Benet on brink of perfect regular-season
after taking down Neuqua Valley
Cibulka knocks home 2 more in 3-0 victory
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- With her team one win away from a perfect regular-season, Benet star Jaimee Cibulka was asked if she and her teammates had thought that possible when the season began.
“I don’t think you ever strive for a perfect season,” Cibulka said. “It doesn’t happen all that much.
“In the grand scheme of things, losses are something that teams can learn from and build from, so the goal is never to be perfect. But it’s just worked out that way, and we’ve done a good job of coming back even if we are down early.”
Cibulka is right on both counts. Since the IHSA-sanctioned girls soccer startednin 1988, only 11 teams across all classes have recorded unbeaten and untied seasons.
Two of them were coached by current Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau, who guided St. Charles to five-straight state titles between 1995-99. Moreau got a good look at the Redwings on Monday, when Cibulka scored the first two goals in a 3-0 win over the host Wildcats.
Benet (14-0-0) can cap a perfect regular season by beating Marist on Wednesday in Chicago.
“They’re a good team,” Moreau said. “They have speed, and speed is deadly.”
Cibulka is especially speedy and has been consistently deadly all season. She was at it again against the Wildcats, putting the host side in a 2-0 with her 17th and 18th goals.
The first came with 22:17 remaining in the first half. Paige Neri was dumped just outside the box but managed to pass the ball to her right to Cibulka, who used a lightning-fast first step to gain separation and sped into the box before scoring on a low 15-yard liner.
“I think it was a foul, probably, but we always want to play on and try to make the most of every opportunity,” Cibulka said. “She did a good job of getting it to me, and I was able to find the back of the net on that.
Cibulka did it again nine minutes later, bursting into the box alone. Neuqua goalkeeper Tara Tesmond made a great, diving save to block Cibulka’s shot from point-blank range, but she pounced on the rebound and tapped it in.
“My teammates are really good at isolating me. So when I can take players on 1-on-1, it helps to create an unbalanced attack or we can switch the ball really quick,” Cibulka said. “It’s just hard to predict what’s going to happen.”
But it’s easy to predict what will happen when Cibulka scores. She has tallied her team’s first goal of the game eight times this spring and twice has notched the first two.
“It’s awesome because I’m very confident when we’re able to play balls through over the top, that she’s going to get there,” Benet midfielder Brinkley Douglas said.
“Especially when she does score, it turns the game around. I know that when we get that lead, we want keep that advantage and keep going hard.”
The Redwings did that again against the Wildcats (5-9-1), who rested their starters in the second half as planned. But even with the first team on the field, Neuqua could not mount an effective attack against Benet, which recorded its second-straight shutout and seventh of the season.
The Redwings, who are ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, got another solid effort from their backline of senior Brooke Pullen, junior Annastacia Thiel, sophomore Sadie Sterbenz and freshman Nora Hanson, which held the Wildcats to 10 shots. Among sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Clark’s five saves was a leaping stop on Lauren Milani’s 35-yard drive early in the second half.
“Our backline is pretty fresh,” Sterbenz said. “We only had Brooke returning.
“We have one from each grade – a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. Our communication has been really strong this year. With such short time playing together, I think we’ve done a really good job.”
It was solid against Neuqua Valley, which mustered only two corner kicks. The Wildcats had only one dangerous scoring chance. It came with 3:58 left in the first half.
Xaiver recruit Katelyn Nardulli launched a 25-yard free kick that appeared to be heading wide left, but Clark dove and knocked it to her right just to be sure.
But the ball went to Neuqua’s Arohi Mehta, whose short shot from the left side pinged the crossbar and came down outside the right post, where teammate Frannie Keene fired a rebound that went over the bar.
“Us four in the back, we just had to communicate as much as we can, and we have a good goalie behind us,” Sterbenz said. “Neuqua had some really strong players in the middle, so we just had to know who to mark.”
The main scoring threats for Neuqua Valley are senior midfielders Nardulli and Brooke Miller, who have combined to score half of the Wildcats’ 24 goals. That esteemed pair combined to squeeze off only three shots against Benet.
Douglas, who got the assist on senior forward Anne Warren’s goal with 40 seconds remaining in the second half, drew the job of guarding Miller, a major Division I prospect who has a team-high eight goals.
“I knew going into the game that she’s a really strong player, and she’s good when you give her space on the ball,” Douglas said. “The whole tactic was to be tight and close to her and shut her down so she couldn’t pass and couldn’t dribble around us.”
Mission accomplished.
“Our defense was really, really good today and so the fact that we were able to put a few away early helped a lot,” Cibulka said. “Our young players are doing a good job of stepping up.”
That has been the key to Benet’s success. Cibulka and Pullen are the only remaining starters from the 2019 state championship team.
“What’s so great about this team is the chemistry,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “It doesn’t matter who is in, who is (on the bench), everybody is fully into it from the very start.
“The energy is great. Any time anything good happens, everyone is cheering for each other. Any time anything bad happens, we all band together and figure it out.
