Benet takes key decision over St. Patrick
Redwings stay perfect with 2-1 ESCC win; Haenicke nets brace
By Mike Garofola
CHICAGO -- Benet will stay atop the East Suburban Catholic Conference standings with an exciting 2-1 victory over league rival St. Patrick on Monday night at Read-Dunning Stadium.
Senior Hans Haenicke orchestrated the Redwings (8-1-0, 6-0-0) victory with an effort that was a near a perfect 10. He had one of those games in which nearly everything that came off of his powerful left foot was dangerous, purposeful and a joy to watch.
"After the Saint Viator game, I said that our rivalry with St. Patrick was bigger than any other opponent in the conference. We knew this would be a battle with them tonight. It took a great team effort to come out of here with the result we were after," said Haenicke, who in his last five games has bagged seven goals.
The game was a blistering, breathless 80-minute encounter between the league’s most powerful teams over the past few seasons, which have dominated the league table and won state trophies.
An absolute gorgeous night for soccer awaited Benet and St. Patrick at the Shamrocks wonderful new stadium. From the opening whistle, the fans on hand knew this was the perfect place to be entertained by top-level soccer.
Haenicke by himself was far too much for the Shamrocks (6-3-0, 5-2-0) to handle in the first quarter hour. He and St. Patrick star center back, Narcizo Ibarra themselves wee involved in intense, but clean altercations whether challenging for a 50/50 ball or Ibarra going in on the tackle.
“No. 25 (Haenicke) is big and strong and has a great left foot,” said Shamrocks co-captain Ibarra. “He and I had to go at each other for most of the night in order for us to try to keep him under control."
The Haenicke pressure up-top, along with help from Preston Wray, Sam Hepburn and Nico Picha, kept the Shamrocks in their own end. The quartet did its best to compensate for the season-ending loss to injury of its talented four-year star Chris Mankowski.
"It's brutal that both Chris and our starting keeper Evan Lucas are both gone for the year due to injuries. We miss them both in so many ways. So tonight and for the rest of the way, we'll need other players to fill in their spots in our lineup," said Redwings manager, Sean Wesley, who deployed senior Nolan Hart between the sticks for Lucas.
"Nolan was amazing in there for Evan tonight. It helps that he's a senior, who has plenty of confidence, and is playing behind a great backline."
Both defensive units were at their collective best all throughout the night: Anthony Klos, Owen McGarry, Nick Roe, and Zach Serafin for the visitors; and Ben Elvira, Xavi Gamez, Ivan Guerrero and Ibarra for St. Patrick.
"Elvira and Guerrero were our outside backs, and they played their best games of the season. Xavi, our sophomore center back was just as good, not for just for the goal he scored, but also for his defensive play," began St. Patrick manager Kyle McClure.
"We actually implemented a new formation just for this game after watching Benet the other day beating Marist.
"We played with four defenders, but this time with a stopper (Gamez)/sweeper (Ibarra) look, then with three central midfielders (Jake Lane, Conor Day and Jason Torres) knowing that we had to give something to Benet (and) decided it would be the outsides in the center third."
The Shamrocks also employed two attacking midfielders and lone forward Jaden Buelvas.
That tactics brought a Benet response.
"We were playing a little too much left-handed soccer in the first half. One of the things we talked about doing after the break was for me to get wider with the hope of creating more space for others when we attacked," offered Haenicke.
St. Patrick keeper Bryant Alvarez was quick to sense trouble when he challenged off the line bravely to smother a corner sent into his box by Andy Nash in the 27th minute. On the other end a Jason Torres-Sebastian Estrada counter was snuffed out by a well-played tackle from Serafin, who was terrific all night long from his spot in the center of the Benet backline.
Haenicke stunned the home side with his first of his two goals at 47 minutes. The brilliant individual effort came after Wray initiated play on a free kick 30 yards away from the St. Patrick end line.
