It's Benet early, Metea Valley late in draw
Teams tie 1-1 with playoffs on their minds
By Matt Le Cren
LISLE -- Benet senior midfielder Katie Gesior and her teammates wanted to accomplish two things Tuesday against Metea Valley.
“We wanted to win the game, but I think playoffs are in the back of our mind,” Gesior said. “We wanted to make sure that we’re the best team we can be for the beginning of playoffs.”
The host Redwings succeeded on both fronts and Gesior was a big reason why.
With her team looking to bounce back from a 6-1 loss to Lyons on Saturday, Gesior got the Redwings fired up by scoring on the first shot of the game before the first minute of the game elapsed.
Gesior again demonstrated her deadliness on set pieces when she blasted a 35-yard free kick into the upper 90 to give Benet a 1-0 lead.
The Redwings then spent much of the rest of the match working on their passing and possession game. That worked in frustrating Metea Valley, which expended a lot of energy in chasing the ball before Sophia Majher’s goal with 10:11 to go in the game enabled the 10th-ranked visitors to come away with a 1-1 tie.
“I saw I was in shooting range,” Gesior said. “I was hoping to aim far post top corner.
“I thought it was going out because of the spin, and I was just ready to accept it and work hard to win it back again. But then it went in.
“It was a lucky break for us. We needed a lucky break to get us going.”
The early lead allowed the Redwings (11-6-1) to focus on keeping the ball at their feet, which they hope will enable them to make a deep run in the Class 2A playoffs, while still trying to upset the Mustangs (12-3-4), who had won their last four games and were 9-1-1 in their last 11 outings.
“We had a lot of good possession today,” Gesior said. “Coaches at the beginning of the game told us to possess instead of kicking and chasing and making our forwards make 30-yard runs down the line.
“So we worked on combination plays and passing it back and forth to switch the field.”
The strategy worked well for 70 minutes. The Mustangs were fortunate not to be in a bigger hole as they dodged a bullet in the final minute of the first half when Maddie Becker’s shot skimmed the left post.
“Benet really brought it to us,” Metea Valley defender MaKenna Schoolman said. “It seemed at the beginning that they wanted it more than us, and that was a problem.
“We came out flat at the beginning, and tje first half wasn’t our best. But we learned from that and at halftime we just told each other that we have to learn from our mistakes. We played better in the second half.”
The Mustangs did have some scoring chances in the first half, but their close-range shots were rather feeble, and Benet goalie Anna Keefe made five of her eight saves.
One sequence produced some anxious moments for the Redwings midway through the opening period. DePaul signee Jade Eriksen-Russo sent a hard shot from seven yards that was stopped by Keefe, who couldn’t control the ball.
Kiley McKee pounded on the rebound and shot as Keefe was getting up, but freshman defender Kate Flynn blocked the shot as she went flying.
“(Benet) played well all over the field,” Metea coach Chris Whaley said. “We had a hard time defending today.
“It was obvious that they were very comfortable, and we weren’t very comfortable today playing our game.
“We probably should have put away a few in the first half and of course the game could have been completely different if we put one in the net all of a sudden. (We would have) started playing with more confidence and the game changes.
“But we didn’t and that gave them more confidence and us less confidence. But we did fight back. The second half was much better.”
Indeed, Metea was the better side after intermission, outshooting the Redwings 7-2. The visitors got the equalizer on a determined foray by Majher, who rumbled into the left side of the penalty area and shrugged off a tackle by Keefe before converting a left-footed strike from 12 yards.
But the Redwings nearly had the final say. Their only shots of the second half came in the final 100 seconds, both of which required diving saves on the part of Metea goalie Nikki Coryell, who proved up to the task.
Coryell, a freshman who relieved starter Amy Ahern at halftime, lunged to her right to parry a shot from Betsy Keefe around the right post. Then with 45 seconds left, she made a diving denial on Grace Girard’s effort in the box.
