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HOFFMAN ESTATES - Ben Leardi converted his second penalty kick goal of the weekend in the 57th minute, but Hinsdale Central scored three goals in the first half, and went on to take the third-place playoff game over Edwardsville 3-1 in the IHSA Class 3A boys soccer finals Saturday morning at Hoffman Estates High School
The Tigers had lost in the tournament semifinals to Chicago Lane Tech 3-2 the night before, putting them into the third-place playoff game against Central, who had lost to Arlington Heights Hersey 1-0 in the first semifinal.
The Red Devils struck first in the eighth minute on a goal by Matt Gantar, off an assist by Austen Szungor, making it 1-0 Central then doubled its lead in the 14th minute when Kristof Dani scored unassisted, making it 2-0. It became 3-0 in the 23rd minute as Kostas Zamalaitis scored off an assist by Dani to give Hinsdale Central a 3-0 halftime lead.
In the 57th minute, Leardi scored from the spot after a foul inside the box to cut the Red Devil lead to 3-1. That would be as close as Edwardsville would get, as the Central defense clamped down on the Tigers to preserve the win and third place in the state finals.
The Tigers ended their season at 15-10-1, while the Red Devils ended their season at 16-9-1.
In the Class 2A third-place match, Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge took a 1-0 win over Lemont. The Wolves end their season 20-5-1, while Lemont's season concludes at 23-5-1.
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