With wind beneath 'Wings,
Benet bests Glenbard South
Redwings top stubborn hosts 4-1
By Mike Garofola
GLEN ELLYN -- Benet overcame threatening skies, high winds and a determined club from Glenbard South to claim a well-deserved 4-1 victory Thursday night at Raiders Stadium.
The Redwings stayed perfect through their first five games of the season after this nonconference contest on the road.
"We struggled a little bit with our finishing tonight, but overall, it was our good effort from the girls against a young, but talented opponent," said Benet manager Gerard Oconor.
Four different players from the Redwings entered the scorebook on this night. The first got her entry in the seventh minute -- Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match Jaimee Cibulka. After a lull, the Redwings scored three times in the last 30 minutes.
"We came in tonight wanting to dominate play in order to get us ready for our big test with Metea Valley (a 3-1 win Saturday), but we didn't play well enough in the first half to do just that," said sophomore Anna Casmere, who scored the final goal of the evening in the 78th minute.
"We sorted things out at the half, then went out and put together a really strong effort in the second half.
"It's kind of funny that we play on natural grass at our field at home. (It's) a big field, that's bumpy in spots, so you would think when we come and play on the turf we would be just fine.
"But we actually struggled with (it) for a while tonight."
The visitors made breathing room against the host Raiders (1-4-0) when Rachel Burns made it a 3-1 advantage near the hour. Until then, Kevin Berners' home club showed its mettle and spirit with a super young roster against its talented opponent.
"We have 11 freshmen and sophomore players on our roster -- obviously many of them playing at the varsity level for their first time," began Berner. “I was real proud of the way we played against a well-coached Benet team that has so many talented players out there at one time.
"This is a great bunch of players who come to training willing to work and learn. They get along really well, and make coaching a real joy for myself and the coaching staff."
One of Berner’s top players, freshmen keeper, Sofia Alcala made a brave, brilliant tactical decision to come off her line in order to pull down a wonderful back post curling effort from Burns that was targeted for Casmere six minutes into the match.
Six minutes later, Alcala was helped off after suffering from an injury that Berner suggested may have occurred on the challenge on Burns.
Field player and sophomore Caroline Vercoe stepped in between the sticks for the Raiders for the rest of the way and did an admirable job for the next 68 minutes.
Cibulka, whose box-to-box non-stop work-rate was a joy to watch as were her purposeful connections with her teammates, got her opener after Mariana Pinto pried open the Raiders defense with a lovely helper.
Cibulka and Pinto continued to operate freely in the center of the park as the Raiders struggled to keep the duo under control. However, neither Redwing could find a final touch to add another to the score line.
"We had our chances in that first half, but we were not as sharp as we needed to be," admitted junior Katie Lewellyan, one of four holdovers from the 2019 Class AA state championship team.
Pinto sent Casmere through in the 16th minute. If not for a strong tackle Madeline Sebahar, Casmere would have had the Raiders keeper all to herself.
Storm clouds and high winds surprised the players and a big crowd. Following the Casmere chance, many expected to be drenched before racing to their cars for rain gear.
The precipitation never arrived, but the strong winds would stay for most of the contest as the visitors now played into a howling wind.
Ashley Donovan went close, as did Cibulka, on the turn from 25 yards on a shot that Vercoe pushed around the bar.
With the Redwings owning 80 percent of the possession plus a high number of completed passes in their opponents end, Glenbard South’s backline of Abigail Bergmann, Sebahar and Erin Sowl with Mikaely Evans stationed just in front of her mates, defended with all its might to keep their team in the game.
"We are so young all over the field, and on our roster, and not very big and physical like Benet," said Evans, one of just three seniors on the team. “But we fought so hard in that first half to stay in the game. When Lauren (Price) got that goal to make it 1-1, we all felt like our confidence get a real boost
"For me, it's so important to be a strong leader and mentor to a team that is going to be really good in another year. I enjoy the responsibility of being a captain and team leader."
Next fall, Evans will play at Macalester College in Minnesota, where she plans to major in biology.
"Mikaely is just a great young women, and I am so happy for her because her junior year was wiped out because of COVID, but she is the type of player we need to have around such a young, and inexperienced team," added Berner.
The aforementioned Price, who possesses nice speed, touch and pace on the outside, stunned Benet with her equalizer just before the intermission. She chipped Redwings keeper Shannon Clark with a wind-aided and angled floater that found the far inside netting.
Just before the Price goal, Cibulka rattled the bar with a wicked 22-yard blast.
After the break with the wind now firmly on the backs of the Redwings, it was only a matter of time before the visitors fashioned a handful of chances against a Raiders side that had thrown a few more numbers back in anticipation of the attack.
Vercoe pushed another Cibulka effort up and over the bar to give the Redwings' Brinkley Douglas a corner opportunity.
Her serve found Lewellyan, who put her attempt on frame. Vercoe turned it away but the ball spilled free.
