PERRYVILLE — After nearly 140 minutes of scoreless soccer between Perryville and Saxony Lutheran dating back to their matchup on Oct. 6, Pirates' junior Eli Angle found the back of the net with 5:37 left in the first half.

The Crusaders got the last laugh, however, tying the game in the second half with a goal from sophomore Brayden Moore and going on to win 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout — the second of the year between the two teams — in the Class 2 District 1 semifinals on Tuesday night at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex.

"Everybody in this area knows Perryville and Saxony have an incredible rivalry," Crusaders coach Chris Crawford said. "It's hard to win a district game, much less beat your rival for the second time on penalties. I'm just so proud of my guys. They came in, they knew the job they had to do and they took care of business."

Saxony Lutheran players rush the field after defeating Perryville in the Class 2 District 1 semifinals on Tuesday at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex in Perryville.J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semoball.com

Following two scoreless overtime periods, the game once again came down to penalty kicks.

"I just knew at any time we would get an opportunity and put one away in overtime," Perryville coach Jerry Fulton said. "I just didn't think we'd go to PKs a second time, but it goes to show you much how much I know. It just sucks for the seniors. Those guys worked their tails off all year and they deserve better. But soccer is one of those games that doesn't always come out the way it should, and, unfortunately, we came up on the short end of the stick tonight."

Perryville started strong in the shootout, with junior goalkeeper Waylon Huber making a save on senior Max Richey's attempt. The Pirates answered immediately on offense when junior Andrew Welk sailed a ball past Crusaders' senior goalkeeper Aaron Zoellner.

Saxony was able to find the back of the net next as senior Noah Smith booted a ball past Huber. Freshman Treyton Barnett hit his PK for Perryville, and Mike Hasz punched one in right after to tie it up 2-2.

Zoeller stepped up and blocked the next shot from Perryville junior Tanner Hagan, and Luke Eggemeyer hit his PK to give the Crusaders a 3-2 lead.

Junior Kale Adams scored next for the Pirates and senior Jace Boland answered to maintain the lead.

With the game on the line, Zoeller was able to redirect senior Carson Adams' shot out of the goal to secure the win for Saxony.

"I can tell you that our PK spot looks like this at Saxony right now," Crawford said pointing to the muddy field. "Not that we were planning to go to penalties, but we knew there was a good chance. We went with our same five that we went when the first time and I told them, "Pick your spot, bang it home and if it goes in, great. If not your buddies will pick you up,' and Zoelly picked us up."

With the win, Saxony improved to 13-9 on the season and will face top-seeded Affton in the district championship on Thursday at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex.

"We came and watched Affton earlier and they've got some talented forwards," Crawford said. "They're fast and they can finish the ball. We're going to have to play our game, keep the ball and finish opportunities when we get them."

Perryville finished its season with a 15-10 record and will lose two seniors — Jarrett Anderson and Carson Adams — to graduation.

"What they brought to the program was a lot of heart and a lot of dedication," Fulton said. "I told them sitting here on the bench before they left, I said, 'Guys, I don't know if I've ever enjoyed coaching two guys more for four years than you two guys.' They were both in tears and they were like, 'Coach, thanks for saying that.' I said, 'Guys, you know me, I wouldn't say it if it's not true. I totally feel that you guys were great guys. You gave us four hard years and we had a lot of fun.' "