Benet and Notre Dame shine, raise
funds for cancer charity at ESCC game
Redwings' cancer survivor Curtis planned event,
collected more than $4,000 for group that aided him
By Matt LeCren
LISLE – Connor Mote wanted to do something special for Bennett Curtis on Saturday.
The Benet midfielder accomplished that, scoring the spectacular game-winning goal against Notre Dame on a day when his friend, teammate and classmate exceeded his goals in a fundraising effort for the Shining Stars Foundation.
The host Redwings dominated from start to finish in a 3-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory, but the focus was on more than just soccer. Curtis, who overcame cancer as an eighth grader, organized an awareness day in support of the charity which sent him on a life-changing skiing trip to Colorado during his illness in early 2013.
“This game totally meant a lot more since it is Bennett Curtis’ fundraiser,” Mote said. “To have people come out was great, and we need to win our conference this year. So, yeah, this game was of high importance to us.”
Mote, who like Curtis is a junior, gave the Redwings (8-3-1, 5-0) the lead by scoring his seventh goal of the season in the game’s seventh minute. Jacob Graiber was dribbling far out on the right wing when he sent a long diagonal ball toward Mote in the Notre Dame box.
Mote chested the ball down to his feet and sent a 10-yard shot past Dons goalkeeper Conor O’Neill.
“That was like a once-in-a-lifetime goal, I think, for me,” Mote said. “I probably won’t be able to ever do that again.”
Mote’s finish was a fitting tribute to his inspirational teammate, who informed him last year about his successful battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Bennett is incredible,” Mote said. “I love him. He’s my best friend.
“He’s a great leader who gets everyone going. If we’re not ready to play, Bennett comes in and gets everybody pumped up.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to play with someone like him ever again.”
Fortunately for the Redwings, they will have Mote and Curtis on the roster for another 1 ½ seasons.
With Mote, Graiber, Daniel Morefield and Jack Knapke dominating up-front and Curtis playing like a rock in between Richie Michalik and Ben Kelly on the back line, the Redwings won their fourth-straight game and extended their unbeaten streak to seven while remaining atop the ESCC standings.
“The defense has been solid,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “I think we’re super-competitive in the back at practice. We’ve found some new pieces.
“I think Ben Kelly is maybe the best right back I’ve seen this year, and Richie Michalik might be the best left back. With them and Bennett in the middle, we’ve got guys who can keep the ball.
“We have Harrison Burke, who was a starter last year. He’s competing with guys like Charlie Kane and Joey Guay. We have a good group.”
If there was one thing that might be a concern, it was the inability to increase the lead until late in the game.
Despite outshooting the Dons (3-7-0, 1-4-0) by a 27-4 margin, the Redwings weren’t able to put the game out of reach until Morefield scored on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
Jason Rowaiye added another insurance goal in the 75th minute when he knocked in a
cross from Kelly.
Notre Dame's O’Neill had something to do with Benet's frustration, making nine saves to keep the visitors in the game.
“Every coach wants to score more goals but I think we did a much better job of keeping possession and really establishing ourselves in their half of the field,” Wesley said.
“Even though it was tight at one point, it was still a good game for us where we were playing n their half and not giving up too much in the back.
“We were keeping it down there and that was bound to lead to good things, and it finally did.”
Mote never doubted it would.
“We were all moving the ball well,” Mote said. “We just needed to get more shots on target, but I thought we dominated the game so I knew we would get more.”
Curtis, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, got more of a response than he anticipated when he first started organizing his charity event.
“I think it went very well,” Curtis said. “Before we even came here today, we had already raised well over $1,000.
“When I first started off I thought it was going to be mostly awareness, but then people started donating. I’m overwhelmed by the generosity.”
Players and coaches from Benet and Notre Dame wore T-shirts during pre-game warm-ups that read, ‘Believe There is Hope,” with the ‘o’ in replaced by a star to represent the Shining Stars.
