Notre Dame earns historic win at Benet
List of 1sts includes East Suburban Catholic Conference title
By Dave Owen
LISLE – Notre Dame’s long road has reached a new height.
A come-from-behind 3-1 win Saturday at 2019 Class AA state champion Benet earned the Dons (18-1-2, 9-0-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference) a pair of historic soccer feats: the program’s first win ever over the Redwings (11-5-1, 7-1-0); and the first league conference title in history.
“When I started here we couldn't even compete against them,” Dons senior Andy Barrezueta said. “Now we beat them. It's a total change.
“It's crazy how in four years it's totally different now. And it's the first time ever we've won conference for Notre Dame soccer.”
The win’s significance in Barrezueta’s four-year career at the school is far eclipsed by Dons coach Mike Smith.
“Playing at coaching at Notre Dame, I've seen the good, bad and the ugly,” said Smith, a 2007 graduate, “but mostly against Benet it's been ugly.
“When I played, these guys (Benet) would beat us 8 or 9-0. And we lost 6-0 on this field the last time (in 2019). So, to come out here and do this and put together a complete performance, I'm so proud of our coaches and our players.”
The Dons’ ability to withstand and then answer a strong first 25 minutes by the Redwings loomed especially large in the outcome.
Each team had free kicks in the first 1:10 of the match, part of 10 free kicks in the first 22 minutes of play.
Paul Harris and Michael Ziemba produced Notre Dame shots off those free kicks, and Freddy Krug’s cross in the 22nd minute was deflected just wide in front by Max Stalenczyk.
But it was Benet that had the bulk of early threats before the first goal.
Four minutes in, a header by Benet’s Daniel Pepping was tipped just over the crossbar by leaping Dons goalkeeper Luca Lobianco.
The Redwings had another highlight film threat in the 13th minute. After a free kick, two Benet headers away from a crowd set up T.J. McVey for a back-to-the-goal bicycle kick that went just over the net.
In the 19th minute, Lobianco came up big again with a deflection just wide of Nick Picha’s eight-yard shot.
A McVey left-side rush in the 23rd minute produced a corner kick. Perfect execution on that set piece (initiated by McVey’s send) gave the Redwings a 1-0 lead.
Pepping netted the goal and offered the description.
“We've been practicing a corner kick where we hit it into Nick Roe, and he tries to flick it on to me, and I just finish at the far post,” Pepping said. “And it worked perfectly. He got an amazing header to me, and I just tapped it in for the goal.”
Two minutes later, Benet’s Peter Hepburn followed with a stolen clearing attempt and shot that Lobianco denied with a diving two-handed block at the right post.
With that kind of continued momentum and a lead, the Redwings have usually been in the catbird seat against opponents. But not this time.
“The first 25 minutes I thought it's our game,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “It's 1-0. It’s our game. Then we give up a soft one, the PK comes next and now we're chasing a game that's like a playoff game. They're going to defend with 25 guys in the box if we allow them to.
“They (the Dons) fought hard though. They're a good team. They obviously had energy and effort that we didn't match today.”
Notre Dame trailed 1-0 for just over four minutes, before Ian Martinez’s right-side attack produced a corner kick that led to a tie game.
Martinez’s corner send was batted away by Benet goalkeeper Evan Lucas. But after ND’s Trevor Johnson had his loose-ball shot blocked in front, Harris was on the spot for the rebound at the right edge of the six and game-tying put-away.
“When they scored on us,” Harris said, “I kind of took it upon myself that it was my fault, and I wanted to get one back for the team.
“Usually I go in for corners, and I just saw the ball in the air and saw the goalie go for it. I wanted it more, and I headed it out of his hands. The ball just came to me, and I powered it as hard as I can on the shot.
“We knew we could get it back,” Harris added. “We just had to get composed and get back to simple stuff. And we did.”
After the game was evened, Benet never fully recovered its mojo.
“When they came back I think we got a little too panicked I guess,” Pepping said. “We couldn't really control the game anymore; I think we had it for the first 20 minutes. We just tried to do too much with the ball, and eventually it got away from us.
