Brunner's four goals pace Perkins in sectional final

PERKINS TWP. — Jordyn Brunner had never scored four goals in a high school soccer game. Brunner picked the right time to do it Wednesday, leading Perkins to an 8-0 mercy-rule win over Toledo Central Catholic in a Division III sectional final. "It feels good. I'm enjoying it," Brunner said. "It's like a pick-me-up going through the tournament. Just being able to finish is nice because there's definitely those games where you struggle to do that. It was good to be on track today." Perkins improved to 15-2-1 and will face Toledo Waite in a district semifinal at 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Lake High School. The game was called at halftime due to the mercy rule the OHSAA adopted recently. Anytime a game reaches at least halftime and a team is ahead by eight or more goals, the game is ended. "The biggest thing we talked about coming in was playing at a high level and not looking at who our competition is," Perkins coach Scott McVeigh said. "It was our last game playing on this field and we are undefeated on this field this year. "We wanted to play together and do the little things better than we have the last couple games." Perkins topped Central Catholic 7-3 in a game Sept. 27 at home. That night, the Pirates allowed three second-half goals. This time, Perkins was on point the entire 40 minutes. "We knew they were struggling a little bit," McVeigh said. "We just wanted to come out and take care of ourselves." Brunner was on a roll from the beginning. She scored off of an Isabella Ramirez corner kick about five minutes in for a 1-0 lead. A left-footed strike from Tanner Wilkins made it 2-0 before Brunner scored the next three Perkins goals. "Typically, that first goal is the toughest," McVeigh said. "As soon as we got that first one, it seemed like the flood gates opened. We moved the ball well and we shared it as we always do." In a three-on-one rush by the Pirates, Brunner's goal just 33 seconds after Wilkins pushed it to 3-0. The Ramirez-to-Brunner connection helped Perkins again just over a minute later. A Ramirez corner turned into the hat trick for Brunner, making it 4-0. Brunner finished off her big night later. With 11:43 to play, she got a shot past TCC (1-16) goalie McCahl Pettaway for a 5-0 advantage. "We always talk that the ball finds energy," McVeigh said. "You're talking about a girl (Brunner) that is probably the most active we have on the field. She's first to the ball and she moves." Ramirez scored just 44 seconds after Brunner's final goal for a 6-0 lead. Leah Butler scored with 7:50 to play for a 7-0 edge and Ramirez's tally with 2:10 remaining put Perkins up 8-0. "We wanted to come out and put it to them and get ahead," Brunner said. "Our goal was actually to get to eight by halftime and we did meet it. We put the ball in the back of the net and played with high intensity. Sometimes we tend to play to our opponents' level. Our goal is to play to our standards." Although not challenged much by the Irish, Lucy Miller tallied her 11th shutout of the season and 34th for her career. That set the all-time mark by a Pirates goalie. She still has the rest of this season to play, as well as her entire senior year. "It's a good testament to her and the defenders that are in front of her," McVeigh said. Perkins will have a week to prepare to take on Waite, which is listed as just 0-7 on MaxPreps. The Pirates will likely be a heavy favorite to reach the district final Oct. 25 in Elida. "We've got a week and if we can get some film, we'll watch some film," McVeigh said. "It's a lot of shortening practice. We've been trying to get some touches on grass because if we get by Waite, we're down at Elida on grass. We haven't been on grass much this year."