? Or four? If they do that, it's going to be difficult to find opportunities. "But, Titus always finds a way. He's found a way in every single game despite being singled out every single game. This game will be no different." The Pirates enter with a record of 14-5-1. Perkins has won its last five matches and nine of the last 10. The Pirates have found postseason success after coming up short in their bid for a Northern Ohio Conference title. Ironically, Perkins lost the title to Norwalk, on whose home field it will play in the Division IV regional semifinal. "I think the best way to put it is it's been a rollercoaster," Lea said. "Despite graduating all the kids we did, we had pretty high expectations for what we wanted to achieve. We fell short in the conference. Everybody improves, but they were laser focused on trying to get something out of the district run. They went ahead and did that, which is epic. "I thought last year's team was the best Perkins ever had and now this team has won two more games in the postseason than that one did." Liberty-Benton is 16-3-1. The Eagles have only allowed 11 goals in 20 matches. "We watched them live and went through film Monday," Lea said. "They're good all over the field. It looks like they can keep the ball really, really well. Their goalkeeper looks like a mountain in there. He's a big, tall dude. He's vocal and can kick the ball as far as Danny. Their whole back line looked comfortable with the ball. "(Jairo Colina) stood out a mile. He's a big, thick dude who is powerful and strong. We know he's going to be a major threat for them." Colina leads the Eagles with 22 goals while Taden Troyer has 17 goals. Brahlen August adds 15 goals for Liberty-Benton. "Balance has been the key for our attack," Eagles coach Aaron Troyer said. "We obviously have a great player in Jairo Colina who demands so much attention from opponents, but we have other attackers with speed and skill that make it really difficult for teams to shut everyone down. "Taden Troyer, Brahlen August and Trevor Gebhardt are able to win individual battles, but they also work very well together and with Jairo to consistently create dangerous chances." Colina adds a team-high 12 assists while Lucas Theiss has 11. Kooper Leatherman has made 53 saves and has totaled 12 shutouts in goal. "They have two fantastic players in Normington-Slay and Buga that really stand out," Troyer said. "Those are two players alone who can keep you in a game with a moment or two of brilliance, and they have already shown several of those moments in their tournament run. But they are a team filled with talented players. They're well organized and have a winning mentality." Normington-Slay paces Perkins with 36 goals while Kannyn Henson is second with nine. Freshman Whitten Hart has eight goals to go with a team-high 18 assists. Normington-Slay has tallied 14 assists. "As you get further into the tournament, it always comes down to who can produce the most dangerous chances and who can stay organized in moments of transition," Troyer said. "We have to finish on the chances we generate and we cannot allow Perkins space to operate in the counterattack." The winner faces either No. 8 Columbus Tree of Life Christian (17-2) or No. 7 Worthington Christian (15-3-2) in a regional final Sunday at Marion Harding High School. "We're playing with house money," Lea said. "In looking at the brackets, we are the lowest-ranked team left in the entire tournament. I'm guessing, but we were probably the lowest-ranked team coming into the tournament. We were 42nd. We beat Clear Fork, which was eighth at the time. Then we beat Bryan, which was 20th, I think. Now we have Liberty-Benton, who is 12th. "It gets harder and harder and harder. The kids seem happy with what we've achieved to this point, but we know we have a chance to win."