Prairie’s first state soccer trip ends in quarterfinals

DES MOINES - Ankeny Centennial celebrated, while Cedar Rapids Prairie was frequently frustrated.

On the surface, it may seem like the No. 2-ranked Jaguars will have a more memorable first boys' state soccer appearance – advancing to the Class 3A semifinals with a 2-0 victory.

Prairie senior Logan Rinderknecht would disagree.

'After the first goal, (my teammates) showed how much love they had and how much they wanted to be on the field,” Rinderknecht said. 'It really meant a lot to me.”

The No. 6 Hawks stood tall despite Centennial controlling a large majority of possession in the first half, staving off numerous threats and keeping the game scoreless.

But after goalkeeper Alec Balta punched away a shot in the 38th minute, Centennial's Nermin Kremic followed and chested the ball across the goal line.

'The one before halftime hurt, going down 1-0,” Prairie coach Curt Lewis said. 'But we felt that they were tiring and we thought in the second half, with the subbing pattern that we had, that we'd be able to wear them down and maybe get something early in the second half.”

Prairie never really got that chance though, as Kenan Smajlovic poked home Kremic's miss in the midst of a scrum to give Centennial a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the second half.

Cleaning up rebounds was a focus for Prairie, Rinderknecht said, but a couple small mishaps came back to hurt them.

'It's something we've been working on, but it was just that one time that we didn't follow our mark and it came back to us,” he said. 'It sucks.”

The Hawks generated few chances against the Jaguars, whose only blemish this season is a 2-1 loss to top-ranked and unbeaten Johnston.

Still, Rinderknecht was proud of the effort his defensive teammates showed against a team with a variety of strong and fast weapons.

'They have phenomenal players. They play really well, they have huge team chemistry,” Rinderknecht said. 'Being able to shut down some of their players is key, because if not, then their attack kind of doesn't really go anywhere.”

Nine of Thursday's starters are slated to return for Prairie in 2016. That makes this experience even more valuable.

'We finally knocked down a door, we opened it, and now hopefully for the returners and the next group coming in and the next group coming in, they'll know how to handle this environment,” Lewis said.

'We didn't know how we'd handle the environment. 2-0 to No. 2 in the state and we played with them, nothing to be ashamed of.”

Though it may have seemed like a frustrating afternoon for Rinderknecht, who received one of three Prairie yellow cards, perspective was not lost on him moments after his career had ended.

'For me, I didn't want it to end too early,” Rinderknecht said. 'It did, but we made it this far, and it's quite an accomplishment to say that you made it to state. Waiting until my senior year, it feels good. It feels like an accomplishment I'll never forget.”