Girls Soccer: Lemont Falls to Prairie Ridge in Class 2A Semifinals

Making its third state finals appearance in five seasons, the Lemont High School girls soccer team fell just short of advancing to the championship match.

The Indians lost 3-1 to Prairie Ridge on Friday in the first semifinal match of the 2013 IHSA Class 2A state finals, which are being contested at North Central College in Naperville.

Head coach Rick Prangen’s squad will square off against Fenwick in the third-place match at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Lemont (21-4-2) entered the semifinal match-up having won seven straight matches and 11 of 12 contests overall. The Indians also had surrendered just two goals in 400 postseason minutes.

However, Prairie Ridge (19-2-1) scored twice in an 18-minute span in the first half to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Kelsey Bear headed in a cross from Becca Hoklas in the 15th minute, and Allyson Welch blasted a shot into the top left corner for an unassisted tally in the 33rd minute.

Lemont’s Kim Jerantowski gave the Indians some life a little less than 15 minutes into the second half. Sophomore Aleksandra Mihailovic left-footed a corner kick into the box, and Jerantowski eventually corralled it and put it home to notch her 21st goal of the season. With Lemont searching for the equalizer within the last 10 minutes of regulation, Prairie Ridge locked up the game in the 74th minute when Bri Fenton put home an Erin Ginsberg cross.

Junior Kelly Fritz made two saves for Lemont, while Whitney Whitehouse had two stops of her own in net while picking up the victory for Prarie Ridge. The Wolves outshot Lemont by a 12-7 count, but the Indians held a narrow 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Playing in the third-place match, Lemont will be looking for its third state trophy in five years. In its first state finals appearance, Lemont finished as the Class 2A runner-up in 2009. Two years later, the Indians finished third in the 2011 IHSA Class 2A tournament.

Fenwick dropped a 2-1 decision to Chatham Glenwood in the second Class 2A semifinal Friday. After Lemont and Fenwick meet in the third-place match, Chatham Glenwood and Prairie Ridge will play for the IHSA Class 2A state championship at approximately 1 p.m. Saturday.