3 fine finishes give Benet sectional title shot
Redwings knock off Nazareth 3-0, face St. Ignatius on Friday
By Matt Le Cren
DARIEN – Jackie Schuman committed to continue her soccer career at Illinois Wesleyan before she changed her mind.
Instead the Benet senior opted to attend Michigan to enroll in the pre-med program. That meant forgoing the chance to play college soccer.
“Michigan and Illinois Wesleyan are such different places,” Schuman said. “One is 30,000 people and one is less than 2,000.
“Both would have been really great, but for pre-med I have to focus a lot on academics.”
That decision means Schuman, who is thinking about becoming a dermatologist, is savoring her final season of interscholastic soccer. But it is not the only reason it is special.
The midfielder helped make sure she and her Benet teammates will get to play at least one more game. She scored the final goal Tuesday in Benet’s historic 3-0 victory over Nazareth at the Class AA Hinsdale South Sectional semifinals.
The win was the school-record 19th for the top-seeded Redwings (19-3-1), who will face second-seeded St. Ignatius in Friday’s championship game. The Wolfpack edged Glenbard South 3-2 to advance.
The entire scenario has ramped things up for Schuman.
“It does (make it more special),” she said. “It also makes it stressful because going into each game (I know) it could be my last.”
Benet, ranked 22nd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will attempt to win its first sectional title since 2012 and fourth in the history of the program, which began in 1991.
“It felt really good (to win), especially because Naz is one of our biggest rivals, and we had a really tough conference game against them,” Schuman said. “It’s always really scrappy on both sides when we play them.”
That was the case when Benet edged the Roadrunners 3-2 in East Suburban Catholic Conference action on May 5, and it held true to form in this one.
This time the Redwings controll the offense, outshooting Nazareth (13-12-0) by an 18-0 margin.
Benet goalkeeper Eva Frantzen didn't make a save, but she did adeptly cut off several dangerous corner kicks to record her 13th shutout and the Redwings’ 15th overall.
The backline led by Kate Flynn, Mary Kate Hansen, Claire Bumpus and Lauren Fischer made it look simple, though it was anything but.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “This is obviously a big conference rival, so we knew it was going to be physical, and they were going to test our mental capacities and just make it difficult for us.”
The cerebral aspect may have just as important as the physical, and the Redwings rose to the challenge in each category.
“(The key) was just staying mentally into the game, staying focused and playing to feet,” Benet senior forward Erin Flynn said. “It was a big mental game for us, so getting an early goal was important.”
That early goal came off the foot of sophomore Mia Tommasone, and it stood up as her second game-winning goal of the season against Nazareth.
The strike came in the 10th minute after Hansen played a long ball over the top that a Nazareth defender tried and failed to head out of danger. Instead, Tommasone latched onto it about 25 yards from the net, raced into the box and slotted the ball inside the right post past onrushing Nazareth goalie Sarah Blair.
“That was very important,” Schuman said. “It gave us a lot of momentum, and it turned the game around.”
Tommasone’s goal gave Benet a slight cushion and thus a sense of comfort, though they were unable to extend the lead before halftime. The Redwings had several good scoring chances go for naught, including an open volley from Erin Flynn, who also sent a long header wide right, as did Hansen.
“We did miss a lot of opportunities,” Schuman said. “It was nice to have one goal under our belts, and it made us calmer. I think we just calmed down in the second half.”
Indeed, the Redwings were more efficient after the break even though the Roadrunners gained a little more of the possession.
Erin Flynn, who scored Benet’s second goal in the prior meeting between the two rivals, did so again, capping a great build-up and brilliant pass from senior midfielder Maddie Becker.
Schuman started the play by sending a pass to Becker at the top of the penalty area. Becker, a Washington and Lee recruit, had her back turned to the goal and Flynn to her right. She faked a dribble before backheeling a no-look diagonal pass to Flynn, who had broken toward the goal at the same instant.
Flynn got the ball in space and blasted a left-footed shot under the crossbar with 29:09 remaining.
“It was a back heel from Maddie Becker,” Flynn said. “I’m used to playing with her because we play together on club too, so we’re used to that play. I just one-touch finished it. I saw the opening and took it.”