“It was a big save at the end,” Whaley said. “(Coryell) was nice and vocal and quick to come off of her line in the defensive third, which was nice.”
The Mustangs seem to be in a nice spot with one game to go in the regular season. They are seeded third in the Class 3A Lockport Sectional and could be a dark horse to win in that group.
“I definitely think we have the confidence,” Schoolman said. “I think that’s one thing that drives us so much.
“We’ve always been so close and had so much confidence in each other, but this year I think a big thing is when we’ve had these losses and these ties, we’re so frustrated because we know we’re better, and we know we can get there. So these little road bumps frustrate us, but it motivates us in the end.”
The Mustangs have fallen in the sectional final in each of the past three seasons. Is this the year they break through?
“The goal right now is to go win a regional at Waubonsie, and that’s always a tough task,” Whaley said. “So we’ll be focusing on that and after that we’ll take one game at a time.
“But the team is confident. The second half of our schedule has been friendly to us, and we’ve gotten the chance to put the ball in the back of the net, which builds your confidence.
The Mustangs boast nine seniors, eight of whom have already played in three sectional finals. The ninth, Hernandez, is a Michigan recruit who returned to the Mustangs after playing club the past two seasons.
“All of these girls have had plenty of experience playing in the playoffs,” Whaley said. “We’re hoping that there is no longer that nervousness that comes with playing in a big game for the first time.
“We’ve played in big games; we’ve won some, and we’ve lost some. The girls should be ready to play.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Amy Ahern
D Nicole Dawson
D Katherine Wieland
D Kelly Crowe
D MaKenna Schoolman
M Sophia Senese
M Chesney Wargo
M Emily Lindblom
F Maeve Riordan
F Jade Eriksen-Russo
F Kiley McKee
Benet
GK Anna Keefe
D Mary Kate Wilhelm
D Clare Bumpus
D Kate Flynn
D Erin Flynn
M Abby Casmere
M Maddie Becker
M Grace Girard
F Katie Gesior
F Betsy Keefe
F Nicole Burns
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Katie Gesior, sr., MF, Benet
Teams tie 1-1 with playoffs on their minds
By Matt Le Cren
LISLE -- Benet senior midfielder Katie Gesior and her teammates wanted to accomplish two things Tuesday against Metea Valley.
“We wanted to win the game, but I think playoffs are in the back of our mind,” Gesior said. “We wanted to make sure that we’re the best team we can be for the beginning of playoffs.”
The host Redwings succeeded on both fronts and Gesior was a big reason why.
With her team looking to bounce back from a 6-1 loss to Lyons on Saturday, Gesior got the Redwings fired up by scoring on the first shot of the game before the first minute of the game elapsed.
Gesior again demonstrated her deadliness on set pieces when she blasted a 35-yard free kick into the upper 90 to give Benet a 1-0 lead.
The Redwings then spent much of the rest of the match working on their passing and possession game. That worked in frustrating Metea Valley, which expended a lot of energy in chasing the ball before Sophia Majher’s goal with 10:11 to go in the game enabled the 10th-ranked visitors to come away with a 1-1 tie.
“I saw I was in shooting range,” Gesior said. “I was hoping to aim far post top corner.
“I thought it was going out because of the spin, and I was just ready to accept it and work hard to win it back again. But then it went in.
“It was a lucky break for us. We needed a lucky break to get us going.”
The early lead allowed the Redwings (11-6-1) to focus on keeping the ball at their feet, which they hope will enable them to make a deep run in the Class 2A playoffs, while still trying to upset the Mustangs (12-3-4), who had won their last four games and were 9-1-1 in their last 11 outings.
“We had a lot of good possession today,” Gesior said. “Coaches at the beginning of the game told us to possess instead of kicking and chasing and making our forwards make 30-yard runs down the line.
“So we worked on combination plays and passing it back and forth to switch the field.”
The strategy worked well for 70 minutes. The Mustangs were fortunate not to be in a bigger hole as they dodged a bullet in the final minute of the first half when Maddie Becker’s shot skimmed the left post.
