Benet gets the break,
tops Wheaton Academy
Redwings win nonconference tilt 1-0 on 73rd-minute own-goal
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – So little separated Benet and host Wheaton Academy on Saturday that one got the feeling that a single great play or mistake would decide the outcome.
The latter is exactly what happened.
Mariana Pinto’s cross into the middle of the penalty area was inadvertently volleyed into the net by a Wheaton Academy defender with 7:39 remaining in the second half and that was all Benet, which is ranked 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, needed to escape with a 1-0 victory.
“That’s why we love coming to Wheaton Academy,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “Because the game is always fast-paced, it’s really good soccer, close games.”
This one truly could have gone either way. Both teams were dangerous and each had some quality chances, but for the most part the defenses cancelled each attack in impressive fashion.
Wheaton Academy doesn’t have the depth of high-end talent that Benet does, but the Warriors (3-2-0) were stingy in limiting the Redwings (3-0-0) to only three shots. That made the loss tough to swallow.
“That hurts,” Wheaton Academy coach Maria Selvaggio said. “There was so much good work and one little mistake.”
Indeed, the Warriors outshot the Redwings 9-3, forcing Benet goalkeeper Shannon Clark to make six saves. Wheaton Academy’s play on the backline was a revelation; they held Loyola-bound winger Jaimee Cibulka to just two shots.
“We managed (Cibulka) really well,” Selvaggio said. “We know she’s fast. We know she’s good on the ball.
“We said, ‘Keep her in front of you, you don’t need to overcommit. If she’s flying by her, try to meet her in space, don’t just follow behind her.’
“So I think we managed her really well, but they’re good. They’re great on the ball; they have speed on the wings.
“Our job is to be organized. I’m thrilled with how we managed that and disrupted the flow of any attack that they were trying to build.”
Olivet Nazarene-bound senior defender Kelsey Bowling drew the unenviable assignment of tracking Cibulka, who did get around the left end on several occasions but barely missed on a pair of shots and had other forays cut off by center defenders.
“She’s definitely a very good player,” Bowling said. “Respect to her for that.
“It was a great challenge. It was super fun to go up against a good player.
“The most important thing that my coaches kept telling me was to keep her in front of you, make sure you see and the ball. And they said to make sure you are talking to other teammates. So, we just had to play as a team.”
That effort left the visitors impressed.
“They were a great team,” Benet co-captain Brooke Pullen said. “If you can guard Jaimee Cibulka, props to you. That’s hard.”
The Redwings have had a hard time scoring so far this season. They’ve won three-consecutive, one-goal games largely on the strength of their defense. Benet has scored four goals but has yet to allow a goal in the run of play, yielding only a penalty kick to Naperville Central in a 2-1 season-opening win.
“I feel like finishing is our main thing right now,” Pullen said. “We’ve just got to focus on that.
“We have a lot of speed. We can get into the final third, and we have good sequences with ball movement. I think just finishing is what we need to work on.”
Sophomore Rachel Burns tried her best to bolster that effort. She sprung Cibulka with several accurate lead passes and also launched a dangerous 33-yard free kick from the left wing with 6:45 to go in the first half that was corralled by Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Sara Swoboda before Pullen could get to it on the near post.
“I thought both teams played really hard,” Burns said. “We were missing Katie Lewellyan in the middle for the first half.
“She’s playing on an injury, so some people were playing out of position, playing all over the midfield. I still think we played really well.
“I think it was a good match between both teams. We just came out with a win today.”
Pullen, usually a right back, shifted to center back for this match and led a great effort that kept the Warriors out of the box for the most part. Most of Wheaton Academy’s chances came from distance, especially on free kicks.
Leading scorer Kelly Bickhart sent three free kicks over the crossbar in the second half, including a 37-yarder that missed by inches with 1:40 to go. An Emily Setran 20-yard rocket went right at Clark at the 16:30 mark.
Selvaggio was pleased, though not surprised, with Wheaton Academy’s effort in their home opener.
“Our girls are hungry,” Selvaggio said. “This is our first home game in 700 days.
“Some girls have never played a home game here, so they were hungry. They knew they had to play their best today, and I think they did.
“To find the net, we’ve got to continue to press and work on that, get on the end of crosses, follow up shots. But they played awesome. I’m thrilled with the way they played.”
So were the players, despite the loss.
“It was super fun,” said Bowling, who has played varsity since she was a freshman. “Benet is a great opponent.
“We do love playing them. It was just great to be back here with the team at our home place.”
For Benet, the 2019 Class AA state champions, this season provides new challenges. The Redwings are competing in Class 3A now and have only four players remaining from the title team, including Pullen and Cibulka.
“We have a lot of skill this year,” Pullen said. “I think we can make it pretty far.
“I’m pretty excited that we have a state playoff. But it’s good just to be back.”
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 Rachel Burns
F Jaimee Cibulka
F Anna Casmere
F Paige Neri
Wheaton Academy
GK Sara Swoboda
D Sarah VanderKlok
D Jillian Paulson
D Olivia Crane
D Kelsey Bowling
M Lily Lebo
M Grace Platt
M Amy Alexander
M Emily Setran
F Kelly Bickhart
F Eva De Souza
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Brooke Pullen, D, Benet.
