Benet's Pinto puts on a show vs. Nazareth
Senior scores 4 times, adds assist, in impressive ESCC road win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE PARK -- In her varsity debut a year ago, Mariana Pinto was the apprentice.
Like the rest of the Benet players, she was in awe and at the service of Chicagoland all-state forward Jaimee Cibulka.
She scored 25 goals to lead the Redwings to the first perfect regular-season in program history
It was daunting, and also liberating. Watching and observing one of the best players in the Midwest proved deeply consequential in her own development.
“Because it was my first season with varsity, she was such a role model for me,” Pinto said.
“Now that she is gone, it is my job to work with our other forwards.”
Both were Chicagoland Soccer all-staters in 2021.
Pinto is the perfect heir apparent to a great tradition of quality and power at a program that has been synonymous with success.
Pinto recorded a personal best four goals and added an assist in the no. 18 Redwings’ 7-2 victory over Nazareth in East Suburban Catholic conference play Monday.
Benet (7-2-0, 4-0-0) won its fifth-consecutive game.
The offense remained smoldering, with a combined 17-0 goals the last two games.
Pinto is electric with the ball, a whirling dervish who moves and floats so easily in space.
She also has a tactile physical presence, the kind of player who is always visible and active around the ball.
“I just love the ball at my feet and just being crafty with people,” Pinto said.
“It’s just a mentality game for me, and I prepare myself before each gave, and give them our best.”
She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her brilliant play.
Nazareth (6-4-1, 1-1-0) was also coming off a busy weekend schedule.
The Roadrunners played Saturday and Sunday at the BodyArmor Series in Olympics Park.
The conference game meant playing three games in three days.
“The same thing happened last year, where we got a juggernaut in Fenwick after playing three games in three days,” Nazareth coach Roberto Cianci said.
“Today was difficult, and we had some injuries to overcome. We still didn’t execute our game plan.”
Nazareth keeper Caroline Workman, lanky and rangy, kept the Roadrunners close in the first half. She nullified the concerted pressure Benet applied at the start of the game.
Benet showed a versatile and deeply varied attack, scoring twice off of corner kicks and in the run of play.
The passing was precise and fluid, the speed sharp and overwhelming.
Nazareth held off repeated corner attempts at the start. The cumulative pressure eventually broke the Roadrunners down.
In the 18th minute, defender Annastacia Thiel flooded the box and smashed home a corner from Brinkley Douglas for the opening goal.
“All year we have really want to finish on set pieces,” Thiel said. “That’s how you win the really close games.
“We send our backline, because we are really good in the air.”
Pinto extended the lead to 2-0 in the 21st minute by creating space in the middle, and finishing in traffic.
“We have people from every single position that can score,” she said. “It’s not just one person scoring every single game.”
Benet returned nine starters from the 18-1-0 team that posted a scoring differential of 85-9.
The only loss came against Class 3A runnerup Lyons.
The Redwings exceeded the number of losses with tight defeats against current no. 6 Metea Valley and Glenbard West in the Wheaton North Kickoff Classic.
Those early developments created a heightened sense of urgency.
“I think not having that perfect season like last year teaches us to be a closer team and also to believe in ourselves,” Thiel said.
“When you’re handed the thought-spots, you know how to get through them. Having mistakes and bumps in the road makes the team overall such a better one. It was what we needed to get going.”
Pinto made sure the Redwings did not suffer from complacency after the dominant first half.
She turned the opening of the second half into a private showcase of her skill level.
Just seconds off the second half kick, Pinto got deep into the box and slotted a ball that freshman forward Kiera Petrucelli blasted home.
The 41st minute score pushed the lead out to 3-0.
Five minutes later, Pinto smashed home her second goal off a beautiful pass from Rachel Burns.
“We never like to beat a team by the score of 2-0,” Pinto said. “We need to tell them why we are here, and why we came here to win.
“It has to be a bigger margin than that.”
Petrucelli represents the next wave of talent.
The freshman scored two goals in the Saturday rout of Marian Central.
“We wanted to come out in the second half, and pick up the intensity and secure the win, and I think that’s what we did,” she said.
Making such an immediate contribution to a stacked team speaks of her own talent, and the different ways players like Pinto invite and welcome young talent into the mix.
“It’s exciting, and also scary,” Petrucelli said. “Like Mariana said, it’s really fun to have somebody to look up to.
“I am honored to be playing with everybody and have a chance to grow throughout the season.”
Cianci said Nazareth did not match the intensity and effort level at the start of the second half.