As if held in space by a fine thin piece of string, Haenicke unleashed a left-footed side half-volley that forced the net to stretch far behind the goal standard.
"We struggled in the first half,” Wesley said. “It was kind of chippy at times, and we didn't always deal real well with the physical aspect of the game. Hans' great goal coming out of the break gave us a big lift."
The chippy play Wesley spoke of was due in part to some rough play that was allowed to continue too long. The intensity was brought up a notch by the tactical approach McClure and his staff encouraged.
"Our plan was to play as physical as possible," said McClure. “We tried to get them out of their game as much as we could with a lot of pressure on the ball to force them into the center of the park to gain a numerical advantage and keep fresh legs out there to keep our intensity at its highest level.
"Everything went according to plan. I feel like we played a tremendous game of soccer but still lost a close one, which is a testament to just how good a team Sean has."
Gamez hit the equalizer at 58 minutes when he thumped his left-footed one-timer past a helpless-Hart, who had no time to react to the short-range blast.
After the Gamez equalizer, the energy and urgency from both clubs went even higher.
After that point, two more bookings came from the center official, who gave out five yellow cards on the night.
Both clubs went in search of the go-ahead goal, with the visitors creating more trouble than their hosts during the final quarter hour.
An Anthony Klos free kick toward the back post was a little too heavy for Wray who ran freely onto the serve in the 73rd minute.
Hepburn rattled the back post with his free kick attempt three minutes later.
Haenicke netted the game-winner when he ran hard from the left side to the six-yard box where he met an inch-perfect cross from Roe, who beat his man to the end line and whipped in the helper two minutes from time.
"It was tough out there tonight,” said Roe. “(There) was little time and space on the ball. We held up as best as we could, and when I saw their keeper coming off his line, I just played the ball through and into the box for Hans, who is always there when we need him to be."
"It was all about getting in position to receive the ball, and just making sure that I stayed composed," added Haenicke.
"Like I said, it wasn't our best performance of the year, and St. Patrick had something to do with that. Nonetheless, I was proud of our effort, and with the way we held up during a very physical 80 minutes of soccer," said Wesley, who has a short chat with Ibarra afterward.
"I told no. 4 (Ibarra) that I was impressed with his game and was hoping he would go on and play in college, where I think he would do very well."
"Coach Wesley is a classy guy,” aid Ibarra. “It was nice of him to come up to me afterwards and compliment me on my game and the effort of our team.
"It was a close game for sure, but I thought our young guys kind of came of age tonight against the Class AA state champs, who have a so many talented players.
"(They) hadn't given up any goals in conference this season, so I am proud of the fact that we were the first to do so."
St. Patrick has benefitted from its star defender.
"We were thrilled when we found out Narcizo was coming to St. Pat’s. From that first day here, he immediately went into the weight room, began to lift to get stronger, worked on his fitness, and did everything he could to make him a better all-around player," said assistant coach Melchor Castro.
"He's a great leader and central defender, and he's well respected. He'll be impossible to replace next fall.”
Starting lineups
Benet (4-3-3)
G- Nolan Hart
D- Nick Roe
D- Anthony Klos
D- Zach Serafin
D- Owen McGarry
M- Nico Picha
M- Sam Hepburn
M- Daniel Pepping
F- Hans Haenicke
F- Preston Wray
F- Brendan Forsythe
St. Patrick (4-5-1)
G- Bryant Alvarez
D- Ben Elvira
D- Xavi Gamez
D- Narcizo Ibarra
D- Ivan Guerrero
M- Jake Lane
M- Conor Day
M- Jason Torres
M- Rafael Rios
M- Sebastian Estrada
F- Jaden Buelvas
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Hans Haenicke, sr., F, Benet; Narcizo Ibarra, sr., D, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Benet: Haenicke (Hepburn) 47'
St. Patrick: Gamez (Guererro) 58'
Benet: Haenicke (Roe, Klos) 78'
Redwings stay perfect with 2-1 ESCC win; Haenicke nets brace
By Mike Garofola
CHICAGO -- Benet will stay atop the East Suburban Catholic Conference standings with an exciting 2-1 victory over league rival St. Patrick on Monday night at Read-Dunning Stadium.
