Kenagy strikes twice,
sparks Benet in opener
Redwings star is a born creationist
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE -- In soccer, as in basketball, it is easy to find people willing to shoot the ball. But finding someone who can create their own shot is not so easy.
That’s why Benet coach Sean Wesley considers himself blessed to have Kyle Kenagy on his team.
Kenagy can, and frequently does, create his own shot, as he demonstrated again Tuesday in the Redwings’ 3-0 season-opening victory over host Downers Grove North at Carstens Field.
The Yale recruit, who earned all-state honors for scoring 26 goals and collecting nine assists last season, found the back of the net twice in this one, both in the first half as Benet (1-0) grabbed a 2-0 lead.
“We talk about difference-makers, and he makes the difference in the game,” Wesley said. “The first 20 minutes it is back and forth and then, boom, we have a difference-maker show up and change the game for us. I think that calmed everybody down and put us in a better spot for the remainder of the game.”
The Redwings were dangerous from the start, and Kenagy could have scored twice in the opening eight minutes. He beat charging Downers North goalie Alex Wall with a shot four minutes in, only to see defender Brett Pyburn race back and clear the ball off the line.
Four minutes later, Wall stopped Michael Morefield with a kick save and Kenagy blasted the rebound wide right.
Kenagy, who scored 13 seconds into last year’s season opener – a 7-1 win over Downers North – finally broke through at the 16:16 mark. Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match corralled a long rebound about 25 yards from the net and weaved through three defenders into the box before ripping a shot from 10 yards out. Wall got a hand on the ball, but it bounced inside the left post.
“That’s one of the things the coaches stress: shooting on goal and then crashing,” Kenagy said. “So that one was just because someone shot it, and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Kenagy made it 2-0 with 1:43 left in the first half, but this time it was junior midfielder Richard Michalik who made the play.
Morefield was held and then shoved to the ground on the right wing, resulting in a Downers North yellow card and a 35-yard free kick for the Redwings. Michalik sent a left-footed serve curving in front of the crease to Kenagy, who nodded the ball home from five yards out.
“For the second one, Richie just put an amazing ball in,” Kenagy said. “Couldn’t ask for anything better. He curled it in right from the start. It came perpendicular to the goalie. It was just an easy flick, so I just got to get a head on it.”
Michalik played a lot of minutes last season but wasn’t a full-time starter. He will be this fall, and it was easy to see why.
“He was a young kid who was still developing physically but was gifted technically,” Wesley said. “We knew that from the start.”
Wesley knows Michalik gives him an advantage with his left-footed strikes from the right side.
“It does. It makes it difficult for the goalie to come out and grab it because it’s spinning in toward him,” Wesley said. “It’s that concept that it starts so wide the goalie probably doesn’t think he has a play on it and next thing you know it’s in the six-yard box and Kyle’s driving.”
The Redwings outshot the Trojans (0-1) by a 9-1 margin in the first half but the possession was split for much of that time, so Kenagy’s second goal gave the visitors a big boost going into halftime.
“I was ecstatic,” Michalik said. “I was just kind of trying to curve it into the back post and find someone right over the PK spot. We’ve been practicing it.”
The Redwings, who outshot Downers North 17-4, finished the scoring with 31:29 to go in the second half on a goal by senior midfielder Andrew Heaton.
Benet could have scored more, but Kenagy barely missed a pair of shots and had another stopped by Wall, who finished with five saves. Reserve forward Omar Kashow beat Wall with a shot just three minutes after Heaton’s goal, but Downers North defender Jack Drobny made his team’s second non-goalie save of the day.
“I think [Kenagy] actually created a lot of chances for himself and missed the frame more than he normally does, but to Kyle’s credit, this is exactly who Kyle is,” Wesley said. “He’s going to find a way to force a few on frame even on a day where maybe he has his ‘B’ game instead of his ‘A’ game.”