Schuman didn’t have an opening when she received a pass from Becker 22 minutes later, so she created one for herself. She fought her way past a defender into the box before rumbling in on Blair, who came out and made a great diving save on a point-blank shot.
Blair, though, had no way to secure the ball, which popped back out and was tracked down by Schuman, who turned and rolled a second shot past Blair for her second goal of the season.
“I just muscled my way through,” Schuman said. “It happened really fast.
“I just remember I had it, and it redirected. Then it would come back to me, then I just pushed my way through.”
That didn’t surprise Oconer, who is used to seeing Schuman get her way, though it usually isn’t that close to the goal.
“That’s what Jackie does for us,” said Oconer of Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. “She wins all the balls in the middle.
“She’s able to drive at defenders with the ball, make them commit to open up people, so she just does a lot of the dirty work in the middle.
“That’s why it’s been so tough to break us down, because she wins so much in there, and she covers so much ground.”
This current group of Redwings will be covering new ground on Friday as they play in their first sectional final.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Erin Flynn said. “We’re going to work hard over the next couple days in practice and focus on our set pieces.”
But the Redwings won’t focus too much on what they have accomplished so far until after the season.
“We just set the school record for wins, so that’s big for us,” Erin Flynn said. “It’s really cool, especially being a senior, going out on top. That’s always a good thing.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Eva Frantzen
D Lauren Fischer
D Mary Kate Hansen
D Kate Flynn
D Claire Bumpus
M Maddie Becker
M Mia Ullmer
M Jackie Schuman
F Erin Flynn
F Abby Casmere
F Mia Tommasone
Nazareth
GK Sarah Blair
D Kate Howard
D Grace D’Onofrio
D Maddie Mazur
D Holly Skrip
M Sophia Cullota
M Klavida Georges
M Grace Heery
F Angelica Ariola
F Lizzie Cipra
F Adriana Berruti
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Jackie Schuman, sr., M, Benet
Scoring summary
First half
Benet – Mia Tommasone (unassisted) 30:37
Second half
Benet – Erin Flynn (Maddie Becker) 29:09
Benet – Jackie Schuman (Becker) 7:07
Redwings knock off Nazareth 3-0, face St. Ignatius on Friday
By Matt Le Cren
DARIEN – Jackie Schuman committed to continue her soccer career at Illinois Wesleyan before she changed her mind.
Instead the Benet senior opted to attend Michigan to enroll in the pre-med program. That meant forgoing the chance to play college soccer.
“Michigan and Illinois Wesleyan are such different places,” Schuman said. “One is 30,000 people and one is less than 2,000.
“Both would have been really great, but for pre-med I have to focus a lot on academics.”
That decision means Schuman, who is thinking about becoming a dermatologist, is savoring her final season of interscholastic soccer. But it is not the only reason it is special.
The midfielder helped make sure she and her Benet teammates will get to play at least one more game. She scored the final goal Tuesday in Benet’s historic 3-0 victory over Nazareth at the Class AA Hinsdale South Sectional semifinals.
The win was the school-record 19th for the top-seeded Redwings (19-3-1), who will face second-seeded St. Ignatius in Friday’s championship game. The Wolfpack edged Glenbard South 3-2 to advance.
The entire scenario has ramped things up for Schuman.
“It does (make it more special),” she said. “It also makes it stressful because going into each game (I know) it could be my last.”
Benet, ranked 22nd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will attempt to win its first sectional title since 2012 and fourth in the history of the program, which began in 1991.
“It felt really good (to win), especially because Naz is one of our biggest rivals, and we had a really tough conference game against them,” Schuman said. “It’s always really scrappy on both sides when we play them.”
That was the case when Benet edged the Roadrunners 3-2 in East Suburban Catholic Conference action on May 5, and it held true to form in this one.
This time the Redwings controll the offense, outshooting Nazareth (13-12-0) by an 18-0 margin.
Benet goalkeeper Eva Frantzen didn't make a save, but she did adeptly cut off several dangerous corner kicks to record her 13th shutout and the Redwings’ 15th overall.
The backline led by Kate Flynn, Mary Kate Hansen, Claire Bumpus and Lauren Fischer made it look simple, though it was anything but.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “This is obviously a big conference rival, so we knew it was going to be physical, and they were going to test our mental capacities and just make it difficult for us.”