“One of the reasons I love coaching at Benet is I think the kids see the big picture,”
Wesley said. “I think being able to relate to a teammate like Bennett Curtis that went through something like that and the profound impact it had on his life, I know the parents are always gung-ho about giving back.
“I think (it is wonderful) to be this successful and obviously playing against a great team with a great coach and great kids and great parents who also supported the cause.
“(Notre Dame coach) Mike (Smith) replied to my email in 10 seconds and was just happy to be a part of it. So when you can put two groups of kids like that together, I think it’s special.
“And I think it only gets bigger from here. I think we’re going to kind of adopt this as an annual thing.”
Indeed, Curtis is far from done trying to help Shining Stars. He credited coverage of the fundraiser in Chicagoland Soccer as well as a word-of-mouth campaign by the Benet community with making his efforts easier.
“(By) just sending out emails to my friends and my parents sending out emails to their friends, it just kind of got around,” Curtis said. “I didn’t have to hand out fliers or anything because people passed it on.
“We were hoping to raise enough to sponsor a child at the next (Shining Stars) Winter Games, and I think we were able to do that.”
While Curtis has spent a lot of time organizing the fundraiser, he hasn’t shirked his responsibilities on the soccer field.
“When I step between the lines of the field, all that (other) stuff kind of leaves my head, and it’s just about soccer,” Curtis said. “You’re out there to play soccer and each day, after surviving cancer, it’s a blessing to be able to play.”
Starting lineups
Notre Dame
G Conor O’Neill
D Emmett O’Malley
D Michael LoBianco
D Carl Damlos
D Luke DiMeo
M Augie Whittington
M Scott McLean
M Jack Wernet
M Caolan Lyons
F Diego Berganza
F Nick Feeney
Benet
G Konrad Bayer
D Bennett Curtis
D Richie Michalik
D Andrew Knight
D Joey Guay
D Ben Kelly
M Jacob Graiber
M Jack Knapke
M Ryley Guay
M Connor Mote
F Daniel Morefield
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Bennett Curtis, Benet.
funds for cancer charity at ESCC game
Redwings' cancer survivor Curtis planned event,
collected more than $4,000 for group that aided him
By Matt LeCren
LISLE – Connor Mote wanted to do something special for Bennett Curtis on Saturday.
The Benet midfielder accomplished that, scoring the spectacular game-winning goal against Notre Dame on a day when his friend, teammate and classmate exceeded his goals in a fundraising effort for the Shining Stars Foundation.
The host Redwings dominated from start to finish in a 3-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory, but the focus was on more than just soccer. Curtis, who overcame cancer as an eighth grader, organized an awareness day in support of the charity which sent him on a life-changing skiing trip to Colorado during his illness in early 2013.
“This game totally meant a lot more since it is Bennett Curtis’ fundraiser,” Mote said. “To have people come out was great, and we need to win our conference this year. So, yeah, this game was of high importance to us.”
Mote, who like Curtis is a junior, gave the Redwings (8-3-1, 5-0) the lead by scoring his seventh goal of the season in the game’s seventh minute. Jacob Graiber was dribbling far out on the right wing when he sent a long diagonal ball toward Mote in the Notre Dame box.
Mote chested the ball down to his feet and sent a 10-yard shot past Dons goalkeeper Conor O’Neill.
“That was like a once-in-a-lifetime goal, I think, for me,” Mote said. “I probably won’t be able to ever do that again.”
Mote’s finish was a fitting tribute to his inspirational teammate, who informed him last year about his successful battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Bennett is incredible,” Mote said. “I love him. He’s my best friend.
“He’s a great leader who gets everyone going. If we’re not ready to play, Bennett comes in and gets everybody pumped up.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to play with someone like him ever again.”
Fortunately for the Redwings, they will have Mote and Curtis on the roster for another 1 ½ seasons.
With Mote, Graiber, Daniel Morefield and Jack Knapke dominating up-front and Curtis playing like a rock in between Richie Michalik and Ben Kelly on the back line, the Redwings won their fourth-straight game and extended their unbeaten streak to seven while remaining atop the ESCC standings.
