Batavia rallies to beat Benet Academy
Bulldogs prepare for Naperville North in sectional title game
By Chris Walker
BOLINGBROOK – History appeared to be on Benet Academy’s side.
The Redwings jumped ahead of Batavia during Wednesday’s Class 3A Bolingbrook sectional semifinal less than 12 minutes into the action when Daniel Heaton’s cross found Daniel Morefield who poked it in for a 1-0 lead.
It’s far from the first time that Morefield or any of his siblings have netted a big goal for Benet Academy.
Daniel’s sister, Michelle, was the leader and arguably one of the best players in the DuPage area last spring for the Redwings.
Coincidentally, his brother Brian, a 2010 Benet graduate, came up with the biggest play in the game when Batavia and Benet last played prior to Wednesday. The eldest Morefield scored in the 73rd minute in the 2010 Class 3A Naperville Central regional semifinals to help the Redwings edge the Bulldogs, 1-0.
Could this be another 1-0 victory for Benet Academy over Batavia with the lone goal coming from a Morefield?
Nope.
Such a nice start just wasn’t going to have a happy ending, at least not for Benet Academy. This was a night for the Bulldogs, who responded with a late first half goal and then carried the momentum into the second half where they earned a 3-1 victory.
Batavia (19-2-3) has extended its season for at least a few more days. The Bulldogs advance to Saturday afternoon’s Class 3A Bolingbrook sectional championship where they will take on Naperville North.
“It was a huge win, and the boys pushed through,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We kind of switched some stuff up on them, probably 12 to 14 minutes in with our formation.”
The Bulldogs transitioned into a 3-4-3, something they haven’t really done this season, but there’s no denying that the move paid off and helped extend their season.
“We kind of mentioned that we would do something like this because of some of the things we saw with Benet Academy and how they were playing,” Gianfrancesco said. “We wanted to definitely put more pressure on them up top, which we were kind of short. We went three in the back, three up top, so 3-4-3 and I think that kind of helped us out a little bit.”
Batavia drew even at 1-1 with 9:10 left in the first half. Like they’ve done so many times this season, the Bulldogs punished an opponent during a set play, this time a corner kick from Ian Larson that was headed in by Kevin Collins.
“We knew they were dangerous on set plays, we knew they were dangerous on long throws and free kicks, and of course, they get one and tie the game,” Benet Academy coach Sean Wesley said. “We still felt good about it. We felt good going into the second half through Kyle (Kenagy) and Omar (Kashow) and the other guys we put up top were running at them and creating chances that we felt we’d eventually break the ice and find something else.”
The Redwings couldn’t, but the Bulldogs would break through late in the second half.
As overtime looked to be a distinct possibility with just over 10 minutes remaining, Batavia senior midfielder Brandon Yunker made the play of his high school career.
Midfielder Erik Faessler got things started with a pass that was dummied by Kevin Collins. That opened things up for Yunker who secured possession near the left side of the penalty box, dribbled past a defender and booted it in near-post.
“Eric had a great ball, and he just sent it across like we work in practice all the time,” Yunker said. “Kevin played a great dummy and froze the defenders and goalie, and the next thing I knew, I had it down on my foot and just touched it and finished it like I do all the time in practice.”
It was just Yunker’s second goal of the season, but by far the best and more significant of the two. For scoring the game-winner, Yunker was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
For a moment, Collins thought of taking the shot himself, but made the selfless move, and one that proved to be successful.
“I could have taken a touch and shot, but I thought the better option since we work on it in practice and the time (left in the game) was to take the dummy and give my teammate a chance,” Collins said. “Going into halftime 1-1, we knew the goal after that was going to change the game, so we wanted to make sure we didn’t go down and made sure we got that goal.”
The finish, with just 10:05 remaining, wasn't the biggest concern for Benet Academy.
The Redwings played without their leading offensive threat, Kenagy, for more than 20 minutes of the second half as he left the game with an injury after being fouled. He did not return after suffering what was believed to be a mild concussion.
With their leading scorer out of the lineup, the Redwings weren’t nearly as dangerous as usual. The injury prompted the Redwings to switch goalkeeper Konrad Bayer to forward in an effort to boost their offense.
“That’s unfortunate, and obviously you never want to see that happen,” Gianfrancesco said. “When playing you want to play against the best, win, lose or draw. It would’ve been better for them. You never want to see anyone go out, especially their last game. That’s horrible.”
Kenagy was able to speak after game and was obviously disappointed to see his season, as well as that of his teammates, come at an end.
“It feels pretty bad losing this game,” he said. “It’s obviously disappointing, but I would say it’s been an honor to play with these group of kids. It’s just a shame to go out the way we did, playing so hard.”
Batavia sealed the victory with 2:47 remaining when Collins scored on a breakaway.
“Like coach always says, out motto is, and we even have it on the back of our shoes 'Three goals in 80 minutes.' It’s just our motto, and we played like that,” Yunker said. “We play with a ton of heart and don’t stop until we get that three. We keep hustling until we get three and that’s how we win games. We play with a lot of heart, and it works for us in the end.”