“Benet really brought it to us,” Metea Valley defender MaKenna Schoolman said. “It seemed at the beginning that they wanted it more than us, and that was a problem.
“We came out flat at the beginning, and tje first half wasn’t our best. But we learned from that and at halftime we just told each other that we have to learn from our mistakes. We played better in the second half.”
The Mustangs did have some scoring chances in the first half, but their close-range shots were rather feeble, and Benet goalie Anna Keefe made five of her eight saves.
One sequence produced some anxious moments for the Redwings midway through the opening period. DePaul signee Jade Eriksen-Russo sent a hard shot from seven yards that was stopped by Keefe, who couldn’t control the ball.
Kiley McKee pounded on the rebound and shot as Keefe was getting up, but freshman defender Kate Flynn blocked the shot as she went flying.
“(Benet) played well all over the field,” Metea coach Chris Whaley said. “We had a hard time defending today.
“It was obvious that they were very comfortable, and we weren’t very comfortable today playing our game.
“We probably should have put away a few in the first half and of course the game could have been completely different if we put one in the net all of a sudden. (We would have) started playing with more confidence and the game changes.
“But we didn’t and that gave them more confidence and us less confidence. But we did fight back. The second half was much better.”
Indeed, Metea was the better side after intermission, outshooting the Redwings 7-2. The visitors got the equalizer on a determined foray by Majher, who rumbled into the left side of the penalty area and shrugged off a tackle by Keefe before converting a left-footed strike from 12 yards.
But the Redwings nearly had the final say. Their only shots of the second half came in the final 100 seconds, both of which required diving saves on the part of Metea goalie Nikki Coryell, who proved up to the task.
Coryell, a freshman who relieved starter Amy Ahern at halftime, lunged to her right to parry a shot from Betsy Keefe around the right post. Then with 45 seconds left, she made a diving denial on Grace Girard’s effort in the box.
“It was a big save at the end,” Whaley said. “(Coryell) was nice and vocal and quick to come off of her line in the defensive third, which was nice.”
The Mustangs seem to be in a nice spot with one game to go in the regular season. They are seeded third in the Class 3A Lockport Sectional and could be a dark horse to win in that group.
“I definitely think we have the confidence,” Schoolman said. “I think that’s one thing that drives us so much.
“We’ve always been so close and had so much confidence in each other, but this year I think a big thing is when we’ve had these losses and these ties, we’re so frustrated because we know we’re better, and we know we can get there. So these little road bumps frustrate us, but it motivates us in the end.”
The Mustangs have fallen in the sectional final in each of the past three seasons. Is this the year they break through?
“The goal right now is to go win a regional at Waubonsie, and that’s always a tough task,” Whaley said. “So we’ll be focusing on that and after that we’ll take one game at a time.
“But the team is confident. The second half of our schedule has been friendly to us, and we’ve gotten the chance to put the ball in the back of the net, which builds your confidence.
The Mustangs boast nine seniors, eight of whom have already played in three sectional finals. The ninth, Hernandez, is a Michigan recruit who returned to the Mustangs after playing club the past two seasons.
“All of these girls have had plenty of experience playing in the playoffs,” Whaley said. “We’re hoping that there is no longer that nervousness that comes with playing in a big game for the first time.
“We’ve played in big games; we’ve won some, and we’ve lost some. The girls should be ready to play.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Amy Ahern
D Nicole Dawson
D Katherine Wieland
D Kelly Crowe
D MaKenna Schoolman
M Sophia Senese
M Chesney Wargo
M Emily Lindblom
F Maeve Riordan
F Jade Eriksen-Russo
F Kiley McKee
Benet
GK Anna Keefe
D Mary Kate Wilhelm
D Clare Bumpus
D Kate Flynn
D Erin Flynn
M Abby Casmere
M Maddie Becker
M Grace Girard
F Katie Gesior
F Betsy Keefe
F Nicole Burns
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Katie Gesior, sr., MF, Benet