Morton rallies to knock off
upset-minded Benet
Mustangs score twice in last 14 minutes to remain undefeated
By Matt Le Cren
BERWYN – Daniel Pepping gave Benet something to celebrate Friday.
Then Morton’s Max Aquino and Giovanni Alvarez upstaged him.
After 66 minutes of scoreless soccer, that trio combined to score on three-consecutive shots within a five-minute span that left both teams with roller-coaster emotions.
Pepping stunned the host Mustangs by drilling a 20-yard free kick from just outside the left corner of the box past Morton goalkeeper Sebastian Majorca with 14:30 remaining in the second half.
It was Pepping’s third goal of the season and only the third allowed by Morton. But the Mustangs, the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, quickly responded with two goals of their own to claim a 2-1 victory.
Morton coach Jim Bageanis, whose team was outshot 10-5 and outplayed for long stretches, knows how close a call it was.
“They’re an excellent team,” Bageanis said. “We’re lucky to get out of there with a tie, let alone a win.
“They’re a good team, so no matter who would have won this game, no one would have had anything to be ashamed of. I’m happy with how we played.”
Yet for 67 minutes, it wasn’t good enough. That’s because Pepping hit his free kick so hard that it went in even though Mayorga got a hand on it.
“The wall was pretty bad, I thought, and the goalie was pretty far out,” Pepping said. “I just figured to hit it near post as hard as I could, and it would probably go in. Having my teammates rush around me knowing that could be the game-winner was amazing.”
Benet coach Sean Wesley was pumped, too, because it put the Redwings (7-4-0) on the doorstep of a huge upset.
“Pepping’s goal was fantastic,” Wesley said. “We were hoping for something like that to come in a game like this.
“Disappointing that we weren’t able to follow it up and finish strong, and to give up two goals in the next 10 minutes of play is not what we were looking for.”
But it was what the Mustangs (10-0-1) were looking for and something Bageanis has seen before.
“That’s one of the things about our team over the years,” Bageanis said. “Even when I was an assistant coach, when we get scored on, it tends to fire us up.
“We came out, evened the game. Once we made it level, now we had the momentum, so it came at the right time. We got that second goal and then we held on.”
Midfielder Jonny Murillo was the catalyst for the game-tying and game-winning goals. Benet’s bench was just settling down after celebrating Pepping’s poke when Murillo sent a long pass up the right wing to Aquino in the right side of the box.
Aquino settled the bouncing ball, took two dribbles to his left and then sent a shot inside the right post for his 13th goal of the season. Benet’s lead had lasted all of 62 seconds.
“There’s 15 minutes left,” Aquino said. “We were playing kind of lousy in the beginning of the game, and I figured it was finally time to turn it on.
“It was right away. … We got a goal back and right after that we scored another goal. That really brought the momentum up, and we started to play a lot better.”
The goal that took the air out of the Redwings’ sails came on a fortunate bounce and a fine finish.
“It was really good,” Aquino said. “Luckily, the defender on me didn’t get to the ball.
“It went right over his leg, and I was wide open for a free shot. Perfectly placed it.”
As good as Aquino’s shot was, Alvarez’s was even more striking. He took a pass from Murillo, dribbled up the right wing and blasted a 30-yard cracker into the upper left corner of the net with 9:33 to go.
It was the eighth goal of the season for Alvarez, who until then had been bottled up by Benet’s defense.
“I feel like it was a back-and-forth game,” Alvarez said. “Two great teams, and one didn’t let up at first.
“With our mentality, I believe once someone scores, we all come. I don’t think there is one person that can lift us up, but once we see something going on, when we saw Max score, that gave us the momentum.”
When Alvarez saw his chance, he went for it.
“Before that play, they stopped it for a little bit because someone got a yellow,” Alvarez said. “I told Jonny, because he was playing middle with me, I told him to get the ball, pass it to me, and I’ll do something with it.
“He got the ball, he saw me, I took a shot, and it ended up going in.”
Alvarez responded by running over the sideline to acknowledge the Mustangs’ cheering supporters. Aquino and the rest of the starters soon joined him in a joyful display.