“And we've been struggling all season with, after we score not getting scored on next,” Pepping added. “We just have to keep going 100 percent after we score and try to get a second one.”
Notre Dame’s Barrezueta had the last quality chance of the first half, a 25-yard free kick just wide in the 34th minute.
Then just over 11 minutes into the second half, his penalty kick would put the Dons in the lead to stay.
The play that led to that PK with 28:29 left began with a Freddy Krug cross to the box. A hand ball block on Francesco Difillipo’s ensuing shot attempt set up Barrezueta, and the Dons’ standout confidently powered home the PK.
“I've been taking them all season,” he said, “so it's like I know I'm going to score. It's just me and the keeper. I slotted it bottom left; he thought right. There you go.”
With huge goals and excellent play throughout the match, Barrezueta and Harris shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“Getting that equalizer in the first half: Paul Harris has been outstanding,” Smith said. “Paul and Andres were the two most dominant players on the field. They dug so deep, just controlling the game and with clearances.”
On a day of dynamite Dons players, sophomore Martin Krug’s defensive play and his brother Freddy’s insurance goal with 17:37 left were also very noteworthy.
“Freddy scored again,” Smith said, “and his brother Martin was just winning every ball in the air, headers and clearances of so many balls when they (Benet) were sending their big boys in.
“And Luca makes a big save early (in the first half) on that great header,” Smith added. “He's been terrific. And our three defenders: you have Paul anchoring it with Martin and Jack Plovanich.”
Harris had his own high praise for Martin Krug’s effort.
“We had a strong defensive game plan coming in,” Harris said. “We put our number five Martin on T.J. McVey, their best player, and he pretty much shut him down the whole game.
“We stayed compact in the middle so the only way they could get through was wide, and we were good defending in the box. That's how we won.”
Plovanich and Daniel Deano’s combined block of a Hepburn shot with 26:05 left was the Redwings’ lone decent threat in the nine minutes after the go-ahead PK.
A Picha corner kick with 18:40 to go resulted in a McVey 20-yard one-timer over the net. Then one minute later, a set piece at the other end of the field gave Notre Dame some much-needed cushion.
Barrezueta took a pass back off his initial 30-yard free kick and found Cesar Lopez in the box. On Lopez’s pass to the back post, Freddy Krug fought through traffic for the goal to up the Dons’ lead to 3-1.
“It was a cross and it came out to Cesar,” Krug said. “I knew he was going to put a ball inside to try to get it to the best spot. He put the ball in, and I was right there to put it in.”
The scenario was a complete reversal of the two teams’ meeting six months ago in Niles, a 3-1 Benet win.
“They went up 1-0 (in April),” Krug said. “We quickly tied it, and we were at halftime 1-1. Same situation.
“Last year they were the better team, but this year I think we had the hunger. We just wanted to get the revenge and get them back on their field.”
It would be up to the Dons’ defense to make that happen; Benet came at them.
Lobianco made the save on an Owen McGarry right-side shot with 16:50 left.
Then a Benet corner kick with 13:20 to go was headed away by Martin Krug and cleared upfield by Michael Shanahan.
The Redwings’ best chance to draw closer would come with 9:45 to play. Picha’s corner kick send set up a great header by Roe, but Lobianco made a sliding save to his right to keep the score 3-1.
“Everybody was stepping up and defending,” Smith said. “You knew when it was 2-1 and 3-1 they were going to pour guys in the box, and we had to clear the ball with authority and have pride.
“It was the longest 20 minutes in my coaching career, but our guys got it done, and I give them a ton of credit.”
Benet would only threaten near the goal just once more, an Andy Nash and Caden Schulz attack with 2:30 left that Harris and Ziemba combined to break up and clear.
That shortage of quality chances was postgame issue number one for Benet.
“Play in the box was the difference,” Wesley said. “We took 10 shots on goal, and we only scored one. They take five on goal and get three. We need to defend better. And we have to be ruthless in the attacking third, and we just weren't.
“Taking the shots we ended up taking 30 yards out after taking 25 touches, they’re not going in against most high school goalies. I think we were looking too much for that once in a lifetime goal where I would rather see us score five or six scrappy goals and a lot of sharing the ball in the final third instead of one genius finish that may never come.