Benet’s new back line of Bennett Curtis, Harrison Burke and Dustin Uher brought their ‘A’ game as they allowed only one shot in the first half. Junior goalie Konrad Bayer had to make only two routine saves to record the shutout. Burke made the best defensive play for Benet when he made a slide tackle in the box to prevent Downers North freshman Jack Richards from launching on open shot.
“I think it was a great start,” Kenagy said. “A lot of the guys stepped up, especially in the back. Dustin Uher, Ben Curtis had an amazing game. Great job from the underclassmen stepping up.”
Downers North coach Mike Schmitt was pleased with how some of his underclassmen, particularly Richards and fellow rookie Ryan Shanahan, stepped up. The result was a marked improvement over how the Trojans kicked off the 2013 campaign, which ended with a 3-16-2 record.
Schmitt, who played on the Downers North teams that made the state quarterfinals in 2000 and 2001 and was making his head coaching debut, has some promising offensive players in Richards, Mike Malloy and Carter Tome but as yet no star of Kenagy’s caliber.
“It was a very good individual effort on [Kenagy’s] part to take advantage of his chances, something unfortunately we weren’t able to do today,” Schmitt said. “But from what I’ve seen we have a really strong core.
“It was our first chance to play a really tough, challenging game and I thought the team held up pretty well. Obviously, it’s a turnaround year, but I expect us to do a lot better.”
Starting lineups
Benet
G Konrad Bayer
D Bennett Curtis
D Harrison Burke
D Dustin Uher
M Andrew Heaton
M David Diltz
M Richard Michalik
M Connor Mote
M Trenton Wray
F Kyle Kenagy
F Daniel Morefield
Downers Grove North
G Alex Wall
D Jack Drobny
D Jake Stevenson
D Sam Crowley
D Brett Pyburn
M Liam Budnik
M Jack Richards
M Trace Dimos
M Matthew Metzler
F Mike Malloy
F Carter Tome
Man of the Match: Kyle Kenagy, Benet Academy.
Referees: Gheorghe Zlate, Luchian Alin, Popescu Alin.
sparks Benet in opener
Redwings star is a born creationist
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE -- In soccer, as in basketball, it is easy to find people willing to shoot the ball. But finding someone who can create their own shot is not so easy.
That’s why Benet coach Sean Wesley considers himself blessed to have Kyle Kenagy on his team.
Kenagy can, and frequently does, create his own shot, as he demonstrated again Tuesday in the Redwings’ 3-0 season-opening victory over host Downers Grove North at Carstens Field.
The Yale recruit, who earned all-state honors for scoring 26 goals and collecting nine assists last season, found the back of the net twice in this one, both in the first half as Benet (1-0) grabbed a 2-0 lead.
“We talk about difference-makers, and he makes the difference in the game,” Wesley said. “The first 20 minutes it is back and forth and then, boom, we have a difference-maker show up and change the game for us. I think that calmed everybody down and put us in a better spot for the remainder of the game.”
The Redwings were dangerous from the start, and Kenagy could have scored twice in the opening eight minutes. He beat charging Downers North goalie Alex Wall with a shot four minutes in, only to see defender Brett Pyburn race back and clear the ball off the line.
Four minutes later, Wall stopped Michael Morefield with a kick save and Kenagy blasted the rebound wide right.
Kenagy, who scored 13 seconds into last year’s season opener – a 7-1 win over Downers North – finally broke through at the 16:16 mark. Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match corralled a long rebound about 25 yards from the net and weaved through three defenders into the box before ripping a shot from 10 yards out. Wall got a hand on the ball, but it bounced inside the left post.
“That’s one of the things the coaches stress: shooting on goal and then crashing,” Kenagy said. “So that one was just because someone shot it, and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Kenagy made it 2-0 with 1:43 left in the first half, but this time it was junior midfielder Richard Michalik who made the play.
Morefield was held and then shoved to the ground on the right wing, resulting in a Downers North yellow card and a 35-yard free kick for the Redwings. Michalik sent a left-footed serve curving in front of the crease to Kenagy, who nodded the ball home from five yards out.
