High school girls soccer: Prairie Ridge regroups, tops Huntley

HUNTLEY – Prairie Ridge's Nikki Anderson probably didn’t intend to pass the ball off the foot of a Huntley defender, but she played it off without missing a beat, collecting the rebound and firing a shot from 20 yards out.

Anderson’s shot stayed low to the turf and found the bottom left corner of the net. It proved to be the game-winner.

“I knew we were tied, and we just had to get up,” Anderson said. “I kept pushing and stayed on that one. There were a lot of defenders. We were just trying to get a quick shot past them.”

The goal, with 22 minutes remaining in regulation, gave Prairie Ridge a 3-2 win over Huntley in Fox Valley Conference action Tuesday. It was Anderson’s second goal of the game and her 28th goal in 16 games this season.

The Wolves (14-1-1, 6-1 FVC) had allowed a 2-0 first-half lead to slip away.

“They came through; they dug deep,” Prairie Ridge coach Mark Lewis said. “Anytime you have Nikki Anderson on the field, you’ve got a chance to win the game.”

Abby Eriksen had two assists, and goalkeeper Sam Gablenz made two saves. Chelsea Gale scored the Wolves’ opening goal 15 minutes into the action, and Anderson scored her first goal about 10 minutes later.

Then the Wolves' offense went cold for almost 35 minutes of game action. Huntley’s Avery Fitzgerald showcased her abilities at the top of the Red Raiders’ attack.

Braidy Ceh found Fitzgerald for a goal just before halftime to pull within one. Fitzgerald flashed her speed and covered significant ground on her second goal, which came with 26 minutes remaining in the second half.

“Avery is dangerously fast,” Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski said. “Whenever she has an opportunity to get going, she really creates her opportunities on her own just by being so ridiculously fast.”

Lewis said that Fitzgerald “causes problems” for the defense. He felt overall his team played solidly on the back line.

Four minutes after Fitzgerald tied it, Anderson scored to give the Wolves the lead for good. Eriksen, who has 20 goals this season, called playing atop the Wolves' attack with Anderson “fun.”

“I can read her well, and she can read me,” Eriksen said. “It’s easy for us to pass to each other when we’re attacking.”

Huntley (7-7-2, 3-4) has suffered three consecutive one-goal losses in FVC play (against Jacobs, Crystal Lake Central and now Prairie Ridge).

“We have a bad habit of not finishing opportunities, but today we did finish our opportunities, and we found out that when you finish, it keeps you in the game,” Lewandowski said. "We were let down by a couple poor results, but we’ve been in every game fighting hard."

STAR OF THE GAME

Nikki Anderson, Prairie Ridge, sr., F

Anderson scored twice and had one assist for the Wolves in a 3-2 win over Huntley. Anderson has 28 goals for the season to go along with 11 assists.

THE NUMBER

5: Prairie Ridge has won five consecutive matches and 12 of its past 13.

AND ANOTHER THING …

The Wolves have one conference game remaining on the schedule: a matchup with Fox Valley Conference leader Cary-Grove on May 7. The conference title likely will be on the line.

Prairie Ridge 3, Huntley 2

PR 2 1 – 3

Hunt 1 1 – 2

First half

PR – Gale (Anderson assist), 15th minute.

PR – Anderson (Eriksen), 25th minute.

Hunt – Fitzgerald (Ceh), 37th minute.

Second half

Hunt – Fitzgerald, 54th minute.

PR – Anderson (Eriksen), 58th minute.

Goalkeeper saves – Prairie Ridge: Gablenz 2. Huntley: Kozak 2, Lovins 5.