“It’s an old adage in soccer that you really have to defend the first five minutes of a half, and you have to be focused on that.
“The bottom line is, we were not, and you can’t do that against a team of this caliber.”
The Roadrunners found their stride with their backs against the wall. Midfielder Samantha Rozmus scored on a terrific header off a wonderful cross from Lydia Breslow.
Midfielder Jane McNamara also scored for Nazareth.
“I give my girls credit. They fought,” Cianci said.
“It’s that mindset we are trying to get into these girls and this program. The final score doesn’t give our girls enough credit for how good of a team we are.”
The Benet firepower was simply too great for the Roadrunners to absorb.
Pinto added two goals. Defender Reese MacDonald, who missed last year with an injury, created two wonderful assists.
Gabi Matteo also added a goal and assist.
“We’re working toward the state tournament,” Thiel said. “This is our team to get ready. Granted, we will make some mistakes. We are preparing for the end.
“We were awesome last year, but we are even more awesome this year. We have to step on the field and get it done every time.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK: Shannon Clark
D: Nora Hanson
D: Annastacia Thiel
D: Reese McDonald
D: Sadie Starbenz
MF: Rania Fikri
MF: Bailey Abbott
MF: Katie Lewellyn
MF: Mariana Pinto
F: Anna Casmere
F: Kiera Petrucelli
Nazareth
GK: Caroline Workman
D: Evelyn Siffermann
D: Izzy Strnic
D: Lilly Berner
D: L.E. Healy
MF: Ella O’Neill
MF: Jane McNamara
MF: Trea Notz
MF: Samantha Rozmus
F: Nikolette Weiss
F: Alessio Calandriello
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mariana Pinto, sr., MF, Benet
Scoring summary
First half
Benet—Annastacia Thiel (Brinkley Douglas), 18th minute
Benet—Mariana Pinto (Anna Casmere) 24th minute
Second half
Benet—Kiera Petrucelli (Pinto), 41st minute
Benet—Pinto (Rachel Burns), 46th minute
Nazareth—Samantha Rozmus (Lydia Breslow), 56th minute
Benet—Pinto (Gabi DiMatteo), 64th minute
Benet—Pinto (Reese MacDonald), 66th minute
Benet—DiMatteo (MacDonald), 67th minute
Nazareth—Jane McNamara (Trea Notz), 68th minute
Senior scores 4 times, adds assist, in impressive ESCC road win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE PARK -- In her varsity debut a year ago, Mariana Pinto was the apprentice.
Like the rest of the Benet players, she was in awe and at the service of Chicagoland all-state forward Jaimee Cibulka.
She scored 25 goals to lead the Redwings to the first perfect regular-season in program history
It was daunting, and also liberating. Watching and observing one of the best players in the Midwest proved deeply consequential in her own development.
“Because it was my first season with varsity, she was such a role model for me,” Pinto said.
“Now that she is gone, it is my job to work with our other forwards.”
Both were Chicagoland Soccer all-staters in 2021.
Pinto is the perfect heir apparent to a great tradition of quality and power at a program that has been synonymous with success.
Pinto recorded a personal best four goals and added an assist in the no. 18 Redwings’ 7-2 victory over Nazareth in East Suburban Catholic conference play Monday.
Benet (7-2-0, 4-0-0) won its fifth-consecutive game.
The offense remained smoldering, with a combined 17-0 goals the last two games.
Pinto is electric with the ball, a whirling dervish who moves and floats so easily in space.
She also has a tactile physical presence, the kind of player who is always visible and active around the ball.
“I just love the ball at my feet and just being crafty with people,” Pinto said.
“It’s just a mentality game for me, and I prepare myself before each gave, and give them our best.”
She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her brilliant play.
Nazareth (6-4-1, 1-1-0) was also coming off a busy weekend schedule.
The Roadrunners played Saturday and Sunday at the BodyArmor Series in Olympics Park.
The conference game meant playing three games in three days.
“The same thing happened last year, where we got a juggernaut in Fenwick after playing three games in three days,” Nazareth coach Roberto Cianci said.
“Today was difficult, and we had some injuries to overcome. We still didn’t execute our game plan.”
Nazareth keeper Caroline Workman, lanky and rangy, kept the Roadrunners close in the first half. She nullified the concerted pressure Benet applied at the start of the game.
Benet showed a versatile and deeply varied attack, scoring twice off of corner kicks and in the run of play.
The passing was precise and fluid, the speed sharp and overwhelming.
Nazareth held off repeated corner attempts at the start. The cumulative pressure eventually broke the Roadrunners down.
