Prairie Ridge defeats Wauconda in penalty kicks, wins 1st sectional championship since 1999

GRAYSLAKE – Eighty minutes of scoreless regulation, plus a pair of 10-minute overtime periods, simply weren’t enough to determine a winner during Friday’s Class 2A Grayslake Central Sectional title match.

So when Prairie Ridge senior Matthew Fireng scored on his team’s ensuing penalty kick moments later against Wauconda, the scene on the No. 2-seeded Wolves’ sideline understandably bordered on chaotic.

Someone had finally broken the ice.

“Those are the kinds of moments we spend all season preparing for,” Fireng said. “So to be in that position, to have that opportunity ... was just awesome.

“I was confident I was going to make the shot, and confident the guys shooting after me would step up, as well.”

Indeed, teammates Henry Knoll and Gabe Porter, also seniors, then helped ice the ensuing 1-0 victory by burying penalty kicks of their own, as the Wolves won the shootout 3-0.

According to Prairie Ridge coaches, it is the first sectional title for the Wolves since 1999.

“I felt like we controlled this match more and more as it went on,” Wolves coach Josef Schroeder said. “We didn’t make many mistakes defensively and did the things we wanted to do to dictate the play and tempo mostly.

“Hats off to Wauconda, they gave us a tremendous effort and deserve a lot of credit, too. They didn’t make anything easy for us.”

Prairie Ridge advances to the Class 2A Wheaton Academy Supersectional to face Benet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Wolves junior goalkeeper Christopher Zinevich needed to make only two saves for the Wolves (18-4-1) during regulation and overtime combined. He also thwarted all three penalty kick attempts by No. 4 seed Wauconda (14-7-1).

That included a brilliant diving stop to his right against Freddy Barnshaw, then a gem of a two-handed snag against the next PK attempt he saw.

“Just being able to do my part to lift my teammates up means the world,” Zinevich said.

Friday also marked the first time all season Prairie Ridge has had its typical starting lineup in consecutive games.

“Being healthy for the first time all season at the same time we’re peaking as a team has been awesome to watch,” Schroeder said. “We’re very confident heading into the supersectional and awful proud of these kids for overcoming this level of adversity.

Wauconda coach Tim Miller praised his team, and the area competition.

“Every one of our players gave 100% out there,” Miller said. “You hate to lose it on penalty kicks, but we lose just five seniors to graduation.

“So we still have a really bright future here ahead of us. And I’ve said it before so you can print it. This 2A sectional is the toughest in the state. Hands down.”