Benet keeps up heat, takes showcase win
Redwings shut down Mo. star to post 2-1 win
By Keith Schildroth
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO.- Benet knew its top job in the Parkway College Showcase in suburban St. Louis.
“Stopping (Hannah) Friedrich is obviously no. 1 in the game plan for any team playing Hazelwood West (Mo.), because she is clearly their most dangerous offensive player,” said coach Gerard Oconer. “We just wanted to limit her shots and touches on the ball, in addition to preventing her from being able to run at our defenders.”
Besides the looming threat from the St. Louis U.-bound recruit, Benet needed to start its freshman team goalkeeper Rory Sterbenz. It was a recipe for disaster.
Instead the Redwings, ranked no. 20 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, cooked up a 2-1 win at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex.
Benet held Wildcats midfielder Friedrich to one goal.
"We talked about being aware of where she is and being aware of her movements," said Oconer. "We wanted to deny her the ball and make her work when she has the ball. Obviously she is a great player, and we knew that going into the game."
A solid start put Benet in a good place.
"The first 20-25 minutes I thought we played pretty well," Oconer said. "We pretty much dominated that part of the first half. We created opportunity after opportunity and played some pretty soccer. And that's what we've been doing all year long."
Junior forward Abby Casmere got the Redwings going early with a strong shot from the top of the box that Wildcats freshman goalie Riley Nilges tipped wide.
Senior forward Erin Flynn kept the pace up and put her team up when she beat the Wildcats goalie off a nice feed from Casmere. She took the cross off her chest, let the ball drop to the ground and fired past Nilges for a 1-0 lead.
"We're so dangerous from the outside when we cross the ball," said Oconer. "We have tremendous speed on the outside."
Casmere seemed to fuel the Redwings attack the entire game. She came right back minutes after the first goal when with a perfect cross to sophomore forward Mia Tommasone. Casmere did most of the dirty work and the forward simply tapped the ball past Nilges for a 2-0 lead.
"That was a nice calm finish," said Oconer.
The senior midfielder Maddie Becker almost made it 3-0 with a bomb from just outside the box, but the shot was right at Nilges.
"I thought we played really well today, especially after coming from a six-hour bus ride," said Becker. "It was important for us to start strong and play with intensity and get after it, and we certainly did."
Hazelwood West (1-3-1) found itself under attack in its fifth game of the week.
Redwings coach Gerard Oconer wasn't aware the Wildcats were nearly running on empty Saturday but he was well aware of Friedrich and the damage she can inflict.
Oconer said the Wildcats didn't look beat, especially Friedrich, a quick, skillful midfielder who is a deadly finisher with the ball at her feet.
Friedrich started to make her mark midway through the first half. She displayed her ball-moving talents from midfield and tested Benet goalie Rory Sterbenz from the top of the box and the keeper made a nice save.
Oconer was pleased with his freshman keeper’s play. She got the call-up, because Eva Frantzen was unavailable, and Lauren Lukitsh was recovering from an injury.
“She played well considering that she was nervous playing on the varsity level for the first time,” Oconer said. “But we were confident in our defense to protect any goalkeeper we have and limit any offensive opportunities.”
It worked, the Redwings only required one save.
Benet kept up the pressure all game. Becker tried for the far post late in the first half, but Nilges managed to push the ball wide. Redwings junior midfielder Maggie Roche kept Nilges busy with another good scoring chance when she looked for the far post, but the Wildcats keeper again punched the shot out of trouble.
Hazelwood West halved its deficit when sophomore forward McKayla Giles found her most dangerous teammate open near midfield and dropped a long ball over the Redwings defense. Friedrich raced in alone on Sterbenz and pushed a shot to the lower left corner past the Benet keeper.
"We knew that she was one of their strongest players," said Flynn. "We tried not to just man-mark her but keep an eye on her and watch her runs."
With Friedrich moving to more of a defensive midfield spot in the second half, the Wildcats offense seemed to sputter.
Benet had the majority of the play in the second half and more scoring chances. Senior defender Jackie Schuman tested Nilges from the outside early in the second half, and the Hazelwood West keeper was on the spot.
Flynn was active, just missing the lower left corner and Schuman was again on the attack and just missed over the crossbar. Nilges made her best save of the match late in the half when she robbed junior Nicole Burns in a scramble inside the box.
"This was a big challenge this week," said Hazelwood West coach Steve Mayes. "Five tough matches and the weather was bad for most of them. It's been a very challenging week. We got to find out real quick where we are this season. Benet is a very good team, and this had to test our character a little bit."
Mayes said the experience gained from playing Benet will help his club down the road.
"That group over there, they have 11 girls that can play," said Mayes. "They made it tough on us. They got out to a 2-0 lead early and made it difficult for us the entire day. We didn't create too many opportunities. They created more opportunities today and give them credit."
Friedrich said the first week of the season will help the Wildcats.
"It's been a hard week, a lot of good teams," said Friedrich. "We just had to suck it up a little. We're tired and definitely sore. We're still working on finishing. Today we had some good crosses, but nobody could finish."
Starting lineups
Benet
G: Rory Sterbenz
D: Lauren Fischer
D: Clare Bumpus
D: Kate Flynn
D: Mary Kate Hansen
M: Mia Ullmer
M: Maddie Becker
M: Jackie Schuman
F: Erin Flynn
F: Abby Casmere
F: Mia Tommasone
Hazelwood West
G: Riley Nilges
D: Samantha Cuneen
D: Kameryn Weicht
D: Renee Rhyne
D: Peyton Weicht
M: Sydney Aller
M: Alexandrea Bustamonte
M: Brianna Yerkey
M: Hannah Friedrich
F: McKayla Giles
F: Jenna Foelsing
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Abby Casmere, jr., F, Benet
Redwings shut down Mo. star to post 2-1 win
By Keith Schildroth
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO.- Benet knew its top job in the Parkway College Showcase in suburban St. Louis.