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Benet – own-goal (Pinto) 7:39 remaining
tops Wheaton Academy
Redwings win nonconference tilt 1-0 on 73rd-minute own-goal
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – So little separated Benet and host Wheaton Academy on Saturday that one got the feeling that a single great play or mistake would decide the outcome.
The latter is exactly what happened.
Mariana Pinto’s cross into the middle of the penalty area was inadvertently volleyed into the net by a Wheaton Academy defender with 7:39 remaining in the second half and that was all Benet, which is ranked 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, needed to escape with a 1-0 victory.
“That’s why we love coming to Wheaton Academy,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “Because the game is always fast-paced, it’s really good soccer, close games.”
This one truly could have gone either way. Both teams were dangerous and each had some quality chances, but for the most part the defenses cancelled each attack in impressive fashion.
Wheaton Academy doesn’t have the depth of high-end talent that Benet does, but the Warriors (3-2-0) were stingy in limiting the Redwings (3-0-0) to only three shots. That made the loss tough to swallow.
“That hurts,” Wheaton Academy coach Maria Selvaggio said. “There was so much good work and one little mistake.”
Indeed, the Warriors outshot the Redwings 9-3, forcing Benet goalkeeper Shannon Clark to make six saves. Wheaton Academy’s play on the backline was a revelation; they held Loyola-bound winger Jaimee Cibulka to just two shots.
“We managed (Cibulka) really well,” Selvaggio said. “We know she’s fast. We know she’s good on the ball.
“We said, ‘Keep her in front of you, you don’t need to overcommit. If she’s flying by her, try to meet her in space, don’t just follow behind her.’
“So I think we managed her really well, but they’re good. They’re great on the ball; they have speed on the wings.
“Our job is to be organized. I’m thrilled with how we managed that and disrupted the flow of any attack that they were trying to build.”
Olivet Nazarene-bound senior defender Kelsey Bowling drew the unenviable assignment of tracking Cibulka, who did get around the left end on several occasions but barely missed on a pair of shots and had other forays cut off by center defenders.
“She’s definitely a very good player,” Bowling said. “Respect to her for that.
“It was a great challenge. It was super fun to go up against a good player.
“The most important thing that my coaches kept telling me was to keep her in front of you, make sure you see and the ball. And they said to make sure you are talking to other teammates. So, we just had to play as a team.”
That effort left the visitors impressed.
“They were a great team,” Benet co-captain Brooke Pullen said. “If you can guard Jaimee Cibulka, props to you. That’s hard.”
The Redwings have had a hard time scoring so far this season. They’ve won three-consecutive, one-goal games largely on the strength of their defense. Benet has scored four goals but has yet to allow a goal in the run of play, yielding only a penalty kick to Naperville Central in a 2-1 season-opening win.
“I feel like finishing is our main thing right now,” Pullen said. “We’ve just got to focus on that.
“We have a lot of speed. We can get into the final third, and we have good sequences with ball movement. I think just finishing is what we need to work on.”
Sophomore Rachel Burns tried her best to bolster that effort. She sprung Cibulka with several accurate lead passes and also launched a dangerous 33-yard free kick from the left wing with 6:45 to go in the first half that was corralled by Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Sara Swoboda before Pullen could get to it on the near post.
“I thought both teams played really hard,” Burns said. “We were missing Katie Lewellyan in the middle for the first half.
“She’s playing on an injury, so some people were playing out of position, playing all over the midfield. I still think we played really well.
“I think it was a good match between both teams. We just came out with a win today.”
Pullen, usually a right back, shifted to center back for this match and led a great effort that kept the Warriors out of the box for the most part. Most of Wheaton Academy’s chances came from distance, especially on free kicks.
Leading scorer Kelly Bickhart sent three free kicks over the crossbar in the second half, including a 37-yarder that missed by inches with 1:40 to go. An Emily Setran 20-yard rocket went right at Clark at the 16:30 mark.
Selvaggio was pleased, though not surprised, with Wheaton Academy’s effort in their home opener.
“Our girls are hungry,” Selvaggio said. “This is our first home game in 700 days.
“Some girls have never played a home game here, so they were hungry. They knew they had to play their best today, and I think they did.
“To find the net, we’ve got to continue to press and work on that, get on the end of crosses, follow up shots. But they played awesome. I’m thrilled with the way they played.”
So were the players, despite the loss.
“It was super fun,” said Bowling, who has played varsity since she was a freshman. “Benet is a great opponent.
“We do love playing them. It was just great to be back here with the team at our home place.”
For Benet, the 2019 Class AA state champions, this season provides new challenges. The Redwings are competing in Class 3A now and have only four players remaining from the title team, including Pullen and Cibulka.
“We have a lot of skill this year,” Pullen said. “I think we can make it pretty far.
“I’m pretty excited that we have a state playoff. But it’s good just to be back.”
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 Rachel Burns
F Jaimee Cibulka
F Anna Casmere
F Paige Neri
Wheaton Academy
GK Sara Swoboda
D Sarah VanderKlok
D Jillian Paulson
D Olivia Crane
D Kelsey Bowling
M Lily Lebo
M Grace Platt
M Amy Alexander
M Emily Setran
F Kelly Bickhart
F Eva De Souza
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Brooke Pullen, D, Benet.
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Benet – own-goal (Pinto) 7:39 remaining