Benet senior Brooke Pullen, who had remained in the area, was rewarded when she ran onto the loose ball and fired it into the underside of the roof.
The eventual game-winner came at 50 minutes. Burns added to the lead four minutes later after an assist from Pullen, who was more involved in the Redwings second half attack after she ventured far into the final third from her spot along the outside back.
"We've been wanting (Pullen) to get forward more and to get a few scoring chances, so it was nice to see her doing so tonight," Oconer said.
Oconor bought on fresh legs on after the Burns strike, and the visitors continued to pepper the home side with quality chances. Their final touches betrayed them until Casmere finished the scoring with her late goal.
"It was a little nerve-wracking not finishing all the chances we created in the second half, " said Casmere.
"This is a good team, and we'll be a very good team if we continue to work hard," began Lewellyn.
“It's also a very young and different team with many of our players being just in eighth grade when we won our state title in 2019."
"Our sophomore class is very talented, and you’re beginning to see all of the talent and different styles of play the new players have brought come together. It's exciting."
Berner shares a similar with his Glenbard South club.
"This group are like giant sponges,” he said. “(They) come to training so eager to learn, and even during a game we're always teaching, and the girls are so ready to learn.
"Even tonight, against such a great opponent, we tried some different things, brought players off and on at some spots … to give some advice and instructions. (Then) they went out and put it to use.
"It's great experience to play 3A teams like Benet to get ourselves ready for the AA postseason, which we hope to play well enough to go after a regional championship and gain ourselves more experience."
Starting lineups
Benet (4-4-3)
G- Shannon Clark
D- Nora Hanson
D- Annastacia Thiel
D- Sadie Sterbenz
D- Brooke Pullen
M- Katie Lewellyan
M- Mariana Pinto
M- Brinkley Douglas
F- Anna Casmere
F- Rachel Burns
F- Jaimee Cibulka
Glenbard South (4-5-1)
G- Sofia Alcala
D- Caroline Vercoe
D- Madeline Sebahar
D- Abigail Bergmann
D- Erin Sowl
M- Lauren Price
M- Mikaely Evans
M- Paige Kennedy
M- Gabby Hedden
M-Sophia Hoerdermann
F- Ellie Anderson
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Jaimee Cibulka, sr., MF, Benet
Referee: Orlando Drobinua
Scoring summary
First half
Benet: Cibulka (Pinto) 7'
Glenbard South: Price (U/A) 37'
Second half
Benet: Pullen (Lewellyan) 50'
Benet: Burns (Pullen) 54'
Benet: Casmere (Pinto) 78'
Benet bests Glenbard South
Redwings top stubborn hosts 4-1
By Mike Garofola
GLEN ELLYN -- Benet overcame threatening skies, high winds and a determined club from Glenbard South to claim a well-deserved 4-1 victory Thursday night at Raiders Stadium.
The Redwings stayed perfect through their first five games of the season after this nonconference contest on the road.
"We struggled a little bit with our finishing tonight, but overall, it was our good effort from the girls against a young, but talented opponent," said Benet manager Gerard Oconor.
Four different players from the Redwings entered the scorebook on this night. The first got her entry in the seventh minute -- Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match Jaimee Cibulka. After a lull, the Redwings scored three times in the last 30 minutes.
"We came in tonight wanting to dominate play in order to get us ready for our big test with Metea Valley (a 3-1 win Saturday), but we didn't play well enough in the first half to do just that," said sophomore Anna Casmere, who scored the final goal of the evening in the 78th minute.
"We sorted things out at the half, then went out and put together a really strong effort in the second half.
"It's kind of funny that we play on natural grass at our field at home. (It's) a big field, that's bumpy in spots, so you would think when we come and play on the turf we would be just fine.
"But we actually struggled with (it) for a while tonight."
The visitors made breathing room against the host Raiders (1-4-0) when Rachel Burns made it a 3-1 advantage near the hour. Until then, Kevin Berners' home club showed its mettle and spirit with a super young roster against its talented opponent.
"We have 11 freshmen and sophomore players on our roster -- obviously many of them playing at the varsity level for their first time," began Berner. “I was real proud of the way we played against a well-coached Benet team that has so many talented players out there at one time.
"This is a great bunch of players who come to training willing to work and learn. They get along really well, and make coaching a real joy for myself and the coaching staff."
One of Berner’s top players, freshmen keeper, Sofia Alcala made a brave, brilliant tactical decision to come off her line in order to pull down a wonderful back post curling effort from Burns that was targeted for Casmere six minutes into the match.
Six minutes later, Alcala was helped off after suffering from an injury that Berner suggested may have occurred on the challenge on Burns.
Field player and sophomore Caroline Vercoe stepped in between the sticks for the Raiders for the rest of the way and did an admirable job for the next 68 minutes.
Cibulka, whose box-to-box non-stop work-rate was a joy to watch as were her purposeful connections with her teammates, got her opener after Mariana Pinto pried open the Raiders defense with a lovely helper.