“For the second one, Richie just put an amazing ball in,” Kenagy said. “Couldn’t ask for anything better. He curled it in right from the start. It came perpendicular to the goalie. It was just an easy flick, so I just got to get a head on it.”
Michalik played a lot of minutes last season but wasn’t a full-time starter. He will be this fall, and it was easy to see why.
“He was a young kid who was still developing physically but was gifted technically,” Wesley said. “We knew that from the start.”
Wesley knows Michalik gives him an advantage with his left-footed strikes from the right side.
“It does. It makes it difficult for the goalie to come out and grab it because it’s spinning in toward him,” Wesley said. “It’s that concept that it starts so wide the goalie probably doesn’t think he has a play on it and next thing you know it’s in the six-yard box and Kyle’s driving.”
The Redwings outshot the Trojans (0-1) by a 9-1 margin in the first half but the possession was split for much of that time, so Kenagy’s second goal gave the visitors a big boost going into halftime.
“I was ecstatic,” Michalik said. “I was just kind of trying to curve it into the back post and find someone right over the PK spot. We’ve been practicing it.”
The Redwings, who outshot Downers North 17-4, finished the scoring with 31:29 to go in the second half on a goal by senior midfielder Andrew Heaton.
Benet could have scored more, but Kenagy barely missed a pair of shots and had another stopped by Wall, who finished with five saves. Reserve forward Omar Kashow beat Wall with a shot just three minutes after Heaton’s goal, but Downers North defender Jack Drobny made his team’s second non-goalie save of the day.
“I think [Kenagy] actually created a lot of chances for himself and missed the frame more than he normally does, but to Kyle’s credit, this is exactly who Kyle is,” Wesley said. “He’s going to find a way to force a few on frame even on a day where maybe he has his ‘B’ game instead of his ‘A’ game.”
Benet’s new back line of Bennett Curtis, Harrison Burke and Dustin Uher brought their ‘A’ game as they allowed only one shot in the first half. Junior goalie Konrad Bayer had to make only two routine saves to record the shutout. Burke made the best defensive play for Benet when he made a slide tackle in the box to prevent Downers North freshman Jack Richards from launching on open shot.
“I think it was a great start,” Kenagy said. “A lot of the guys stepped up, especially in the back. Dustin Uher, Ben Curtis had an amazing game. Great job from the underclassmen stepping up.”
Downers North coach Mike Schmitt was pleased with how some of his underclassmen, particularly Richards and fellow rookie Ryan Shanahan, stepped up. The result was a marked improvement over how the Trojans kicked off the 2013 campaign, which ended with a 3-16-2 record.
Schmitt, who played on the Downers North teams that made the state quarterfinals in 2000 and 2001 and was making his head coaching debut, has some promising offensive players in Richards, Mike Malloy and Carter Tome but as yet no star of Kenagy’s caliber.
“It was a very good individual effort on [Kenagy’s] part to take advantage of his chances, something unfortunately we weren’t able to do today,” Schmitt said. “But from what I’ve seen we have a really strong core.
“It was our first chance to play a really tough, challenging game and I thought the team held up pretty well. Obviously, it’s a turnaround year, but I expect us to do a lot better.”
Starting lineups
Benet
G Konrad Bayer
D Bennett Curtis
D Harrison Burke
D Dustin Uher
M Andrew Heaton
M David Diltz
M Richard Michalik
M Connor Mote
M Trenton Wray
F Kyle Kenagy
F Daniel Morefield
Downers Grove North
G Alex Wall
D Jack Drobny
D Jake Stevenson
D Sam Crowley
D Brett Pyburn
M Liam Budnik
M Jack Richards
M Trace Dimos
M Matthew Metzler
F Mike Malloy
F Carter Tome
Man of the Match: Kyle Kenagy, Benet Academy.
Referees: Gheorghe Zlate, Luchian Alin, Popescu Alin.