“It was an exciting moment,” Aquino said. “When you score a goal like that, it is unforgettable.”
Benet pressed hard after that. They mustered one corner kick with 5:30 left but were unable to get another shot off.
“I think even through those 10 minutes we still came back and played strong,” said Redwings starting sophomore defender Nick Roe. “I think we’ve progressed throughout the season, working together. It’s definitely been a building year, but I think we’re really starting to come around.”
The Redwings proved it by their play against Morton.
“We had a lot of the possession,” Roe said. “We were stringing some good plays together.
“It was just those two plays that let us down, but we learn from those and move forward.”
The loss was tough for Wesley to swallow, but he was pleased with the effort.
“Five minutes after the game, I’m very disappointed,” Wesley said. “But we held up against the wind against a really good team in the first half, even created chances and had possession.
“With 10 minutes left in the game, we’ve got guys giving everything they’ve got. We just lacked a little bit of athleticism.
“It was good night for us. Now we just have to clean up those few issues.”
If they do, it could be a different story if Benet and Morton meet again. They are in the same sectional.
“It’s annoying, but I feel we’re really coming together. I know we’re going to face them again later in the year in the state (playoffs),” Pepping said. “We’re going to get them then.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Evan Lucas
D Peter Hepburn
D Evan Frazier
D Nick Roe
M Brendan Forsyth
M Daniel Pepping
M Nico Picha
F T.J. McVey
F John Kolb
F Andy Nash
F Caden Schulz
Morton
GK Sebastian Mayorga
D Eddie Barraza
D Luis Gonzalez
D Juan Ramirez
D Ivan Ramirez
M Jonathon Murillo
M Edgar Quintero
M Daniel Diaz
M Giovanni Alvarez
F Ismael Zepeda
F Max Aquino
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giovanni Alvarez, sr., MF, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Benet: Daniel Pepping (free kick), 14:30 remaining
Morton: Max Aquino (Jonathon Murillo), 13:28 remaining
Morton: Giovanni Alvarez (Murillo), 9:33 remaining
upset-minded Benet
Mustangs score twice in last 14 minutes to remain undefeated
By Matt Le Cren
BERWYN – Daniel Pepping gave Benet something to celebrate Friday.
Then Morton’s Max Aquino and Giovanni Alvarez upstaged him.
After 66 minutes of scoreless soccer, that trio combined to score on three-consecutive shots within a five-minute span that left both teams with roller-coaster emotions.
Pepping stunned the host Mustangs by drilling a 20-yard free kick from just outside the left corner of the box past Morton goalkeeper Sebastian Majorca with 14:30 remaining in the second half.
It was Pepping’s third goal of the season and only the third allowed by Morton. But the Mustangs, the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, quickly responded with two goals of their own to claim a 2-1 victory.
Morton coach Jim Bageanis, whose team was outshot 10-5 and outplayed for long stretches, knows how close a call it was.
“They’re an excellent team,” Bageanis said. “We’re lucky to get out of there with a tie, let alone a win.
“They’re a good team, so no matter who would have won this game, no one would have had anything to be ashamed of. I’m happy with how we played.”
Yet for 67 minutes, it wasn’t good enough. That’s because Pepping hit his free kick so hard that it went in even though Mayorga got a hand on it.
“The wall was pretty bad, I thought, and the goalie was pretty far out,” Pepping said. “I just figured to hit it near post as hard as I could, and it would probably go in. Having my teammates rush around me knowing that could be the game-winner was amazing.”
Benet coach Sean Wesley was pumped, too, because it put the Redwings (7-4-0) on the doorstep of a huge upset.
“Pepping’s goal was fantastic,” Wesley said. “We were hoping for something like that to come in a game like this.
“Disappointing that we weren’t able to follow it up and finish strong, and to give up two goals in the next 10 minutes of play is not what we were looking for.”
But it was what the Mustangs (10-0-1) were looking for and something Bageanis has seen before.
“That’s one of the things about our team over the years,” Bageanis said. “Even when I was an assistant coach, when we get scored on, it tends to fire us up.