Senior Hans Haenicke orchestrated the Redwings (8-1-0, 6-0-0) victory with an effort that was a near a perfect 10. He had one of those games in which nearly everything that came off of his powerful left foot was dangerous, purposeful and a joy to watch.
"After the Saint Viator game, I said that our rivalry with St. Patrick was bigger than any other opponent in the conference. We knew this would be a battle with them tonight. It took a great team effort to come out of here with the result we were after," said Haenicke, who in his last five games has bagged seven goals.
The game was a blistering, breathless 80-minute encounter between the league’s most powerful teams over the past few seasons, which have dominated the league table and won state trophies.
An absolute gorgeous night for soccer awaited Benet and St. Patrick at the Shamrocks wonderful new stadium. From the opening whistle, the fans on hand knew this was the perfect place to be entertained by top-level soccer.
Haenicke by himself was far too much for the Shamrocks (6-3-0, 5-2-0) to handle in the first quarter hour. He and St. Patrick star center back, Narcizo Ibarra themselves wee involved in intense, but clean altercations whether challenging for a 50/50 ball or Ibarra going in on the tackle.
“No. 25 (Haenicke) is big and strong and has a great left foot,” said Shamrocks co-captain Ibarra. “He and I had to go at each other for most of the night in order for us to try to keep him under control."
The Haenicke pressure up-top, along with help from Preston Wray, Sam Hepburn and Nico Picha, kept the Shamrocks in their own end. The quartet did its best to compensate for the season-ending loss to injury of its talented four-year star Chris Mankowski.
"It's brutal that both Chris and our starting keeper Evan Lucas are both gone for the year due to injuries. We miss them both in so many ways. So tonight and for the rest of the way, we'll need other players to fill in their spots in our lineup," said Redwings manager, Sean Wesley, who deployed senior Nolan Hart between the sticks for Lucas.
"Nolan was amazing in there for Evan tonight. It helps that he's a senior, who has plenty of confidence, and is playing behind a great backline."
Both defensive units were at their collective best all throughout the night: Anthony Klos, Owen McGarry, Nick Roe, and Zach Serafin for the visitors; and Ben Elvira, Xavi Gamez, Ivan Guerrero and Ibarra for St. Patrick.
"Elvira and Guerrero were our outside backs, and they played their best games of the season. Xavi, our sophomore center back was just as good, not for just for the goal he scored, but also for his defensive play," began St. Patrick manager Kyle McClure.
"We actually implemented a new formation just for this game after watching Benet the other day beating Marist.
"We played with four defenders, but this time with a stopper (Gamez)/sweeper (Ibarra) look, then with three central midfielders (Jake Lane, Conor Day and Jason Torres) knowing that we had to give something to Benet (and) decided it would be the outsides in the center third."
The Shamrocks also employed two attacking midfielders and lone forward Jaden Buelvas.
That tactics brought a Benet response.
"We were playing a little too much left-handed soccer in the first half. One of the things we talked about doing after the break was for me to get wider with the hope of creating more space for others when we attacked," offered Haenicke.
St. Patrick keeper Bryant Alvarez was quick to sense trouble when he challenged off the line bravely to smother a corner sent into his box by Andy Nash in the 27th minute. On the other end a Jason Torres-Sebastian Estrada counter was snuffed out by a well-played tackle from Serafin, who was terrific all night long from his spot in the center of the Benet backline.
Haenicke stunned the home side with his first of his two goals at 47 minutes. The brilliant individual effort came after Wray initiated play on a free kick 30 yards away from the St. Patrick end line.