“There were so many unknowns going into the season. So that speaks a lot to our seniors and our captains especially for just pulling everything together.”
Aside from Cibulka, Pullen and Neri, the seniors have been doing that while playing reserve roles. Warren, defenders Jackie McMahon and Ariana Hazemi and midfielder Christine Budd and Claire Simmons have helped out the eight underclass starters.
“It was a nice win,” Douglas said. “The other team was obviously really good, and it was exciting to beat them. It was a whole team effort, as it always is.”
Sterbenz, too, is psyched about how the team is playing as the state tournament nears.
“We’re such a new team,” Sterbenz said. “Some of the teams are returning so many players, but our starting lineup has only two seniors.
“It’s been really nice so far. Our goal the whole season is we just want to keep winning and keep getting stronger, and going against a strong team like Neuqua really encourages our team to get better and better.”
The Wildcats have one more game – at DuPage Valley Conference cellar dweller DeKalb on Tuesday – to get put things together before regional play begins next week. They have the talent to make a run but have yet to win back-to-back games this season.
“It wasn’t a great effort,” Moreau said. “I expected a little bit more from us.
“We were flat, but we got everyone in who was healthy, so that was good. We’re trying to get out of the game healthy. That’s what it came down to.”
Benet’s 2019 state title came in Class AA. The Redwings have been moved up to 3A but are just as determined to keep on winning. They are the top seed at the Morton Sectional, meaning they will host their first four playoff games, provided they keep advancing.
“We definitely have a lot of potential,” Cibulka said. “Having played in the tournament, (I know) it’s so unpredictable.
“It takes a lot of hard work, teamwork and luck. We’re ready, and I think we do have what it takes, so we’re going to go back to work and get ready.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Shannon Clark
D Brooke Pullen
D Sadie Sterbenz
D Annastacia Thiel
D Nora Hanson
M Brinkley Douglas
M Mariana Pinto
M Katie Lewellyan
F Jaimee Cibulka
F Anna Casmere
F Paige Neri
Neuqua Valley
GK Tara Tesmond
D Lauryn Adamski
D Kassie Salviola
D Maya Stone
D Lauren Milani
M Brooke Miller
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Abby Michalczyk
M Frannie Keen
M Maddy McGrath
F Arohi Mehta
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jaimee Cibulka, sr., F, Benet.
Scoring summary
First half
Benet – Jaimee Cibulka (Paige Neri) 22:17
Benet – Cibulka 12:45
Second half
Benet – Anne Warren (Brinkley Douglas) :40
after taking down Neuqua Valley
Cibulka knocks home 2 more in 3-0 victory
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- With her team one win away from a perfect regular-season, Benet star Jaimee Cibulka was asked if she and her teammates had thought that possible when the season began.
“I don’t think you ever strive for a perfect season,” Cibulka said. “It doesn’t happen all that much.
“In the grand scheme of things, losses are something that teams can learn from and build from, so the goal is never to be perfect. But it’s just worked out that way, and we’ve done a good job of coming back even if we are down early.”
Cibulka is right on both counts. Since the IHSA-sanctioned girls soccer startednin 1988, only 11 teams across all classes have recorded unbeaten and untied seasons.
Two of them were coached by current Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau, who guided St. Charles to five-straight state titles between 1995-99. Moreau got a good look at the Redwings on Monday, when Cibulka scored the first two goals in a 3-0 win over the host Wildcats.
Benet (14-0-0) can cap a perfect regular season by beating Marist on Wednesday in Chicago.
“They’re a good team,” Moreau said. “They have speed, and speed is deadly.”
Cibulka is especially speedy and has been consistently deadly all season. She was at it again against the Wildcats, putting the host side in a 2-0 with her 17th and 18th goals.
The first came with 22:17 remaining in the first half. Paige Neri was dumped just outside the box but managed to pass the ball to her right to Cibulka, who used a lightning-fast first step to gain separation and sped into the box before scoring on a low 15-yard liner.
“I think it was a foul, probably, but we always want to play on and try to make the most of every opportunity,” Cibulka said. “She did a good job of getting it to me, and I was able to find the back of the net on that.
Cibulka did it again nine minutes later, bursting into the box alone. Neuqua goalkeeper Tara Tesmond made a great, diving save to block Cibulka’s shot from point-blank range, but she pounced on the rebound and tapped it in.
“My teammates are really good at isolating me. So when I can take players on 1-on-1, it helps to create an unbalanced attack or we can switch the ball really quick,” Cibulka said. “It’s just hard to predict what’s going to happen.”
But it’s easy to predict what will happen when Cibulka scores. She has tallied her team’s first goal of the game eight times this spring and twice has notched the first two.
“It’s awesome because I’m very confident when we’re able to play balls through over the top, that she’s going to get there,” Benet midfielder Brinkley Douglas said.
“Especially when she does score, it turns the game around. I know that when we get that lead, we want keep that advantage and keep going hard.”