“But t's a good learning experience,” Wesley added. “Hopefully it drives us forward during playoffs.”
As the usual ESCC champion and defending Class AA state titleist, Benet holds rare stature for opponents.
“It's a lot of pressure,” Pepping said. “We know everyone is going to bring their ‘A’ game. Normally we can handle it and respond right back, but this time we just couldn't finish it.”
The Dons did finish their job Saturday, setting off a rare postgame scene on Benet’s home field: a visiting team celebrating an ESCC title.
“This game was one we thought of a lot from the start of the season,” Harris said. “We wanted to beat Benet. Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win conference, and we accomplished that today. Every game has been leading up to this game, and hopefully we can do well at state now.”
Soaking in the postgame scene, Smith tried to put the feat in perspective.
“It's all just really incredible,” Smith said. “I've got nothing but respect for Sean and Benet and what they've done.
“I told the guys before the game, ‘it's OK to be nervous, but at the end of the day it's 80 minutes, they're playing on the same field as us.’”
“In the first 10-15 minutes you could see the nerves a little bit,” Smith added. “That sometimes happens in big games, and with six sophomores a part of this team, the nerves show.”
But after quickly answering Benet’s first- alf goal, nerves gave way to belief.
“We told the boys at halftime that we were sitting in the same position in the spring: 1-1 against them, conference title on the line,” Smith said. “We said to outplay them for 40 minutes, and it was one of our best second halves of the season.
“I give a lot of credit to our seniors. They were part of our 2019 run. We had a talk after the supersectional that was a really emotional, sad one. Today was quite the opposite.”
And the win came with special rewards.
“We never beat Benet in the history of our school,” Freddy Krug said. “And we really had the hunger that we should be the first team to bring the (conference championship) plaque back to Notre Dame.
“Benet was ranked 10 in the state,” Krug added. “Taking them down, we have the confidence that we could go further (in the state tournament) and the trophies we are trying to take could be possible.”
The Dons’ coach certainly knew the significance of the win, both as a historic feat and as a sign of his side’s postseason potential.
“We did this for Notre Dame,” Smith said. “Alumni. Teachers. The whole school.”
“I think this is validation for everything we've done this year. We knew our last four games were the toughest in our schedule, and to go 3-0-1 in those games and beat these guys (Benet) who in 2019 in AA won the state championship …
“It gives our guys confidence we can do this,” Smith added. “It's not just us saying it in a room. Now they've got that belief that we can go out in the postseason and do something special.”
Starting lineups
Notre Dame
GK Luca Lobianco
D Paul Harris
D Jack Plovanich
D Martin Krug
M Michael Ziemba
M Michael Shanahan
M Andy Barrazueta
M Daniel Deano
M Zach Martin
F Trevor Johnson
F Freddy Krug
Benet
GK Evan Lucas
D Jared Plummer
D Evan Frazier
D Nick Roe
D Dan Boyle
M Nick Picha
M Brendan Forsythe
M Daniel Pepping
F John Kolb
F Andy Nash
F T.J. McVey
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Paul Harris, sr. D, Notre Dame; Andy Barrezueta, sr. MF, Notre Dame
Scoring summary
First half
Ben- Daniel Pepping (Nick Roe assist), 23’
ND- Paul Harris (rebound), 27’
Second half
ND- Andy Barrezueta (PK), 52’
ND- Freddy Krug (Cesar Lopez), 63’
List of 1sts includes East Suburban Catholic Conference title
By Dave Owen
LISLE – Notre Dame’s long road has reached a new height.
A come-from-behind 3-1 win Saturday at 2019 Class AA state champion Benet earned the Dons (18-1-2, 9-0-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference) a pair of historic soccer feats: the program’s first win ever over the Redwings (11-5-1, 7-1-0); and the first league conference title in history.
“When I started here we couldn't even compete against them,” Dons senior Andy Barrezueta said. “Now we beat them. It's a total change.
“It's crazy how in four years it's totally different now. And it's the first time ever we've won conference for Notre Dame soccer.”
