Benet soars past Wheaton North
Casmere’s 2nd half goals lift visitors to 3-1 win
By Matt LeCren
WHEATON -- Dani Pullen found a great way to kick off her varsity career and Benet’s season on Wednesday night.
The sophomore defender/midfielder didn’t start, but it didn’t take long for her to make an impact after taking the field for the first time.
Pullen tallied the Redwings’ first goal of the season on her first career shot. It came at the end of tumultuous scrum that saw about a half-dozen of her teammates take a whack at a loose ball in front of the Wheaton North net.
Pullen’s shot from six yards went through the crowd and under goalkeeper Ava Lynch with 7:14 left in the first half and gave Benet the lead.
Wheaton North tied it on a goal from Kailee Sowers in the second half, but junior Abby Casmere answered by scoring twice to give Benet a 3-1 victory at the Wheaton North Kickoff Tournament.
But the buzz afterward was who scored the first goal. Kate Flynn sent a corner kick into a crowd in the crease and the Falcons desperately tried to clear it while the Redwings applied pressure. Several shots were blocked by defenders before the ball found Pullen.
“It was a really good cross in and there was just a lot of chaos in the box,” Pullen said. “I think everyone just tried to get a touch on it.
“Everyone tried really hard, and I just happened to be the one to get the last touch for the goal.”
Pullen was up in the box because of her height. She did use her head on the play, just not in the way everyone anticipated.
“It’s about taking advantage of your opportunities,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “She was in the game for maybe a minute, and she scrapped.
“She’s been doing a great job in practice just as far as the corner kicks go. She’s a tall kid; she was able to judge the ball; and she just kind of scrapped it, got it with the body and was able to put it in.”
The Redwings (1-0-0) have a slew of players who can put the ball in the back of the net. Pullen gives them yet another potential weapon.
“I think that’s really good,” Casmere said. “I’m so proud of her.”
Pullen is going to have to scrap for playing time on a deep team that has a wealth of experience and talent. Benet has three strong forwards in Casmere, Erin Flynn and Mia Tommasone and a solid midfield led by Maddie Becker and Grace Girard.
But she’s not worried about fitting in.
“I love it,” Pullen said. “All the older girls, especially Abby and all the seniors, are super nice and just really welcomed me to the team.
“I know they’re all trying to help me get better, and it’s really easy to play with them because they’re all so good.”
The Redwings showed that in the second half, recovering nicely after the Falcons (0-1-0) scored the equalizer after intercepting a clearing attempt. Abby Atkinson’s beautiful lead pass split two defenders and found Sowers cutting through the middle of the box.
Sowers took a touch and buried a short shot into the lower right corner of the net at the 28:10 mark.
Oconer wasn’t surprised to see Wheaton North tie up what had been a pretty evenly played game up until that point.
“We knew that based off of the first half that the first 10 minutes (of the second half) were going to be very dangerous for us because they’re a big, strong, athletic team,” Oconer said. “At the beginning of the game, first 10 minutes of the first half and first 10 minutes of the second half they won every ball in the midfield.
“It was hard for us to get out. They were able to capitalize on a poor clearance, and they buried their chance.”
But it didn’t take long for the Redwings to respond. Crafting some nifty give-and-gos up the sideline with her teammates, Casmere started to create havoc for the Wheaton North defense.
It paid off just 1:51 after Sowers scored. Tommasone found Casmere open near the top of the box, and Casmere buried a left-footed 17-yard shot into the upper 90 for a 2-1 lead.
“(After Sowers’ goal) we talked about (how) you have to be the first one to score, and that’s how we’re going to set the tone,” Casmere said. “'This is our game, we’re just going to go hard and play together and play well.'”
The Redwings did just that. Three minutes after getting the go-ahead goal, Casmere struck again -- this time as a result of a great feed from Flynn. The pass found Casmere in stride for a quick finish at the 23:10 mark.
“We’ve worked on different creative runs in practice, and I think that was important,” Casmere said. “We all knew (the plays) up in the top line.
“We knew we had to work together, and I’m really proud of everyone and kind of surprised at how well we did.”
Oconer wasn’t.
“That’s what we’re fully capable of doing,” he said.
The Falcons tried to fight back and earned two dangerous free kicks. But Benet goalie Eva Frantzen stopped a 29-yard drive from Anna Warfield with 12:30 remaining, then made a terrific diving stop on Kristen Szumski’s 28-yard attempt that was heading inside the left post with 6 minutes to go.
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Evan Frantzen
D Lauren Fischer
D Kate Flynn
D Mary Kate Hansen
D Clare Bumpus
M Maddie Becker
M Grace Girard
M Mia Ullmer
F Erin Flynn
F Abby Casmere
F Mia Tommasone
Wheaton North
GK Ava Lynch
D Jaden Trometer
D Kristen Szumski
D Kate Kortenhoeven
D Rachel Brady
D Hannah Swider
M Abby Atkinson
M Katie Goebel
F Rose Quinn
F Kailee Sowers
F Sammie Schomig
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Abby Casmere, jr., F, Benet.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Benet – Dani Pullen 7:14
2nd Half
Wheaton North – Kailee Sowers (Abby Atkinson) 28:10
Benet – Abby Casmere (Mia Tommasone) 26:19
Benet – Casmere (Erin Flynn) 23:10
Casmere’s 2nd half goals lift visitors to 3-1 win
By Matt LeCren
WHEATON -- Dani Pullen found a great way to kick off her varsity career and Benet’s season on Wednesday night.
