Pirates storm past Streaks: Wright scores twice in Perkins' 5-0 victory

SANDUSKY — Grace Cisman brought her shooting boots to Strobel Field on Wednesday night. Less than four minutes into the game, the Perkins midfielder let rip a right-footed shot from outside of the 18-yard box, and it soared high into the net to open the scoring. "A lot of times, you don't get the perfect shot, so you've just gotta let it fly when you can," Cisman said. Perkins (2-2-1) controlled matters from there, scoring a 5-0 win over Sandusky (1-3-1). Following Cisman's opener, Maggie McVeigh got on the board in the first half, Mackenzie Wright scored twice to open the second half and Sophia Ralofsky added one. The victory marks an SBC Lake Division win for Perkins in their league opener, along with a bounceback from a 3-1 loss at Port Clinton on Monday. "It seems weird that we're in the league already," Perkins coach Scott McVeigh said. "... But it's good. The girls' goal is always SBC." Before Wednesday's game even began, Cisman warmed up her long-distance leg. While most of the Pirates worked small-side games in warmups, Cisman booted the ball back and forth with Perkins goalie Faith Fultz. The Fultz kicks were punts, as any keeper might work on before the game. At the other end, Cisman let the ball settle on the turf before driving her right instep through the ball. "I've done that since freshman year when me and Faith started out together," Cisman said, "so it's more of a tradition, and it's nice to get touches on the ball." In the game's first minute, Cisman fired wide right, then she scored that initial goal soon after. Three minutes after scoring, Cisman hit the bar from similar range, then pulled one wide from deep. Before the first half had finished, Cisman booted four more shots but either barely missed or forced a save from Sandusky keeper Kat Ekleberry. "Coming out and getting that early goal was huge," McVeigh said. "... We did some nice things early and kept the pressure on." McVeigh joined the scoring 14 minutes into the match, connecting on a right-footed shot from outside the area. McVeigh skidded her shot across the turf and into the low-left corner. "We've been working at practice on our shots and our accuracy," Cisman said, "and that was a really good ball." Almost immediately out of halftime, McVeigh swung in a corner kick that reached one of the shortest players in the box, Wright. She managed to knock the cross off her shoulder and into the net. "Just a little bit (of shoulder)," Wright acknowledged afterward with a chuckle. Soon after, Wright joined the distance party with her own strike from outside the 18-yard box. McVeigh said Wright prefers to get assists over goals, but she found the back of the net twice in six minutes. "Usually Mackenzie doesn't take as many shots as she should," Cisman said, "so this game should really help her out. It was nice to see her get two." Ralofsky capped off the scoring via a nice touch from Wright before the right-winger lashed a left-footed shot into the far corner. "It's good to see Sophia get a goal," McVeigh said. "She can be our leading scorer, and it was just getting that first one out of the way." By the time 10 minutes remained, Perkins had settled into a comfortable closing phase of the game. Cisman, Wright and company hung out together on the sideline and cheered on their reserves. And Cisman took her influential cleats off early, opting for sweatpants and sneakers for her spectating. "It's good to get a first win over here on a beautiful night to play," McVeigh said. Perkins has played a tough early-season schedule. Its two defeats came to Port Clinton and Huron. PC may be the area's best team, and the Tigers are full of pace. But now into Lake play, the Pirates should be contenders after a string of second-place league finishes. Wednesday night was just the first of many SBC Lake games, but in what could be a tight race, Perkins couldn't afford to slip up. "This was super important for our team," Wright said. "Just giving us a head start, just giving us a little bit more passion and confidence." [Album Placeholder (use source code to remove)]