Boys soccer: Prairie Ridge snags first win over Crystal Lake South since 2021

CRYSTAL LAKE – When the final horn rang to mark the end of Prairie Ridge's match against Crystal Lake South on Thursday afternoon, the Wolves started cheering and celebrating with each other. Some Wolves started throwing out high fives while others gave hugs to whomever they could see.

No, PR hadn't just won any sort of championship. Thursday was just both team's second Fox Valley Conference match of the season.

But the Wolves accomplished one of their season goals that afternoon. They beat South, 3-1, for the first time since the spring 2021 season.

"It's one of the best experiences I've had in my whole high school career," senior Henry Knoll said. "We've been wanting to do this for the last four years, since we were freshman. ... The same group of us have been together all four years and it just means the world."

Knoll and PR (8-1-1, 1-0-1) came out motivated and set the tone early with a fast start. The Wolves forced a shot on goal and a corner kick in the first three minutes of the match before using their defense to score.

PR pressured South and forced the ball up the pitch. Senior Gabe Porter found Knoll running into the Gators' third of the pitch, who scored with a strike to the corner of the goal with 33:32 left in the first half.

The Wolves kept up the pressure for much of the first half into the second by using the width of the pitch to their advantage. They created strong looks, which allowed them to draw a penalty in the box. Knoll knocked in the first penalty kick, which was taken away because a teammate was in the wrong position, and then made the second to give PR a 2-0 cushion with 29:56 left in the match.

"I've been preparing for this moment my whole high school career," Knoll said of making both penalty attempts. "I realized if I'm going to play at the level I'm going to try to play at, I have to deal with situations with pressure. The pressure didn't affect me there. Cool, calm, collected through both penalties."

Senior Brandon Matei gave his team a 3-0 lead with 20:59 left in the match after he headed in a pass off a free kick. PR finished with seven shots on goal.

While PR scored three or more goals for the seventh time this season, Wolves coach Joe Schroeder was proud of his backline and defense throughout the pitch. Schroeder said the pressure defense helped the Wolves run out to a fast start.

"Defense is not just the backline," Schroeder said. "Defense is defending in that attack third. I think we were able to do that a few times and win that ball and then we were able to finish. The boys did well up against a good team, a very disciplined team."

South senior Pierce Johnson got the Gators (5-5, 1-1) on the board when he scored with 7:15 left in the match. The Gators finished with four shots on goal as they continue to play without senior forward Ali Ahmed, who's missed the start of the season with an injury.

"It's one of the best experiences I've had in my whole high school career. We've been wanting to do this for the last four years, since we were freshman. ... The same group of us have been together all four years and it just means the world."

— Henry Knoll, Prairie Ridge senior Gators coach Brian Allen was proud to see his team show some glimpses Thursday. But the slow start became too much to overcome.

"Lots of lessons to be learned," Allen said. "I thought we were good in certain spells and certain stints, but not consistent for a full 80. Prairie Ridge is a very good team, we knew that coming in, and they took their moments and made them count."

South will try to snap a three-match losing streak when it plays Schaumburg on Saturday while PR will play St. Laurence on Saturday.

Both teams agreed that Thursday's match showed how volatile the FVC can be this season. While Thursday was a big win for the Wolves, they learned in their tie against Jacobs to start FVC play that there are no matches they can overlook.

"We've realized that this is real," Knoll said. "We have to lock in for the whole conference season so we can make some history and win the conference."