The win’s significance in Barrezueta’s four-year career at the school is far eclipsed by Dons coach Mike Smith.
“Playing at coaching at Notre Dame, I've seen the good, bad and the ugly,” said Smith, a 2007 graduate, “but mostly against Benet it's been ugly.
“When I played, these guys (Benet) would beat us 8 or 9-0. And we lost 6-0 on this field the last time (in 2019). So, to come out here and do this and put together a complete performance, I'm so proud of our coaches and our players.”
The Dons’ ability to withstand and then answer a strong first 25 minutes by the Redwings loomed especially large in the outcome.
Each team had free kicks in the first 1:10 of the match, part of 10 free kicks in the first 22 minutes of play.
Paul Harris and Michael Ziemba produced Notre Dame shots off those free kicks, and Freddy Krug’s cross in the 22nd minute was deflected just wide in front by Max Stalenczyk.
But it was Benet that had the bulk of early threats before the first goal.
Four minutes in, a header by Benet’s Daniel Pepping was tipped just over the crossbar by leaping Dons goalkeeper Luca Lobianco.
The Redwings had another highlight film threat in the 13th minute. After a free kick, two Benet headers away from a crowd set up T.J. McVey for a back-to-the-goal bicycle kick that went just over the net.
In the 19th minute, Lobianco came up big again with a deflection just wide of Nick Picha’s eight-yard shot.
A McVey left-side rush in the 23rd minute produced a corner kick. Perfect execution on that set piece (initiated by McVey’s send) gave the Redwings a 1-0 lead.
Pepping netted the goal and offered the description.
“We've been practicing a corner kick where we hit it into Nick Roe, and he tries to flick it on to me, and I just finish at the far post,” Pepping said. “And it worked perfectly. He got an amazing header to me, and I just tapped it in for the goal.”
Two minutes later, Benet’s Peter Hepburn followed with a stolen clearing attempt and shot that Lobianco denied with a diving two-handed block at the right post.
With that kind of continued momentum and a lead, the Redwings have usually been in the catbird seat against opponents. But not this time.
“The first 25 minutes I thought it's our game,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “It's 1-0. It’s our game. Then we give up a soft one, the PK comes next and now we're chasing a game that's like a playoff game. They're going to defend with 25 guys in the box if we allow them to.
“They (the Dons) fought hard though. They're a good team. They obviously had energy and effort that we didn't match today.”
Notre Dame trailed 1-0 for just over four minutes, before Ian Martinez’s right-side attack produced a corner kick that led to a tie game.
Martinez’s corner send was batted away by Benet goalkeeper Evan Lucas. But after ND’s Trevor Johnson had his loose-ball shot blocked in front, Harris was on the spot for the rebound at the right edge of the six and game-tying put-away.
“When they scored on us,” Harris said, “I kind of took it upon myself that it was my fault, and I wanted to get one back for the team.
“Usually I go in for corners, and I just saw the ball in the air and saw the goalie go for it. I wanted it more, and I headed it out of his hands. The ball just came to me, and I powered it as hard as I can on the shot.
“We knew we could get it back,” Harris added. “We just had to get composed and get back to simple stuff. And we did.”
After the game was evened, Benet never fully recovered its mojo.
“When they came back I think we got a little too panicked I guess,” Pepping said. “We couldn't really control the game anymore; I think we had it for the first 20 minutes. We just tried to do too much with the ball, and eventually it got away from us.
“And we've been struggling all season with, after we score not getting scored on next,” Pepping added. “We just have to keep going 100 percent after we score and try to get a second one.”
Notre Dame’s Barrezueta had the last quality chance of the first half, a 25-yard free kick just wide in the 34th minute.
Then just over 11 minutes into the second half, his penalty kick would put the Dons in the lead to stay.
The play that led to that PK with 28:29 left began with a Freddy Krug cross to the box. A hand ball block on Francesco Difillipo’s ensuing shot attempt set up Barrezueta, and the Dons’ standout confidently powered home the PK.
“I've been taking them all season,” he said, “so it's like I know I'm going to score. It's just me and the keeper. I slotted it bottom left; he thought right. There you go.”
