Perkins saves kicks, crown for St. John's.

Byline: Jim Wilson 

BROCKTON - With about five minutes remaining in the second overtime at yesterday's Division 1 boys' soccer state final, Chris Perkins of St. John's substituted out of the game and went behind the Pioneers' bench to change from his white jersey to a red goalkeeper's jersey.

Apparently, he changed there only because there wasn't a phone booth nearby.

Facing penalty kicks, the St. John's sophomore was as close to Superman as possible, stopping three shots as the Pioneers earned their first state title since 2003, defeating Framingham, 3-2, on penalty kicks at Rocky Marciano Stadium.

Perkins usually plays forward for St. John's (20-1-2), but was more than happy to put the game on his shoulders once it went into penalty kicks. The sophomore said he usually practices them during the week, but yesterday was the first time he has been in net to face them during a game.

"I was expecting it all game, and it happened," Perkins said. "I wasn't nervous at all, I just did my best."

St. John's coach Jon Brunell said he knew all along if the game went to PKs, Perkins would get the call because he has a quick first step. Perkins missed the first chance he had, but teammate Chris Stoker buried the first St. John's try to the left side to even things up, 1-1.

"I just pick a place, and that's where I shoot it," Stoker said.

Perkins dove to his left side to knock away a shot by John Goncalves, and Perkins said that's when he knew it was over.

"(I was thinking) I brought it home, because I knew the rest of my team was going to make all five," Perkins said. "I knew we were going to win right then."

Andrew Powell blasted a shot high into the right corner to put St. John's ahead, 2-1, but the Flyers answered with a goal from Ronaldo Vieira that went off the fingertips of Perkins and into the right side of the net.

Joseph Buckley sent a shot into the lower right of the net to put St. John's up, 3-2, and Perkins answered with a big save to his right on a shot by Adam Skaggs. After Matthew Darling's attempt was stopped by Luca Pignatiello, Perkins made a nice diving save to his left on a shot by Jon Ward to start St. John's dog-pile celebration in front of the net.

"I look at their eyes and where their waist is turned," Perkins said of his shootout approach. "It worked out."

The win was the first state title for St. John's since consecutive trophies in 2001 and 2002. The win was special for Stoker, who was part of a Pioneers squad that had its seasons ended the last two years by penalty kicks.

"We practice them a lot, so we had confidence going in there," Stoker said.

Although they didn't have any goals to show for it, the Pioneers controlled the flow from early on. Stoker just missed a shot from 30 yards out five minutes into the game, and 20 minutes later he had another chance from the top of the box, but Pignatiello dove to the left post to make the save. The rebound went to Charlie Long in the middle, but the sophomore's header sailed high over the net.

"I think that was more of us playing our game," said Brunell, himself a former Pioneers goalkeeper who now has a state title in his first year as head coach. "The first 30 minutes, we dictated the flow of the game, and the last 10 minutes, they started to put pressure on us."

Framingham (20-2-2) had a couple of chances in the game that caused St. John's fans to hold their breath, but nothing that seriously challenged goalkeeper George Drouillard, who made six saves in regulation and overtime before yielding to Perkins. Drouillard was able to make a pair of nice saves in the second half on Framingham's Gustavo Santo to keep the game scoreless.

Brunell said he has been impressed by his squad ever since he saw it rebound from a regular-season loss to St. John's Prep, saying the Pioneers have been rolling ever since - including a 5-1 win over SJP in the rematch.

"They were devoted to the game, to each other, and to winning," Brunell said. "I think it showed in the last two games - there wasn't one kid who gave up. They were tough games and our games stayed true to our style of play."

NAME: ST. JOHN'S HIGH SCHOOL 

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) St. John's players surround shootout keeper Chris Perkins, center, after he stopped Framingham's fifth kick to clinch the state title. (2) St. John's Sean Mitchell, left, battles Framingham's Jarred Umbro for a loose ball.

PHOTOG: Boston Globe Staff/DAVID KAMERMAN