Metro Sports Report

Prairie falls short against Centennial

DES MOINES - Second-chance opportunities are huge in any sport and those were especially crucial for second-ranked Ankeny Centennial, which scored a pair of goals off deflected shots to win its Class 3A state quarterfinal game against Cedar Rapids Prairie Thursday in the opening round at the Cownie Soccer Park.

The  2-0 setback was a disappointing end to a storybook season for the sixth-ranked Hawks, who were making their first state playoff appearance after seven near-misses in substate finals.

Prairie entered the decisive midway point of the game with a clear goal in mind, but it couldn't account for a pair of loose shots that Centennial converted off the hands of goalkeeper Alec Balta.

"In the scouting report we knew that a couple of their kids hit with power, so it would be tough to catch," said Hawks Coach Curt Lewis, who was making his first state appearance in 12 years as a head coach. "We wanted to maybe push it to the side or follow our marks on a couple and it would help things.

"The game is a reaction and it happens so fast. We saved the first shot, but just didn't get the second."

Xavier twins, Jasper in state semifinals

Xavier's twin sister duo of Claire and Jeanne Bouchard, along with teammate Allison Jasper, advanced to the semifinals on Thursday in Class 1A state girls tennis tournament at Ankeny.

The Bouchards had a tough road to the semifinals. In the first round, they needed a first-set tiebreaker win before pulling away in the second set to win 7-6, 6-1 over Creston/Orient Macksburg's Caitlin McIlravy and Sydney Dunphy.

Three sets were needed for the twins to advance through the quarterfinals against Ryan Petievich and Hanna Schoning of Spirit Lake/Okoboji. The Bouchards prevailed, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

They will meet Red Oak's Micayla Taylor and Grace Blomstedt in a 10 a.m. semifinal match.

Jasper, the No. 3 seed, had a much easier time advancing to the semifinals. She lost just three games in wins over Osage's Amber Schwarting (6-0, 6-0) and Haley Schneiderman of Aplington-Parkersburg (6-1, 6-2).

4-run first dooms Kernels

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A four-run first inning was too much to overcome as the Cedar Rapids Kernels dropped a 6-4 decision to the South Bend Cubs on Thursday night at Four Winds Field.

South Bend jumped on Kernels starter Dereck Rodriguez for three doubles and two walks to build the lead. Rodriguez also had two wild pitches in the inning.

The Kernels picked up their first run in the second as Jorge Fernandez doubled off the wall in left to begin the inning, later scoring on a RBI groundout by Edgar Corcino.

Corcino cut South Bend's lead to 4-3 in the fourth inning with he crushed a two-run home run to right-center field. It scored Alex Real, who singled with two outs.

Corcino has at least one hit in his first five games as a Kernel. The home run was the team's first since Memorial Day at Beloit, snapping a season-long eight game-homerless streak.

Kea steers Prairie to substate finals

Dave Kea did not know all of his players' names at Cedar Rapids Prairie when he became the new head coach of the girls soccer team on the eve of the 2015 season in April.

Doug Graham, who recruited Kea to coach the goal-keepers this year, stepped aside as the head coach just a few days before the season began and Kea was thrust into the job.

He was still learning their names and suddenly he was the boss.

"I still have trouble," Kea admitted Wednesday night. "I sometimes call them the wrong name, but they understand."

Winning helps.

The Hawks made a smooth transition to their new coach and are now one victory away from reaching the Class 3A state tournament for the first time in school history.