“The defense has been solid,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “I think we’re super-competitive in the back at practice. We’ve found some new pieces.
“I think Ben Kelly is maybe the best right back I’ve seen this year, and Richie Michalik might be the best left back. With them and Bennett in the middle, we’ve got guys who can keep the ball.
“We have Harrison Burke, who was a starter last year. He’s competing with guys like Charlie Kane and Joey Guay. We have a good group.”
If there was one thing that might be a concern, it was the inability to increase the lead until late in the game.
Despite outshooting the Dons (3-7-0, 1-4-0) by a 27-4 margin, the Redwings weren’t able to put the game out of reach until Morefield scored on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
Jason Rowaiye added another insurance goal in the 75th minute when he knocked in a
cross from Kelly.
Notre Dame's O’Neill had something to do with Benet's frustration, making nine saves to keep the visitors in the game.
“Every coach wants to score more goals but I think we did a much better job of keeping possession and really establishing ourselves in their half of the field,” Wesley said.
“Even though it was tight at one point, it was still a good game for us where we were playing n their half and not giving up too much in the back.
“We were keeping it down there and that was bound to lead to good things, and it finally did.”
Mote never doubted it would.
“We were all moving the ball well,” Mote said. “We just needed to get more shots on target, but I thought we dominated the game so I knew we would get more.”
Curtis, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, got more of a response than he anticipated when he first started organizing his charity event.
“I think it went very well,” Curtis said. “Before we even came here today, we had already raised well over $1,000.
“When I first started off I thought it was going to be mostly awareness, but then people started donating. I’m overwhelmed by the generosity.”
Players and coaches from Benet and Notre Dame wore T-shirts during pre-game warm-ups that read, ‘Believe There is Hope,” with the ‘o’ in replaced by a star to represent the Shining Stars.
“One of the reasons I love coaching at Benet is I think the kids see the big picture,”
Wesley said. “I think being able to relate to a teammate like Bennett Curtis that went through something like that and the profound impact it had on his life, I know the parents are always gung-ho about giving back.
“I think (it is wonderful) to be this successful and obviously playing against a great team with a great coach and great kids and great parents who also supported the cause.
“(Notre Dame coach) Mike (Smith) replied to my email in 10 seconds and was just happy to be a part of it. So when you can put two groups of kids like that together, I think it’s special.
“And I think it only gets bigger from here. I think we’re going to kind of adopt this as an annual thing.”
Indeed, Curtis is far from done trying to help Shining Stars. He credited coverage of the fundraiser in Chicagoland Soccer as well as a word-of-mouth campaign by the Benet community with making his efforts easier.
“(By) just sending out emails to my friends and my parents sending out emails to their friends, it just kind of got around,” Curtis said. “I didn’t have to hand out fliers or anything because people passed it on.
“We were hoping to raise enough to sponsor a child at the next (Shining Stars) Winter Games, and I think we were able to do that.”
While Curtis has spent a lot of time organizing the fundraiser, he hasn’t shirked his responsibilities on the soccer field.
“When I step between the lines of the field, all that (other) stuff kind of leaves my head, and it’s just about soccer,” Curtis said. “You’re out there to play soccer and each day, after surviving cancer, it’s a blessing to be able to play.”
Starting lineups
Notre Dame
G Conor O’Neill
D Emmett O’Malley
D Michael LoBianco
D Carl Damlos
D Luke DiMeo
M Augie Whittington
M Scott McLean
M Jack Wernet
M Caolan Lyons
F Diego Berganza
F Nick Feeney
Benet
G Konrad Bayer
D Bennett Curtis
D Richie Michalik
D Andrew Knight
D Joey Guay
D Ben Kelly
M Jacob Graiber
M Jack Knapke
M Ryley Guay
M Connor Mote
F Daniel Morefield
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Bennett Curtis, Benet.