Barnes, PR blank Marian

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WOODSTOCK – When his teammates need him most, Brandon Barnes focuses on one thing – absolutely nothing.

“Honestly, I try not to think as much as I can,” the Prairie Ridge goalkeeper said. “I feel like it decreases my reaction time.”

With a clear mind, long reach and some quick moves, Barnes kept his nerve and denied Marian Central’s desperate barrage Saturday.

The 6-foot-2 junior came through with a pair of spectacular, leaping one-handed punch saves to preserve a shutout late in the match as the Wolves defeated the Hurricanes, 5-0, in non-conference action.

Although the team’s record might not show it, Barnes has been one of the bright spots as a fixture in front of the net. He finished with seven saves against Marian to earn his second shutout in three matches.

“He’s a sensational keeper,” Wolves coach Josh Iverson said. “He has great reflexes and he’s good technically as well. Obviously, he has good size and a good frame on him. He’s kept us in most every game this season. He saves at least two or three for-sure goals every game.”

Prairie Ridge jumped out to the lead 10 minutes into the match when junior Thomas Kojs teed one up from 20 yards out and rocketed it into the top corner of the goal.

Marian had its chances but couldn’t break through against Barnes and the rest of the Wolves’ defense.

Senior midfielder Kurtis Stephan took a free kick and found a cutting Nick Woodbury for a goal to give Prairie Ridge a 2-0 lead with seven minutes left in the first half.

The Wolves added two more goals just before halftime. After sophomore Michael Perhats’ blast hit the crossbar, Kojs collected the rebound and scored his second goal of the match.

Perhats scored 54 seconds later to put the visitors up, 4-0, at the break.

“In the first half, our possession was excellent,” Barnes said. “It was beautiful.”

Jacob Skiermanski snuck the Wolves’ fifth goal of the game past Marian keeper J.P. O’Hagan with 8:16 remaining.

After winning only three times in its first 16 games, Prairie Ridge (6-11-2) captured its third consecutive victory and appears to be playing its best at just the right time.

Marian (5-9-4), which fell to 0-8-4 against non-conference opponents this season, has a chance to claim the Suburban Christian Conference Blue Division crown next week.

The ’Canes (5-1 SCC Blue) have a showdown against Wheaton Academy on Wednesday.

“We’re having a tough time at the moment,” Marian coach Kristian Rockall said. “Our confidence is down and goals aren’t easy to come by at the moment. We have a lot of little things to work on, but the big positive was that we didn’t give up today.”