Heartbreak seemed to be the constant theme following the Perry girls soccer team leading into the 2015-16 season.
Two years ago the team became the first team in Perry history to make a Division I state championship but came up short in a 1-0 loss to Pinnacle. The next year, poised to make it back to the championship, the Pumas came into the tournament as the No. 9 seed. After a first round win Perry was eliminated by No. 1 Desert Mountain on a late second half goal.
In 2015 the Pumas turned that heartbreak into a relentless approach, becoming one of the best teams in Perry history.
The Pumas won in bunches over the course of the season. They amassed a seven- and an eight-game unbeaten streak during the year. During the regular season Perry won 14 games by two or more goals. The Pumas had a goal differential of plus-62.
Perry was led by their three senior captains: Kambree Meskill, Gina Bracamonte, and Lauren Hawley. Each one of them commanded their own sections of the field, Meskill at the top, scoring, Bracamonte holding things down in the midfield, and Hawley being a force defensively all had huge impacts on the 2015-16 season.
Meskill was the top scorer on the year racking up 14 goals, averaging about a goal every two games. Hawley and Bracamonte both accounted for 17 goals and 12 assists combined.
The Pumas finished the regular season with a record of 17-2-2; the best mark in the team’s history. Perry entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, the highest any Puma team had been ranked to that point.
The Pumas took care of business in the first round then took on Desert Mountain, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs the year before.
The game was back and forth, Desert Mountain scored in the first half and Perry responded in the second half, at the end of regulation and extra time the two teams could not be separated, the winner would be decided in the penalty shootout. Desert Mountain proved to be more clinical from the penalty spot as they took the shootout win 3-1.
The Pumas’ hearts had been broken yet again. A season filled with so much promise had ended in a shocking upset loss to the Wolves.
There seem to be a lot of question marks about how does Perry respond, the senior triple threat graduated so now what for the Pumas?
Well, there is still a ton of potential for this Puma team. Sophomores Amanda Dahl and Remmi Deutsch scored a combined 21 goals on the year. The midfield is looking solid with Kelly Cannistra and Peighton Gumm (11 goals and 14 assists of their own). Between the sticks is Makayla Aman, the sophomore who is committed to the University of Arizona has 16 shutouts under her belt and gave up less than a goal per game.
The feeling is that this team is still very capable of something special, and that something special might just be winning the school its first state championship.
