'Feisty' Perkins defense leads way to regional

PERKINS TWP. — Competitive. Feisty. Fast. Athletic. Those were words used to describe the Perkins girls soccer defense during an interview session Monday at Firelands Health Stadium. That defense has helped the Pirates advance to a Division III regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Celina at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in Tiffin. "We're all very fast and trust each other," said senior outside defender Caitlin Frankfather. "We have a lot of chemistry. We're very competitive and don't like to lose. We don't like to give up a goal." Obviously. Perkins has allowed only seven goals in 20 matches this season. The Pirates are 17-1-2 and have shut out 15 opponents. "We're feisty," said senior defender Haylie Brunner. Frankfather and Brunner make up half of the Pirates' back four. Sophomore Makenna Marianek and freshman Allie Brunner also play in front of reliable sophomore goalkeeper Lucy Miller. Senior Samatha Green was a defensive mainstay for much of the season but is out with an injury. "It started in the summer when they got together and talked about what they needed to do," Perkins coach Scott McVeigh said. "We had three seniors in that back line when Sam Green was healthy. Sam and Haylie were kind of the leaders of that defense. One of Sam's goals was to get the defense working as a unit." Mission accomplished. The Pirates have three tournament shutouts and have outscored opponents 80-7 this season heading into the Sweet 16. "We play together and connect well," Haylie Brunner said. "We're very aggressive and don't want to let the other team score. Our midfield helps a lot, too. Emma (Mullins), MJ (Fullerton) and Jordyn (Brunner) do a very good job of not giving them a ton of time in the middle. "They make our job easier." Moving Frankfather from the midfield to a fullback position helped, too. She is fast and confident and can be found playing anywhere on the field — 120 yards in either direction. "She adds such a different dimension," McVeigh said. "She's an outside defender, but I think she's close to leading us in assists this year." Frankfather had no issues with the move. In fact, McVeigh said she "subtly" lobbied to play defense this year. "I really like it. I get to play offense and defense," she said. "Midfield is a really hard position to play, but my position now I can move up or back. It takes a lot of trust with me moving up as much I do. (Haylie) Brunner's on my side and I have to trust her because if I move up she has to cover me. "I feel like I bring something to the offense moving up on the outside. A lot of teams don't have their defenders push up, but we have so many opportunities on goal with me or Allie Brunner, whoever's on the other side, the way we move up." Frankfather is easy to spot on a team that lacks a lot of height. "We were going into the Bowling Green game (district final on Saturday) and this guy was like, 'Where's the tall people at?' I was like, 'I'm back here,' " Frankfather said. "I feel like our entire team is pretty small, but it makes them more feisty." While Frankfather dabbles in offense, Haylie Brunner is all defense. Effort, not size, is the Pirates' specialty. "I feel like our athleticism makes up for our lack of height," Brunner said. "We're all aggressive and get to the ball first. That's not a height thing." Perkins is a successful team, but still quite young. Seven sophomore starters will take the field in the regional matchup against Celina. "They're younger but very mature," Frankfather said of her teammates. "We haven't had a bad practice all year. We all work hard. Sometimes I forget that they're sophomores. I feel like we're all the same age. It's going to be hard leaving them." Haylie Brunner sees two of her teammates a lot. Sisters Jordyn (sophomore) and Allie (freshman) have made huge contributions this season. "I love it; it's super fun," Haylie said about playing with her siblings. "They're my best friends on and off the field. I love this team; we all connected so well and we're super close and playing with my sisters adds to that for me." The matchup with Celina could be like looking in the mirror for the Pirates. The Bulldogs, who play in the Western Buckeye League, are 14-2-4 and have outscored their opponents 79-17. The only common opponents for Perkins and Celina are Maumee and Columbian. They both defeated Maumee 1-0 and routed the Tornadoes. "A lot of similarities. We're kind of mirror images of each other," McVeigh said. "Same formation, they're stingy defensively. Their outside defenders are very active moving up like ours do. Their kids are solid and get to the ball first and possess it. They're athletic, they've got some speed." The Pirates are ready for the challenge. "I think we've earned it," Haylie Brunner said. "We've worked really hard this season. It's not gonna be easy; when you get to regionals all team are really good."