The cerebral aspect may have just as important as the physical, and the Redwings rose to the challenge in each category.
“(The key) was just staying mentally into the game, staying focused and playing to feet,” Benet senior forward Erin Flynn said. “It was a big mental game for us, so getting an early goal was important.”
That early goal came off the foot of sophomore Mia Tommasone, and it stood up as her second game-winning goal of the season against Nazareth.
The strike came in the 10th minute after Hansen played a long ball over the top that a Nazareth defender tried and failed to head out of danger. Instead, Tommasone latched onto it about 25 yards from the net, raced into the box and slotted the ball inside the right post past onrushing Nazareth goalie Sarah Blair.
“That was very important,” Schuman said. “It gave us a lot of momentum, and it turned the game around.”
Tommasone’s goal gave Benet a slight cushion and thus a sense of comfort, though they were unable to extend the lead before halftime. The Redwings had several good scoring chances go for naught, including an open volley from Erin Flynn, who also sent a long header wide right, as did Hansen.
“We did miss a lot of opportunities,” Schuman said. “It was nice to have one goal under our belts, and it made us calmer. I think we just calmed down in the second half.”
Indeed, the Redwings were more efficient after the break even though the Roadrunners gained a little more of the possession.
Erin Flynn, who scored Benet’s second goal in the prior meeting between the two rivals, did so again, capping a great build-up and brilliant pass from senior midfielder Maddie Becker.
Schuman started the play by sending a pass to Becker at the top of the penalty area. Becker, a Washington and Lee recruit, had her back turned to the goal and Flynn to her right. She faked a dribble before backheeling a no-look diagonal pass to Flynn, who had broken toward the goal at the same instant.
Flynn got the ball in space and blasted a left-footed shot under the crossbar with 29:09 remaining.
“It was a back heel from Maddie Becker,” Flynn said. “I’m used to playing with her because we play together on club too, so we’re used to that play. I just one-touch finished it. I saw the opening and took it.”
Schuman didn’t have an opening when she received a pass from Becker 22 minutes later, so she created one for herself. She fought her way past a defender into the box before rumbling in on Blair, who came out and made a great diving save on a point-blank shot.
Blair, though, had no way to secure the ball, which popped back out and was tracked down by Schuman, who turned and rolled a second shot past Blair for her second goal of the season.
“I just muscled my way through,” Schuman said. “It happened really fast.
“I just remember I had it, and it redirected. Then it would come back to me, then I just pushed my way through.”
That didn’t surprise Oconer, who is used to seeing Schuman get her way, though it usually isn’t that close to the goal.
“That’s what Jackie does for us,” said Oconer of Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. “She wins all the balls in the middle.
“She’s able to drive at defenders with the ball, make them commit to open up people, so she just does a lot of the dirty work in the middle.
“That’s why it’s been so tough to break us down, because she wins so much in there, and she covers so much ground.”
This current group of Redwings will be covering new ground on Friday as they play in their first sectional final.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Erin Flynn said. “We’re going to work hard over the next couple days in practice and focus on our set pieces.”
But the Redwings won’t focus too much on what they have accomplished so far until after the season.
“We just set the school record for wins, so that’s big for us,” Erin Flynn said. “It’s really cool, especially being a senior, going out on top. That’s always a good thing.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Eva Frantzen
D Lauren Fischer
D Mary Kate Hansen
D Kate Flynn
D Claire Bumpus
M Maddie Becker
M Mia Ullmer
M Jackie Schuman
F Erin Flynn
F Abby Casmere
F Mia Tommasone
Nazareth
GK Sarah Blair
D Kate Howard
D Grace D’Onofrio
D Maddie Mazur
D Holly Skrip
M Sophia Cullota
M Klavida Georges
M Grace Heery
F Angelica Ariola
F Lizzie Cipra
F Adriana Berruti
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Jackie Schuman, sr., M, Benet
Scoring summary
First half
Benet – Mia Tommasone (unassisted) 30:37
Second half
Benet – Erin Flynn (Maddie Becker) 29:09
Benet – Jackie Schuman (Becker) 7:07