“We came out, evened the game. Once we made it level, now we had the momentum, so it came at the right time. We got that second goal and then we held on.”
Midfielder Jonny Murillo was the catalyst for the game-tying and game-winning goals. Benet’s bench was just settling down after celebrating Pepping’s poke when Murillo sent a long pass up the right wing to Aquino in the right side of the box.
Aquino settled the bouncing ball, took two dribbles to his left and then sent a shot inside the right post for his 13th goal of the season. Benet’s lead had lasted all of 62 seconds.
“There’s 15 minutes left,” Aquino said. “We were playing kind of lousy in the beginning of the game, and I figured it was finally time to turn it on.
“It was right away. … We got a goal back and right after that we scored another goal. That really brought the momentum up, and we started to play a lot better.”
The goal that took the air out of the Redwings’ sails came on a fortunate bounce and a fine finish.
“It was really good,” Aquino said. “Luckily, the defender on me didn’t get to the ball.
“It went right over his leg, and I was wide open for a free shot. Perfectly placed it.”
As good as Aquino’s shot was, Alvarez’s was even more striking. He took a pass from Murillo, dribbled up the right wing and blasted a 30-yard cracker into the upper left corner of the net with 9:33 to go.
It was the eighth goal of the season for Alvarez, who until then had been bottled up by Benet’s defense.
“I feel like it was a back-and-forth game,” Alvarez said. “Two great teams, and one didn’t let up at first.
“With our mentality, I believe once someone scores, we all come. I don’t think there is one person that can lift us up, but once we see something going on, when we saw Max score, that gave us the momentum.”
When Alvarez saw his chance, he went for it.
“Before that play, they stopped it for a little bit because someone got a yellow,” Alvarez said. “I told Jonny, because he was playing middle with me, I told him to get the ball, pass it to me, and I’ll do something with it.
“He got the ball, he saw me, I took a shot, and it ended up going in.”
Alvarez responded by running over the sideline to acknowledge the Mustangs’ cheering supporters. Aquino and the rest of the starters soon joined him in a joyful display.
“It was an exciting moment,” Aquino said. “When you score a goal like that, it is unforgettable.”
Benet pressed hard after that. They mustered one corner kick with 5:30 left but were unable to get another shot off.
“I think even through those 10 minutes we still came back and played strong,” said Redwings starting sophomore defender Nick Roe. “I think we’ve progressed throughout the season, working together. It’s definitely been a building year, but I think we’re really starting to come around.”
The Redwings proved it by their play against Morton.
“We had a lot of the possession,” Roe said. “We were stringing some good plays together.
“It was just those two plays that let us down, but we learn from those and move forward.”
The loss was tough for Wesley to swallow, but he was pleased with the effort.
“Five minutes after the game, I’m very disappointed,” Wesley said. “But we held up against the wind against a really good team in the first half, even created chances and had possession.
“With 10 minutes left in the game, we’ve got guys giving everything they’ve got. We just lacked a little bit of athleticism.
“It was good night for us. Now we just have to clean up those few issues.”
If they do, it could be a different story if Benet and Morton meet again. They are in the same sectional.
“It’s annoying, but I feel we’re really coming together. I know we’re going to face them again later in the year in the state (playoffs),” Pepping said. “We’re going to get them then.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Evan Lucas
D Peter Hepburn
D Evan Frazier
D Nick Roe
M Brendan Forsyth
M Daniel Pepping
M Nico Picha
F T.J. McVey
F John Kolb
F Andy Nash
F Caden Schulz
Morton
GK Sebastian Mayorga
D Eddie Barraza
D Luis Gonzalez
D Juan Ramirez
D Ivan Ramirez
M Jonathon Murillo
M Edgar Quintero
M Daniel Diaz
M Giovanni Alvarez
F Ismael Zepeda
F Max Aquino
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giovanni Alvarez, sr., MF, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Benet: Daniel Pepping (free kick), 14:30 remaining
Morton: Max Aquino (Jonathon Murillo), 13:28 remaining
Morton: Giovanni Alvarez (Murillo), 9:33 remaining