The sophomore defender/midfielder didn’t start, but it didn’t take long for her to make an impact after taking the field for the first time.
Pullen tallied the Redwings’ first goal of the season on her first career shot. It came at the end of tumultuous scrum that saw about a half-dozen of her teammates take a whack at a loose ball in front of the Wheaton North net.
Pullen’s shot from six yards went through the crowd and under goalkeeper Ava Lynch with 7:14 left in the first half and gave Benet the lead.
Wheaton North tied it on a goal from Kailee Sowers in the second half, but junior Abby Casmere answered by scoring twice to give Benet a 3-1 victory at the Wheaton North Kickoff Tournament.
But the buzz afterward was who scored the first goal. Kate Flynn sent a corner kick into a crowd in the crease and the Falcons desperately tried to clear it while the Redwings applied pressure. Several shots were blocked by defenders before the ball found Pullen.
“It was a really good cross in and there was just a lot of chaos in the box,” Pullen said. “I think everyone just tried to get a touch on it.
“Everyone tried really hard, and I just happened to be the one to get the last touch for the goal.”
Pullen was up in the box because of her height. She did use her head on the play, just not in the way everyone anticipated.
“It’s about taking advantage of your opportunities,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “She was in the game for maybe a minute, and she scrapped.
“She’s been doing a great job in practice just as far as the corner kicks go. She’s a tall kid; she was able to judge the ball; and she just kind of scrapped it, got it with the body and was able to put it in.”
The Redwings (1-0-0) have a slew of players who can put the ball in the back of the net. Pullen gives them yet another potential weapon.
“I think that’s really good,” Casmere said. “I’m so proud of her.”
Pullen is going to have to scrap for playing time on a deep team that has a wealth of experience and talent. Benet has three strong forwards in Casmere, Erin Flynn and Mia Tommasone and a solid midfield led by Maddie Becker and Grace Girard.
But she’s not worried about fitting in.
“I love it,” Pullen said. “All the older girls, especially Abby and all the seniors, are super nice and just really welcomed me to the team.
“I know they’re all trying to help me get better, and it’s really easy to play with them because they’re all so good.”
The Redwings showed that in the second half, recovering nicely after the Falcons (0-1-0) scored the equalizer after intercepting a clearing attempt. Abby Atkinson’s beautiful lead pass split two defenders and found Sowers cutting through the middle of the box.
Sowers took a touch and buried a short shot into the lower right corner of the net at the 28:10 mark.
Oconer wasn’t surprised to see Wheaton North tie up what had been a pretty evenly played game up until that point.
“We knew that based off of the first half that the first 10 minutes (of the second half) were going to be very dangerous for us because they’re a big, strong, athletic team,” Oconer said. “At the beginning of the game, first 10 minutes of the first half and first 10 minutes of the second half they won every ball in the midfield.
“It was hard for us to get out. They were able to capitalize on a poor clearance, and they buried their chance.”
But it didn’t take long for the Redwings to respond. Crafting some nifty give-and-gos up the sideline with her teammates, Casmere started to create havoc for the Wheaton North defense.
It paid off just 1:51 after Sowers scored. Tommasone found Casmere open near the top of the box, and Casmere buried a left-footed 17-yard shot into the upper 90 for a 2-1 lead.
“(After Sowers’ goal) we talked about (how) you have to be the first one to score, and that’s how we’re going to set the tone,” Casmere said. “'This is our game, we’re just going to go hard and play together and play well.'”
The Redwings did just that. Three minutes after getting the go-ahead goal, Casmere struck again -- this time as a result of a great feed from Flynn. The pass found Casmere in stride for a quick finish at the 23:10 mark.
“We’ve worked on different creative runs in practice, and I think that was important,” Casmere said. “We all knew (the plays) up in the top line.
“We knew we had to work together, and I’m really proud of everyone and kind of surprised at how well we did.”
Oconer wasn’t.
“That’s what we’re fully capable of doing,” he said.
The Falcons tried to fight back and earned two dangerous free kicks. But Benet goalie Eva Frantzen stopped a 29-yard drive from Anna Warfield with 12:30 remaining, then made a terrific diving stop on Kristen Szumski’s 28-yard attempt that was heading inside the left post with 6 minutes to go.
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Evan Frantzen
D Lauren Fischer
D Kate Flynn
D Mary Kate Hansen
D Clare Bumpus
M Maddie Becker
M Grace Girard
M Mia Ullmer
F Erin Flynn
F Abby Casmere
F Mia Tommasone
Wheaton North
GK Ava Lynch
D Jaden Trometer
D Kristen Szumski
D Kate Kortenhoeven
D Rachel Brady
D Hannah Swider
M Abby Atkinson
M Katie Goebel
F Rose Quinn
F Kailee Sowers
F Sammie Schomig
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Abby Casmere, jr., F, Benet.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Benet – Dani Pullen 7:14
2nd Half
Wheaton North – Kailee Sowers (Abby Atkinson) 28:10
Benet – Abby Casmere (Mia Tommasone) 26:19
Benet – Casmere (Erin Flynn) 23:10