In the 18th minute, defender Annastacia Thiel flooded the box and smashed home a corner from Brinkley Douglas for the opening goal.
“All year we have really want to finish on set pieces,” Thiel said. “That’s how you win the really close games.
“We send our backline, because we are really good in the air.”
Pinto extended the lead to 2-0 in the 21st minute by creating space in the middle, and finishing in traffic.
“We have people from every single position that can score,” she said. “It’s not just one person scoring every single game.”
Benet returned nine starters from the 18-1-0 team that posted a scoring differential of 85-9.
The only loss came against Class 3A runnerup Lyons.
The Redwings exceeded the number of losses with tight defeats against current no. 6 Metea Valley and Glenbard West in the Wheaton North Kickoff Classic.
Those early developments created a heightened sense of urgency.
“I think not having that perfect season like last year teaches us to be a closer team and also to believe in ourselves,” Thiel said.
“When you’re handed the thought-spots, you know how to get through them. Having mistakes and bumps in the road makes the team overall such a better one. It was what we needed to get going.”
Pinto made sure the Redwings did not suffer from complacency after the dominant first half.
She turned the opening of the second half into a private showcase of her skill level.
Just seconds off the second half kick, Pinto got deep into the box and slotted a ball that freshman forward Kiera Petrucelli blasted home.
The 41st minute score pushed the lead out to 3-0.
Five minutes later, Pinto smashed home her second goal off a beautiful pass from Rachel Burns.
“We never like to beat a team by the score of 2-0,” Pinto said. “We need to tell them why we are here, and why we came here to win.
“It has to be a bigger margin than that.”
Petrucelli represents the next wave of talent.
The freshman scored two goals in the Saturday rout of Marian Central.
“We wanted to come out in the second half, and pick up the intensity and secure the win, and I think that’s what we did,” she said.
Making such an immediate contribution to a stacked team speaks of her own talent, and the different ways players like Pinto invite and welcome young talent into the mix.
“It’s exciting, and also scary,” Petrucelli said. “Like Mariana said, it’s really fun to have somebody to look up to.
“I am honored to be playing with everybody and have a chance to grow throughout the season.”
Cianci said Nazareth did not match the intensity and effort level at the start of the second half.
“It’s an old adage in soccer that you really have to defend the first five minutes of a half, and you have to be focused on that.
“The bottom line is, we were not, and you can’t do that against a team of this caliber.”
The Roadrunners found their stride with their backs against the wall. Midfielder Samantha Rozmus scored on a terrific header off a wonderful cross from Lydia Breslow.
Midfielder Jane McNamara also scored for Nazareth.
“I give my girls credit. They fought,” Cianci said.
“It’s that mindset we are trying to get into these girls and this program. The final score doesn’t give our girls enough credit for how good of a team we are.”
The Benet firepower was simply too great for the Roadrunners to absorb.
Pinto added two goals. Defender Reese MacDonald, who missed last year with an injury, created two wonderful assists.
Gabi Matteo also added a goal and assist.
“We’re working toward the state tournament,” Thiel said. “This is our team to get ready. Granted, we will make some mistakes. We are preparing for the end.
“We were awesome last year, but we are even more awesome this year. We have to step on the field and get it done every time.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK: Shannon Clark
D: Nora Hanson
D: Annastacia Thiel
D: Reese McDonald
D: Sadie Starbenz
MF: Rania Fikri
MF: Bailey Abbott
MF: Katie Lewellyn
MF: Mariana Pinto
F: Anna Casmere
F: Kiera Petrucelli
Nazareth
GK: Caroline Workman
D: Evelyn Siffermann
D: Izzy Strnic
D: Lilly Berner
D: L.E. Healy
MF: Ella O’Neill
MF: Jane McNamara
MF: Trea Notz
MF: Samantha Rozmus
F: Nikolette Weiss
F: Alessio Calandriello
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mariana Pinto, sr., MF, Benet
Scoring summary
First half
Benet—Annastacia Thiel (Brinkley Douglas), 18th minute
Benet—Mariana Pinto (Anna Casmere) 24th minute
Second half
Benet—Kiera Petrucelli (Pinto), 41st minute
Benet—Pinto (Rachel Burns), 46th minute
Nazareth—Samantha Rozmus (Lydia Breslow), 56th minute
Benet—Pinto (Gabi DiMatteo), 64th minute
Benet—Pinto (Reese MacDonald), 66th minute
Benet—DiMatteo (MacDonald), 67th minute
Nazareth—Jane McNamara (Trea Notz), 68th minute