The Redwings did that again against the Wildcats (5-9-1), who rested their starters in the second half as planned. But even with the first team on the field, Neuqua could not mount an effective attack against Benet, which recorded its second-straight shutout and seventh of the season.
The Redwings, who are ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, got another solid effort from their backline of senior Brooke Pullen, junior Annastacia Thiel, sophomore Sadie Sterbenz and freshman Nora Hanson, which held the Wildcats to 10 shots. Among sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Clark’s five saves was a leaping stop on Lauren Milani’s 35-yard drive early in the second half.
“Our backline is pretty fresh,” Sterbenz said. “We only had Brooke returning.
“We have one from each grade – a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. Our communication has been really strong this year. With such short time playing together, I think we’ve done a really good job.”
It was solid against Neuqua Valley, which mustered only two corner kicks. The Wildcats had only one dangerous scoring chance. It came with 3:58 left in the first half.
Xaiver recruit Katelyn Nardulli launched a 25-yard free kick that appeared to be heading wide left, but Clark dove and knocked it to her right just to be sure.
But the ball went to Neuqua’s Arohi Mehta, whose short shot from the left side pinged the crossbar and came down outside the right post, where teammate Frannie Keene fired a rebound that went over the bar.
“Us four in the back, we just had to communicate as much as we can, and we have a good goalie behind us,” Sterbenz said. “Neuqua had some really strong players in the middle, so we just had to know who to mark.”
The main scoring threats for Neuqua Valley are senior midfielders Nardulli and Brooke Miller, who have combined to score half of the Wildcats’ 24 goals. That esteemed pair combined to squeeze off only three shots against Benet.
Douglas, who got the assist on senior forward Anne Warren’s goal with 40 seconds remaining in the second half, drew the job of guarding Miller, a major Division I prospect who has a team-high eight goals.
“I knew going into the game that she’s a really strong player, and she’s good when you give her space on the ball,” Douglas said. “The whole tactic was to be tight and close to her and shut her down so she couldn’t pass and couldn’t dribble around us.”
Mission accomplished.
“Our defense was really, really good today and so the fact that we were able to put a few away early helped a lot,” Cibulka said. “Our young players are doing a good job of stepping up.”
That has been the key to Benet’s success. Cibulka and Pullen are the only remaining starters from the 2019 state championship team.
“What’s so great about this team is the chemistry,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “It doesn’t matter who is in, who is (on the bench), everybody is fully into it from the very start.
“The energy is great. Any time anything good happens, everyone is cheering for each other. Any time anything bad happens, we all band together and figure it out.
“There were so many unknowns going into the season. So that speaks a lot to our seniors and our captains especially for just pulling everything together.”
Aside from Cibulka, Pullen and Neri, the seniors have been doing that while playing reserve roles. Warren, defenders Jackie McMahon and Ariana Hazemi and midfielder Christine Budd and Claire Simmons have helped out the eight underclass starters.
“It was a nice win,” Douglas said. “The other team was obviously really good, and it was exciting to beat them. It was a whole team effort, as it always is.”
Sterbenz, too, is psyched about how the team is playing as the state tournament nears.
“We’re such a new team,” Sterbenz said. “Some of the teams are returning so many players, but our starting lineup has only two seniors.
“It’s been really nice so far. Our goal the whole season is we just want to keep winning and keep getting stronger, and going against a strong team like Neuqua really encourages our team to get better and better.”
The Wildcats have one more game – at DuPage Valley Conference cellar dweller DeKalb on Tuesday – to get put things together before regional play begins next week. They have the talent to make a run but have yet to win back-to-back games this season.
“It wasn’t a great effort,” Moreau said. “I expected a little bit more from us.
“We were flat, but we got everyone in who was healthy, so that was good. We’re trying to get out of the game healthy. That’s what it came down to.”
Benet’s 2019 state title came in Class AA. The Redwings have been moved up to 3A but are just as determined to keep on winning. They are the top seed at the Morton Sectional, meaning they will host their first four playoff games, provided they keep advancing.
“We definitely have a lot of potential,” Cibulka said. “Having played in the tournament, (I know) it’s so unpredictable.
“It takes a lot of hard work, teamwork and luck. We’re ready, and I think we do have what it takes, so we’re going to go back to work and get ready.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Shannon Clark
D Brooke Pullen
D Sadie Sterbenz
D Annastacia Thiel
D Nora Hanson
M Brinkley Douglas
M Mariana Pinto
M Katie Lewellyan
F Jaimee Cibulka
F Anna Casmere
F Paige Neri
Neuqua Valley
GK Tara Tesmond
D Lauryn Adamski
D Kassie Salviola
D Maya Stone
D Lauren Milani
M Brooke Miller
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Abby Michalczyk
M Frannie Keen
M Maddy McGrath
F Arohi Mehta
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jaimee Cibulka, sr., F, Benet.
Scoring summary
First half
Benet – Jaimee Cibulka (Paige Neri) 22:17
Benet – Cibulka 12:45
Second half
Benet – Anne Warren (Brinkley Douglas) :40