Prairie Ridge wins Fox Valley Conference championship 2-1 over McHenry

MCHENRY – Henry Knoll took in the moment as chaos started to ensue around him Tuesday night in the middle of McHenry’s McCracken Field.

Knoll jogged toward his Prairie Ridge teammates as they started to jump on top of each other and hug whomever they could see. Once the moment had set in, Knoll joined the huddle to celebrate what had just happened.

[ Photos: Prairie Ridge vs. McHenry FVC boys soccer ]

The Wolves beat the Warriors 2-1 to win the Fox Valley Conference championship.

“It’s awesome,” Knoll, a senior, said. “We wanted to create a legacy this year. With a team full of seniors, we knew this was our last chance to make some history for the program. We really wanted to give something back to PR before we leave.”

Making some history took a little bit of time Tuesday night. Both teams struggled to create scoring chances for much of the first half. The Wolves (14-4-1, 7-1-1) registered the match’s first shot on goal with 11 minutes left in the opening half.

But Knoll and his teammates knew all PR needed to do was score an opening goal in order to build momentum.

“We realized this is going to be one of those games where if we can get one, we can get another right away,” Knoll said. “We’ve been reliant on the first goal and building momentum right after that.”

That breakthrough came early in the second half. Senior Chase Santucci broke through the line and expected McHenry freshman goalkeeper Mason Betone to come out. Once he didn’t, Santucci got a foot on the ball and tapped it in to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead with 38:06 left in the match.

PR kept pressuring and the second goal came less than six minutes later. Knoll advanced the ball despite facing pressure from three Warrior defenders and got a shot on goal that went through to make it 2-0 with 32:37 left in the match.

“Confidence is a big thing for us,” Santucci said. “Once we get one, our confidence builds a lot. That’s a good thing about us, once we get one, more are going to come.”

That push was important late in the match as the Warriors (8-11, 3-6) kept pressuring. McHenry drew a penalty kick after a push in the box. Junior Marko Stojich knocked in the goal to make it a 2-1 lead with 8:51 left in the match.

But the Wolves turned away late opportunities, while Wolves senior goalkeeper John Malina finished the match with three saves to secure the win.

“I think that game kind of exemplified the whole season,” PR coach Josef Schroeder said. “Every game you had to fight. It didn’t matter who you played, it didn’t matter the conferences, it was really that competitive. It came down to the last game.”

Despite both teams starting the match slowly, the Wolves ended with 13 shots on goal, with Betone making 11 saves. McHenry registered its first shot on goal with 33 minutes left in the match, while the Wolves defense did a good job taking away late scoring chances.

Despite the loss, McHenry coach Adam Bronars commended his team for fighting until the end once again.

“I’ve been proud of our players all year, playing for 80 minutes,” Bronars said. “We’ve been in so many one-goal games this year. We’re right there with a chance, we just have to find a way to get that one more goal.”

Tuesday’s championship felt like a long time coming for Schroeder and the Wolves seniors. The program has been building toward this moment since Schroeder took over three years ago, coming close last season in the FVC while winning a Class 2A regional title.

“It’s awesome. We wanted to create a legacy this year. With a team full of seniors, we knew this was our last chance to make some history for the program. We really wanted to give something back to PR before we leave.”

—  Henry Knoll, Prairie Ridge senior

But the Wolves said there’s more work left to be done. PR will start the postseason against Lakes or Antioch on Tuesday in the Class 2A Vernon Hills Regional and knows what’s at stake.

“It’s a whole new season,” Santucci said. “You can’t go in there cocky or we’re going to get put on our butts. We’ve got to go in there like no other and know if we lose it’s our last high school game together.”