Benet Academy finished its season at 15-5-2 and will bid farewell to 10 seniors.
Batavia will now prepare for Naperville North (15-4-2), owners of an eight-game winning streak and 13-game unbeaten streak. The sectional title game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.
The teams met earlier this year, with the Huskies rallying for a 2-1 victory on Sept. 11. It was the first game that Batavia was scored on and its first loss of the season. Larson scored on a penalty kick to give the Bulldogs a lead early, but the Huskies scored on a pair of throw-ins from Chris Ensign to Connor McBride in the final 18 minutes to rally for victory.
“We know they like to play a lot of balls over the top and find Chris Ensign,” Yunker said. “He’s a big guy up top and a physical player and they liked to score on set pieces, throw-ins and corners. They like to get into the box and shoot from there, a lot like us.”
Unlike Benet Academy, which was a team that the Bulldogs hadn’t faced in four years, they have some familiarity with the Huskies.
“We know what to expect, we’re not going in blind,” Collins said. “We’re very excited. We’re looking to get our first sectional (title game) in a really long time.”
It will be interesting to see who will attend Saturday’s sectional championship game. Since Naperville North's football season is over, one would think the sectional final would be a must-see sporting event for the Huskies fan base.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, most of the Batavia population will likely stay at home to watch their football team host Mount Carmel in a first round playoff game at 1:30 p.m. It’s a match-up that pairs two defending state champions.
“We’ve had good turnouts and great support all season so I think it’ll be good again on Saturday,” Batavia senior defender Nick Konopacki said. “We’re pretty excited to get the chance to come out and play now for a sectional championship.”
They haven’t won one since 1993. That dry spell could end Saturday.
Starting lineups
Benet Academy
GK: Conrad Bayer
D: Curtis Bennett
D: Harrison Burke
D: Jared Kovach
D: Dustin Uher
MF: Ryler Guay
MF: Andrew Heaton
MF: Connor Mote
F: Kyle Kenagy
F: Omar Kashow
F: Daniel Morefield
Batavia
GK: Jonathan Faraone
D: Daniel Zagoren
D: Nicholas Konopacki
D: Mason Parlatore
MF: Ian Larson
MF: Luke Laurich
MF: Brandon Yunker
MF: Erik Faessler
MF: Adam Heinz
F: Joseph Jorgensen
F: Kevin Collins
Man of the Match: Brandon Yunker, Batavia
Bulldogs prepare for Naperville North in sectional title game
By Chris Walker
BOLINGBROOK – History appeared to be on Benet Academy’s side.
The Redwings jumped ahead of Batavia during Wednesday’s Class 3A Bolingbrook sectional semifinal less than 12 minutes into the action when Daniel Heaton’s cross found Daniel Morefield who poked it in for a 1-0 lead.
It’s far from the first time that Morefield or any of his siblings have netted a big goal for Benet Academy.
Daniel’s sister, Michelle, was the leader and arguably one of the best players in the DuPage area last spring for the Redwings.
Coincidentally, his brother Brian, a 2010 Benet graduate, came up with the biggest play in the game when Batavia and Benet last played prior to Wednesday. The eldest Morefield scored in the 73rd minute in the 2010 Class 3A Naperville Central regional semifinals to help the Redwings edge the Bulldogs, 1-0.
Could this be another 1-0 victory for Benet Academy over Batavia with the lone goal coming from a Morefield?
Nope.
Such a nice start just wasn’t going to have a happy ending, at least not for Benet Academy. This was a night for the Bulldogs, who responded with a late first half goal and then carried the momentum into the second half where they earned a 3-1 victory.
Batavia (19-2-3) has extended its season for at least a few more days. The Bulldogs advance to Saturday afternoon’s Class 3A Bolingbrook sectional championship where they will take on Naperville North.
“It was a huge win, and the boys pushed through,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We kind of switched some stuff up on them, probably 12 to 14 minutes in with our formation.”
The Bulldogs transitioned into a 3-4-3, something they haven’t really done this season, but there’s no denying that the move paid off and helped extend their season.
“We kind of mentioned that we would do something like this because of some of the things we saw with Benet Academy and how they were playing,” Gianfrancesco said. “We wanted to definitely put more pressure on them up top, which we were kind of short. We went three in the back, three up top, so 3-4-3 and I think that kind of helped us out a little bit.”
Batavia drew even at 1-1 with 9:10 left in the first half. Like they’ve done so many times this season, the Bulldogs punished an opponent during a set play, this time a corner kick from Ian Larson that was headed in by Kevin Collins.
“We knew they were dangerous on set plays, we knew they were dangerous on long throws and free kicks, and of course, they get one and tie the game,” Benet Academy coach Sean Wesley said. “We still felt good about it. We felt good going into the second half through Kyle (Kenagy) and Omar (Kashow) and the other guys we put up top were running at them and creating chances that we felt we’d eventually break the ice and find something else.”
