CELEBRATION TIME — Weir High players celebrate after Brynn Artman’s goal late in the game against Oak Glen in Saturday’s Region 1 semifinal at Jimmy Carey Stadium. The Red Riders won, 2-0, to reach the regional final. - Andrew Grimm

After scoring early and clinging to a one-goal lead most of the game, the Red Riders’ Brynn Artman netted a goal with under five minutes to play to seal a 2-0 victory over rival Oak Glen in the Class A/AA Region 1 semifinals.

“In the tournament, it’s all about moving on, it doesn’t matter if it’s by one or 11, you just need one more than them,” Angelo said. “I’m really proud of the girls, they worked hard. We only had 13 girls today so we were subbing and rotating and we played well. Defensively we did well, our mids worked hard, our forward did a good job of possessing.”

The match was the third meeting between the teams, the first being a 1-1 tie in the regular season and the second a 1-0 Red Rider win in the OVAC tournament.

The Red Riders, the No. 2 seed in the region, reached double digits in the win column improving to 10-7-3.

Weir’s Kameryn Mallas and Oak Glen’s Addyson Wells battle for the ball. - Andrew Grimm

Given the history, when freshman Kameryn Mallas scored in the first half, there was a real possibility it would be enough – and it was. Artman, a senior, tallying her late goal allowed Angelo and company to breathe quite a bit easier the last few minutes, though.

“My heart slowed down a bunch after the second one,” Angelo said. “As the game went on we had a couple opportunities to put one away sooner, but both times we’ve played them its been very close so getting two on them today was nice.

“We had two very good looks today, made two good shots and had two finishes. We didn’t take a ton of shots like we did the first two times we played, but we scored on the good shots we took.”

Senior Madelyn Cramer assisted on both tallies. Junior keeper Bella Weber made four saves to keep Oak Glen off the board and preserve the victory.

For Oak Glen, the No. 3 seed in the bracket, it brings to an end a season that started with an inexperienced group and losses in the first four games and ended with a winning record. The Bears finish 9-8-5.

Weir High’s Elliana Noel attempts to knock down the ball in front of Oak Glen’s Brianna Polly. - Andrew Grimm

“Giving up an early goal was definitely not in our plans, it made us adjust and take more risks in the second half,” Oak Glen head coach Bill Watts said. “Both teams were down players and just battling. Congrats to Weir, hopefully they can pull one out for the county.

“I’m so proud of this group of girls. This group of five seniors were my first group I’ve had all four years, they were a great group. After an 0-4 start, we went 9-3-5. We had a really good run, we just came up a little short. We had a lot of girls that started the season having never played soccer before and they really grew a lot as a team. I’m so proud of this group, from where we started to where we ended up, it’s unbelievable.”

Oak Glen keeper Cameron Michaud, one of the five seniors, made six saves to give her team a chance. The other seniors were Emma Everett, Macy Hartung, Giada Giambroni and Brooklyn Barnhart.

The Red Riders will move on to the Region 1 championship game on Tuesday on the road at top seed Wheeling Central. The Maroon Knights (17-3-1) own an 8-1 victoru over Weir, though that game was all the way back in the first week of the season in August.

“We get another shot at them, they beat up on us a little bit early in the season, but we’re a different team now,” Angelo said. “We’ll go down there and give it our best and see what happens.”

Oak Glen’s Angelina Polly looks to take a shot while Weir’s Myleigh Clevenger pursues. - Andrew Grimm