“Stopping (Hannah) Friedrich is obviously no. 1 in the game plan for any team playing Hazelwood West (Mo.), because she is clearly their most dangerous offensive player,” said coach Gerard Oconer. “We just wanted to limit her shots and touches on the ball, in addition to preventing her from being able to run at our defenders.”
Besides the looming threat from the St. Louis U.-bound recruit, Benet needed to start its freshman team goalkeeper Rory Sterbenz. It was a recipe for disaster.
Instead the Redwings, ranked no. 20 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, cooked up a 2-1 win at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex.
Benet held Wildcats midfielder Friedrich to one goal.
"We talked about being aware of where she is and being aware of her movements," said Oconer. "We wanted to deny her the ball and make her work when she has the ball. Obviously she is a great player, and we knew that going into the game."
A solid start put Benet in a good place.
"The first 20-25 minutes I thought we played pretty well," Oconer said. "We pretty much dominated that part of the first half. We created opportunity after opportunity and played some pretty soccer. And that's what we've been doing all year long."
Junior forward Abby Casmere got the Redwings going early with a strong shot from the top of the box that Wildcats freshman goalie Riley Nilges tipped wide.
Senior forward Erin Flynn kept the pace up and put her team up when she beat the Wildcats goalie off a nice feed from Casmere. She took the cross off her chest, let the ball drop to the ground and fired past Nilges for a 1-0 lead.
"We're so dangerous from the outside when we cross the ball," said Oconer. "We have tremendous speed on the outside."
Casmere seemed to fuel the Redwings attack the entire game. She came right back minutes after the first goal when with a perfect cross to sophomore forward Mia Tommasone. Casmere did most of the dirty work and the forward simply tapped the ball past Nilges for a 2-0 lead.
"That was a nice calm finish," said Oconer.
The senior midfielder Maddie Becker almost made it 3-0 with a bomb from just outside the box, but the shot was right at Nilges.
"I thought we played really well today, especially after coming from a six-hour bus ride," said Becker. "It was important for us to start strong and play with intensity and get after it, and we certainly did."
Hazelwood West (1-3-1) found itself under attack in its fifth game of the week.
Redwings coach Gerard Oconer wasn't aware the Wildcats were nearly running on empty Saturday but he was well aware of Friedrich and the damage she can inflict.
Oconer said the Wildcats didn't look beat, especially Friedrich, a quick, skillful midfielder who is a deadly finisher with the ball at her feet.
Friedrich started to make her mark midway through the first half. She displayed her ball-moving talents from midfield and tested Benet goalie Rory Sterbenz from the top of the box and the keeper made a nice save.
Oconer was pleased with his freshman keeper’s play. She got the call-up, because Eva Frantzen was unavailable, and Lauren Lukitsh was recovering from an injury.
“She played well considering that she was nervous playing on the varsity level for the first time,” Oconer said. “But we were confident in our defense to protect any goalkeeper we have and limit any offensive opportunities.”
It worked, the Redwings only required one save.
Benet kept up the pressure all game. Becker tried for the far post late in the first half, but Nilges managed to push the ball wide. Redwings junior midfielder Maggie Roche kept Nilges busy with another good scoring chance when she looked for the far post, but the Wildcats keeper again punched the shot out of trouble.
Hazelwood West halved its deficit when sophomore forward McKayla Giles found her most dangerous teammate open near midfield and dropped a long ball over the Redwings defense. Friedrich raced in alone on Sterbenz and pushed a shot to the lower left corner past the Benet keeper.
"We knew that she was one of their strongest players," said Flynn. "We tried not to just man-mark her but keep an eye on her and watch her runs."
With Friedrich moving to more of a defensive midfield spot in the second half, the Wildcats offense seemed to sputter.
Benet had the majority of the play in the second half and more scoring chances. Senior defender Jackie Schuman tested Nilges from the outside early in the second half, and the Hazelwood West keeper was on the spot.
Flynn was active, just missing the lower left corner and Schuman was again on the attack and just missed over the crossbar. Nilges made her best save of the match late in the half when she robbed junior Nicole Burns in a scramble inside the box.
"This was a big challenge this week," said Hazelwood West coach Steve Mayes. "Five tough matches and the weather was bad for most of them. It's been a very challenging week. We got to find out real quick where we are this season. Benet is a very good team, and this had to test our character a little bit."
Mayes said the experience gained from playing Benet will help his club down the road.
"That group over there, they have 11 girls that can play," said Mayes. "They made it tough on us. They got out to a 2-0 lead early and made it difficult for us the entire day. We didn't create too many opportunities. They created more opportunities today and give them credit."
Friedrich said the first week of the season will help the Wildcats.
"It's been a hard week, a lot of good teams," said Friedrich. "We just had to suck it up a little. We're tired and definitely sore. We're still working on finishing. Today we had some good crosses, but nobody could finish."
Starting lineups
Benet
G: Rory Sterbenz
D: Lauren Fischer
D: Clare Bumpus
D: Kate Flynn
D: Mary Kate Hansen
M: Mia Ullmer
M: Maddie Becker
M: Jackie Schuman
F: Erin Flynn
F: Abby Casmere
F: Mia Tommasone
Hazelwood West
G: Riley Nilges
D: Samantha Cuneen
D: Kameryn Weicht
D: Renee Rhyne
D: Peyton Weicht
M: Sydney Aller
M: Alexandrea Bustamonte
M: Brianna Yerkey
M: Hannah Friedrich
F: McKayla Giles
F: Jenna Foelsing
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Abby Casmere, jr., F, Benet