The Redwings couldn’t, but the Bulldogs would break through late in the second half.
As overtime looked to be a distinct possibility with just over 10 minutes remaining, Batavia senior midfielder Brandon Yunker made the play of his high school career.
Midfielder Erik Faessler got things started with a pass that was dummied by Kevin Collins. That opened things up for Yunker who secured possession near the left side of the penalty box, dribbled past a defender and booted it in near-post.
“Eric had a great ball, and he just sent it across like we work in practice all the time,” Yunker said. “Kevin played a great dummy and froze the defenders and goalie, and the next thing I knew, I had it down on my foot and just touched it and finished it like I do all the time in practice.”
It was just Yunker’s second goal of the season, but by far the best and more significant of the two. For scoring the game-winner, Yunker was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
For a moment, Collins thought of taking the shot himself, but made the selfless move, and one that proved to be successful.
“I could have taken a touch and shot, but I thought the better option since we work on it in practice and the time (left in the game) was to take the dummy and give my teammate a chance,” Collins said. “Going into halftime 1-1, we knew the goal after that was going to change the game, so we wanted to make sure we didn’t go down and made sure we got that goal.”
The finish, with just 10:05 remaining, wasn't the biggest concern for Benet Academy.
The Redwings played without their leading offensive threat, Kenagy, for more than 20 minutes of the second half as he left the game with an injury after being fouled. He did not return after suffering what was believed to be a mild concussion.
With their leading scorer out of the lineup, the Redwings weren’t nearly as dangerous as usual. The injury prompted the Redwings to switch goalkeeper Konrad Bayer to forward in an effort to boost their offense.
“That’s unfortunate, and obviously you never want to see that happen,” Gianfrancesco said. “When playing you want to play against the best, win, lose or draw. It would’ve been better for them. You never want to see anyone go out, especially their last game. That’s horrible.”
Kenagy was able to speak after game and was obviously disappointed to see his season, as well as that of his teammates, come at an end.
“It feels pretty bad losing this game,” he said. “It’s obviously disappointing, but I would say it’s been an honor to play with these group of kids. It’s just a shame to go out the way we did, playing so hard.”
Batavia sealed the victory with 2:47 remaining when Collins scored on a breakaway.
“Like coach always says, out motto is, and we even have it on the back of our shoes 'Three goals in 80 minutes.' It’s just our motto, and we played like that,” Yunker said. “We play with a ton of heart and don’t stop until we get that three. We keep hustling until we get three and that’s how we win games. We play with a lot of heart, and it works for us in the end.”
Benet Academy finished its season at 15-5-2 and will bid farewell to 10 seniors.
Batavia will now prepare for Naperville North (15-4-2), owners of an eight-game winning streak and 13-game unbeaten streak. The sectional title game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.
The teams met earlier this year, with the Huskies rallying for a 2-1 victory on Sept. 11. It was the first game that Batavia was scored on and its first loss of the season. Larson scored on a penalty kick to give the Bulldogs a lead early, but the Huskies scored on a pair of throw-ins from Chris Ensign to Connor McBride in the final 18 minutes to rally for victory.
“We know they like to play a lot of balls over the top and find Chris Ensign,” Yunker said. “He’s a big guy up top and a physical player and they liked to score on set pieces, throw-ins and corners. They like to get into the box and shoot from there, a lot like us.”
Unlike Benet Academy, which was a team that the Bulldogs hadn’t faced in four years, they have some familiarity with the Huskies.
“We know what to expect, we’re not going in blind,” Collins said. “We’re very excited. We’re looking to get our first sectional (title game) in a really long time.”
It will be interesting to see who will attend Saturday’s sectional championship game. Since Naperville North's football season is over, one would think the sectional final would be a must-see sporting event for the Huskies fan base.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, most of the Batavia population will likely stay at home to watch their football team host Mount Carmel in a first round playoff game at 1:30 p.m. It’s a match-up that pairs two defending state champions.
“We’ve had good turnouts and great support all season so I think it’ll be good again on Saturday,” Batavia senior defender Nick Konopacki said. “We’re pretty excited to get the chance to come out and play now for a sectional championship.”
They haven’t won one since 1993. That dry spell could end Saturday.
Starting lineups
Benet Academy
GK: Conrad Bayer
D: Curtis Bennett
D: Harrison Burke
D: Jared Kovach
D: Dustin Uher
MF: Ryler Guay
MF: Andrew Heaton
MF: Connor Mote
F: Kyle Kenagy
F: Omar Kashow
F: Daniel Morefield
Batavia
GK: Jonathan Faraone
D: Daniel Zagoren
D: Nicholas Konopacki
D: Mason Parlatore
MF: Ian Larson
MF: Luke Laurich
MF: Brandon Yunker
MF: Erik Faessler
MF: Adam Heinz
F: Joseph Jorgensen
F: Kevin Collins
Man of the Match: Brandon Yunker, Batavia