Cibulka and Pinto continued to operate freely in the center of the park as the Raiders struggled to keep the duo under control. However, neither Redwing could find a final touch to add another to the score line.
"We had our chances in that first half, but we were not as sharp as we needed to be," admitted junior Katie Lewellyan, one of four holdovers from the 2019 Class AA state championship team.
Pinto sent Casmere through in the 16th minute. If not for a strong tackle Madeline Sebahar, Casmere would have had the Raiders keeper all to herself.
Storm clouds and high winds surprised the players and a big crowd. Following the Casmere chance, many expected to be drenched before racing to their cars for rain gear.
The precipitation never arrived, but the strong winds would stay for most of the contest as the visitors now played into a howling wind.
Ashley Donovan went close, as did Cibulka, on the turn from 25 yards on a shot that Vercoe pushed around the bar.
With the Redwings owning 80 percent of the possession plus a high number of completed passes in their opponents end, Glenbard South’s backline of Abigail Bergmann, Sebahar and Erin Sowl with Mikaely Evans stationed just in front of her mates, defended with all its might to keep their team in the game.
"We are so young all over the field, and on our roster, and not very big and physical like Benet," said Evans, one of just three seniors on the team. “But we fought so hard in that first half to stay in the game. When Lauren (Price) got that goal to make it 1-1, we all felt like our confidence get a real boost
"For me, it's so important to be a strong leader and mentor to a team that is going to be really good in another year. I enjoy the responsibility of being a captain and team leader."
Next fall, Evans will play at Macalester College in Minnesota, where she plans to major in biology.
"Mikaely is just a great young women, and I am so happy for her because her junior year was wiped out because of COVID, but she is the type of player we need to have around such a young, and inexperienced team," added Berner.
The aforementioned Price, who possesses nice speed, touch and pace on the outside, stunned Benet with her equalizer just before the intermission. She chipped Redwings keeper Shannon Clark with a wind-aided and angled floater that found the far inside netting.
Just before the Price goal, Cibulka rattled the bar with a wicked 22-yard blast.
After the break with the wind now firmly on the backs of the Redwings, it was only a matter of time before the visitors fashioned a handful of chances against a Raiders side that had thrown a few more numbers back in anticipation of the attack.
Vercoe pushed another Cibulka effort up and over the bar to give the Redwings' Brinkley Douglas a corner opportunity.
Her serve found Lewellyan, who put her attempt on frame. Vercoe turned it away but the ball spilled free.
Benet senior Brooke Pullen, who had remained in the area, was rewarded when she ran onto the loose ball and fired it into the underside of the roof.
The eventual game-winner came at 50 minutes. Burns added to the lead four minutes later after an assist from Pullen, who was more involved in the Redwings second half attack after she ventured far into the final third from her spot along the outside back.
"We've been wanting (Pullen) to get forward more and to get a few scoring chances, so it was nice to see her doing so tonight," Oconer said.
Oconor bought on fresh legs on after the Burns strike, and the visitors continued to pepper the home side with quality chances. Their final touches betrayed them until Casmere finished the scoring with her late goal.
"It was a little nerve-wracking not finishing all the chances we created in the second half, " said Casmere.
"This is a good team, and we'll be a very good team if we continue to work hard," began Lewellyn.
“It's also a very young and different team with many of our players being just in eighth grade when we won our state title in 2019."
"Our sophomore class is very talented, and you’re beginning to see all of the talent and different styles of play the new players have brought come together. It's exciting."
Berner shares a similar with his Glenbard South club.
"This group are like giant sponges,” he said. “(They) come to training so eager to learn, and even during a game we're always teaching, and the girls are so ready to learn.
"Even tonight, against such a great opponent, we tried some different things, brought players off and on at some spots … to give some advice and instructions. (Then) they went out and put it to use.
"It's great experience to play 3A teams like Benet to get ourselves ready for the AA postseason, which we hope to play well enough to go after a regional championship and gain ourselves more experience."
Starting lineups
Benet (4-4-3)
G- Shannon Clark
D- Nora Hanson
D- Annastacia Thiel
D- Sadie Sterbenz
D- Brooke Pullen
M- Katie Lewellyan
M- Mariana Pinto
M- Brinkley Douglas
F- Anna Casmere
F- Rachel Burns
F- Jaimee Cibulka
Glenbard South (4-5-1)
G- Sofia Alcala
D- Caroline Vercoe
D- Madeline Sebahar
D- Abigail Bergmann
D- Erin Sowl
M- Lauren Price
M- Mikaely Evans
M- Paige Kennedy
M- Gabby Hedden
M-Sophia Hoerdermann
F- Ellie Anderson
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Jaimee Cibulka, sr., MF, Benet
Referee: Orlando Drobinua
Scoring summary
First half
Benet: Cibulka (Pinto) 7'
Glenbard South: Price (U/A) 37'
Second half
Benet: Pullen (Lewellyan) 50'
Benet: Burns (Pullen) 54'
Benet: Casmere (Pinto) 78'