Thanks to a timely PK netted by senior midfielder Sean Perryman, the Glendale Falcons came away with a tight 3-2 victory over fellow Ozark Conference power Rolla in Springfield on Monday.
Glendale (6-3), which handed the Bulldogs their first conference loss on the season, benefited from a key Rolla (4-4-1) foul with 13:30 to play in the match – setting up the first and only penalty kick of the game with the score tied, 2-2.
The Falcons had no second thoughts in looking to Perryman, who promptly delivered the tiebreaking blow to the Bulldogs and put his squad in the lead for the first time all night.
“It always feels really good just to score the winning goal like that,” Perryman said after the victory. “Even if it's off a PK, I just like being able to put it away for my team.”
PHOTOS: ROLLA VS. GLENDALE
The go-ahead strike served as a legitimate measure of vindication for the senior after he narrowly missed tying the game in the 49th minute. With Rolla holding a 2-1 advantage, Perryman shot a direct free kick that slammed the bottom of the crossbar and landed just in front of the goal line before the ball was cleared.
“I was so frustrated because I've been working on my free kicks,” said Perryman. “I finally hit a good one and it just hit off the crossbar. I was hoping it would go in, but unfortunately, it didn't.”
Glendale would later tie the game with a score from sophomore Max Elmer at the 20:48 mark to continue the theme of battling from behind. The Falcons also trailed by a 1-0 score on a nice header by junior captain Nick Janke before evening the contest late in the first half.
Despite Monday's loss, things could have been a lot worse for Rolla considering the plethora of scoring opportunities Glendale failed to take advantage of.
The Bulldogs also showed flashes of brilliance on defense, highlighted by a terrific save by backup goalkeeper Stewart Meusch in the fourth minute to keep Glendale off the board.
“That's been the name of the game for us as of late,” Falcons head coach Jeff Rogers said of his team's scoring troubles. “We're creating those opportunities, but we're still struggling to just find the finishes.”
Rogers' team will certainly have plenty of chances to clean things up over the next two weeks as they continue a taxing stretch that involves ten games in 13 days.
“It's just a matter of getting through 80 minutes, resting some kids and keeping everybody healthy,” said Rogers. “Hopefully at the end of all that, we're still playing well.”
Glendale travels to play Waynesville on Wednesday, while Rolla hits the road on Wednesday to tangle with Helias Catholic.
