Luke Persenico was turned down by many of Peoria City’s Heartland Division mates.
The forward who plays for tiny Clarke University was overlooked and doubted but took that motivation and became a star over the past season for the Carp.
Now, those teams that denied Persenico watched him be unable to be denied after his hat trick led Peoria City to a 5-1 win over FC Tucson in Sunday’s USL League 2 National Semifinal match, vaulting the team to heights never seen before.
“The kid wants to win and when you have a kid with a mentality like that, all you have to do is just tell him to do what he's really good at and make him believe in themselves and everything takes care of itself,” Peoria City head coach Mike Paye said.
Paye has played no small role in the development of the Carp as they stand on the doorstep of a national championship in the 128-team league. His speech at halftime of a then-scoreless game gave Peoria City and Persenico all they needed to finish the job in front of well over 1,000 fans at Shea Stadium.
“He really just fired us up, he said it had to be better,” Persenico said. “We haven't played that poorly in a while. I think that energy came back and it showed in the second half.”
Despite the sluggish first 45 minutes, the Carp left no doubt that they belong in the USL 2 National Championship game, where they will face the Seacoast United Phantoms out of Epping, New Hampshire on Saturday.
The league announced on Monday morning that Peoria would be the host site for the national championship game. Kickoff time is set for 7:30 PM at Shea Stadium with a tailgate featuring food and beverage vendors preceding the game.
Who would’ve thunk it in only Peoria City’s third year as a franchise, fielding one of the younger teams in the league.
“We have to give them everything and more and we’re ready for it,” Paye said.
From underdog to top dog
Following a first half that resulted in a few good opportunities but little real scoring chances for either side, Peoria City wasted no time kicking it up a notch in the second. In the 49th minute, Peoria City midfielder and Persenico’s fellow Clarke teammate Josh Reddy sent a pass into the box where the former pulled off an acrobatic bicycle kick while turning in the air for his first goal.
Three minutes later, Persenico found an open lane from outside of the box to the corner of the net and lasered one home for the brace in a blink of an eye.
“I saw that energy in the locker room and it just changed when we came out the first 10 minutes,” Persenico said. “It showed that we were coming to win.”
FC Tucson, champions of the Western Conference after a 1-0 win over Oakland-based Project 51O in Peoria on Friday, countered almost immediately with a goal by William Arneson. But the newfound hero of soccer of Peoria gave the Carp more breathing room after finishing a cross from Denmark’s Jonas Lyshøj from close range in the 67th minute for his hat trick.
The 3-goal performance was the first for Persenico, a senior-to-be, since his freshman year at Clarke and it came in front of his family, whose presence at Peoria City’s games have given him an extra boost.
“The biggest thing for me is having my family here, it’s just great.” Persenico said. “Playing in front of them is a blessing and having all the other fans is awesome.”
Persenico’s Sunday-best performance gives him seven goals in Peoria City’s four playoff games alone and 18 on the season, tied for the top spot in the whole league. So how did a player like him fall into the Carp’s lap?
It started when Paye, his head coach at Clarke, was trying to find opportunities for him to play during the summer. None of them wanted to take a chance on Persenico.
“River Light, I contacted them, they denied him. I contacted Chicago, they denied him. I contacted every team in Chicago because he's from that area, I contacted the Des Moines Menace, they denied him. I mean, it speaks for itself,” Paye said.
“This is the same kid that nobody respected, nobody counted on, nobody would look his way to give him an opportunity.”
Much of the USL League 2’s player base is made up of current college players, as well as some veterans who have played overseas and college-bound high school players. Many of the top players in the league either play the Division-I level or fall into the veteran category.
Persenico’s underdog mentality is furthered by playing for Clarke, a small NAIA school of approximately 1,200 students in Dubuque, Iowa.
“Being one of the few NAIA players in the league, I didn't have the high expectations but my coach believed in me more than I believed in myself, he just keeps pushing me,” Persenico said.
Red-hot Carp will take one last swim
Peoria City added two cherries on top of their treat in the summer heat after a failed cleared ball by FC Tucson struck the back of one of their own and trickled across the line for an own goal in the 72nd minute. The onslaught continued as reserve Joe McInnes willed a third-chance header minutes before the final whistle to set the final score.
Peoria City has outscored its opponents 13-6 in four postseason games, all of which have been played at home after the team was selected as a host site for two consecutive weekends.
The Carp’s magical run started with a 2-0 win over Thunder Bay, followed by a 6-5 win over the Des Moines Menace where they escaped the brink of death to win in penalty kicks. They defeated the Flint City Bucks, another longtime bastion of the USL League 2, 1-0 on Friday after a goal from Persenico in the second half.
“We’re a great team and when we perform, I don't think anyone can beat us,” Persenico said.
Now, Peoria City has the chance to win a national title, something that Paye has done both as a coach and a player at Tyler Junior College in Texas.
“It's a great feeling and when you get into these moments, it’s a little bit of luck, it’s a little bit of everything that gets you to the next stage,” Paye said. “We'll get them there.”
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