As if held in space by a fine thin piece of string, Haenicke unleashed a left-footed side half-volley that forced the net to stretch far behind the goal standard.
"We struggled in the first half,” Wesley said. “It was kind of chippy at times, and we didn't always deal real well with the physical aspect of the game. Hans' great goal coming out of the break gave us a big lift."
The chippy play Wesley spoke of was due in part to some rough play that was allowed to continue too long. The intensity was brought up a notch by the tactical approach McClure and his staff encouraged.
"Our plan was to play as physical as possible," said McClure. “We tried to get them out of their game as much as we could with a lot of pressure on the ball to force them into the center of the park to gain a numerical advantage and keep fresh legs out there to keep our intensity at its highest level.
"Everything went according to plan. I feel like we played a tremendous game of soccer but still lost a close one, which is a testament to just how good a team Sean has."
Gamez hit the equalizer at 58 minutes when he thumped his left-footed one-timer past a helpless-Hart, who had no time to react to the short-range blast.
After the Gamez equalizer, the energy and urgency from both clubs went even higher.
After that point, two more bookings came from the center official, who gave out five yellow cards on the night.
Both clubs went in search of the go-ahead goal, with the visitors creating more trouble than their hosts during the final quarter hour.
An Anthony Klos free kick toward the back post was a little too heavy for Wray who ran freely onto the serve in the 73rd minute.
Hepburn rattled the back post with his free kick attempt three minutes later.
Haenicke netted the game-winner when he ran hard from the left side to the six-yard box where he met an inch-perfect cross from Roe, who beat his man to the end line and whipped in the helper two minutes from time.
"It was tough out there tonight,” said Roe. “(There) was little time and space on the ball. We held up as best as we could, and when I saw their keeper coming off his line, I just played the ball through and into the box for Hans, who is always there when we need him to be."
"It was all about getting in position to receive the ball, and just making sure that I stayed composed," added Haenicke.
"Like I said, it wasn't our best performance of the year, and St. Patrick had something to do with that. Nonetheless, I was proud of our effort, and with the way we held up during a very physical 80 minutes of soccer," said Wesley, who has a short chat with Ibarra afterward.
"I told no. 4 (Ibarra) that I was impressed with his game and was hoping he would go on and play in college, where I think he would do very well."
"Coach Wesley is a classy guy,” aid Ibarra. “It was nice of him to come up to me afterwards and compliment me on my game and the effort of our team.
"It was a close game for sure, but I thought our young guys kind of came of age tonight against the Class AA state champs, who have a so many talented players.
"(They) hadn't given up any goals in conference this season, so I am proud of the fact that we were the first to do so."
St. Patrick has benefitted from its star defender.
"We were thrilled when we found out Narcizo was coming to St. Pat’s. From that first day here, he immediately went into the weight room, began to lift to get stronger, worked on his fitness, and did everything he could to make him a better all-around player," said assistant coach Melchor Castro.
"He's a great leader and central defender, and he's well respected. He'll be impossible to replace next fall.”
Starting lineups
Benet (4-3-3)
G- Nolan Hart
D- Nick Roe
D- Anthony Klos
D- Zach Serafin
D- Owen McGarry
M- Nico Picha
M- Sam Hepburn
M- Daniel Pepping
F- Hans Haenicke
F- Preston Wray
F- Brendan Forsythe
St. Patrick (4-5-1)
G- Bryant Alvarez
D- Ben Elvira
D- Xavi Gamez
D- Narcizo Ibarra
D- Ivan Guerrero
M- Jake Lane
M- Conor Day
M- Jason Torres
M- Rafael Rios
M- Sebastian Estrada
F- Jaden Buelvas
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Hans Haenicke, sr., F, Benet; Narcizo Ibarra, sr., D, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Benet: Haenicke (Hepburn) 47'
St. Patrick: Gamez (Guererro) 58'
Benet: Haenicke (Roe, Klos) 78'