The stakes were high for Perry's boys soccer team Monday night in trying to stay in the hunt for a Division I state tournament berth.

But the team that played at a higher level was host Mesquite, which was playing for pride this final week of the regular season. Mesquite scored a momentum-shifting tying goal in the final five seconds of the first half and added two more in the second half to knock off Perry, 3-1.

Perry, which entered the match 7-3 in power-point games and likely needed wins in its final two games this week to eke out a playoff berth, had a breakdown in the final minute of the first half that was the beginning of its demise. The best Perry can do now is an 8-4 finish, but its likely only an 8-4 team with a strong strength of schedule will finish in the top 16.

Perry had scored the match's first goal in the 32nd minute on a well-executed direct kick from 20 yards out. Daniel Malm took a pass at  taking the kick, but ran past it. Left-footer Alvaro Herrera-Ramirez quickly followed and took the kick. He found the upper left post for Perry's only goal its brief lead.

"I thought we had four or five other good chances to score in the first half, but we didn't convert," Mesquite coach Rich Esperti said. "Getting the goal just before half was unexpected. I told our guys, 'You got a gift. Now run with it in the second half.' They did."

Perry coach Jim Vanney had a similar assessment to Esperti on the significance of the equalizer just before halftime.

"That was a killer," Vanney said. "But (Mesquite) hustled up the field and created that opportunity...... They came ready to play, and we came out flat."

One of Mesquite's senior captains -- Mac Merchant -- back for just his second game after missing five with an ankle injury. scored the tying goal on a touch kickoff a throw-in at Perry's goal mouth with five seconds left in the first half. Merchant added Mesquite's third goal in the 72nd minute from about 20 yards out..

Mesquite (3-7 in power-point games) took the lead for good in the 48th minute when midfielder Rodrigo Sosa-Soto scored off a rebound. About 10 minutes later, Perry had its best chances of the second half to tie. The Pumas pressed and ended up with four consecutive corner kicks. Although Mesquite had trouble clearing the ball, its defense hung in and kept the lead. Perry didn't threaten the rest of the match.

"We're not a deep team, but we play hard," Esperti said. "We've won the last two with Merchant back. He's the type player the other guys feed off."