With huge goals and excellent play throughout the match, Barrezueta and Harris shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“Getting that equalizer in the first half: Paul Harris has been outstanding,” Smith said. “Paul and Andres were the two most dominant players on the field. They dug so deep, just controlling the game and with clearances.”
On a day of dynamite Dons players, sophomore Martin Krug’s defensive play and his brother Freddy’s insurance goal with 17:37 left were also very noteworthy.
“Freddy scored again,” Smith said, “and his brother Martin was just winning every ball in the air, headers and clearances of so many balls when they (Benet) were sending their big boys in.
“And Luca makes a big save early (in the first half) on that great header,” Smith added. “He's been terrific. And our three defenders: you have Paul anchoring it with Martin and Jack Plovanich.”
Harris had his own high praise for Martin Krug’s effort.
“We had a strong defensive game plan coming in,” Harris said. “We put our number five Martin on T.J. McVey, their best player, and he pretty much shut him down the whole game.
“We stayed compact in the middle so the only way they could get through was wide, and we were good defending in the box. That's how we won.”
Plovanich and Daniel Deano’s combined block of a Hepburn shot with 26:05 left was the Redwings’ lone decent threat in the nine minutes after the go-ahead PK.
A Picha corner kick with 18:40 to go resulted in a McVey 20-yard one-timer over the net. Then one minute later, a set piece at the other end of the field gave Notre Dame some much-needed cushion.
Barrezueta took a pass back off his initial 30-yard free kick and found Cesar Lopez in the box. On Lopez’s pass to the back post, Freddy Krug fought through traffic for the goal to up the Dons’ lead to 3-1.
“It was a cross and it came out to Cesar,” Krug said. “I knew he was going to put a ball inside to try to get it to the best spot. He put the ball in, and I was right there to put it in.”
The scenario was a complete reversal of the two teams’ meeting six months ago in Niles, a 3-1 Benet win.
“They went up 1-0 (in April),” Krug said. “We quickly tied it, and we were at halftime 1-1. Same situation.
“Last year they were the better team, but this year I think we had the hunger. We just wanted to get the revenge and get them back on their field.”
It would be up to the Dons’ defense to make that happen; Benet came at them.
Lobianco made the save on an Owen McGarry right-side shot with 16:50 left.
Then a Benet corner kick with 13:20 to go was headed away by Martin Krug and cleared upfield by Michael Shanahan.
The Redwings’ best chance to draw closer would come with 9:45 to play. Picha’s corner kick send set up a great header by Roe, but Lobianco made a sliding save to his right to keep the score 3-1.
“Everybody was stepping up and defending,” Smith said. “You knew when it was 2-1 and 3-1 they were going to pour guys in the box, and we had to clear the ball with authority and have pride.
“It was the longest 20 minutes in my coaching career, but our guys got it done, and I give them a ton of credit.”
Benet would only threaten near the goal just once more, an Andy Nash and Caden Schulz attack with 2:30 left that Harris and Ziemba combined to break up and clear.
That shortage of quality chances was postgame issue number one for Benet.
“Play in the box was the difference,” Wesley said. “We took 10 shots on goal, and we only scored one. They take five on goal and get three. We need to defend better. And we have to be ruthless in the attacking third, and we just weren't.
“Taking the shots we ended up taking 30 yards out after taking 25 touches, they’re not going in against most high school goalies. I think we were looking too much for that once in a lifetime goal where I would rather see us score five or six scrappy goals and a lot of sharing the ball in the final third instead of one genius finish that may never come.
“But t's a good learning experience,” Wesley added. “Hopefully it drives us forward during playoffs.”
As the usual ESCC champion and defending Class AA state titleist, Benet holds rare stature for opponents.
“It's a lot of pressure,” Pepping said. “We know everyone is going to bring their ‘A’ game. Normally we can handle it and respond right back, but this time we just couldn't finish it.”
The Dons did finish their job Saturday, setting off a rare postgame scene on Benet’s home field: a visiting team celebrating an ESCC title.
“This game was one we thought of a lot from the start of the season,” Harris said. “We wanted to beat Benet. Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win conference, and we accomplished that today. Every game has been leading up to this game, and hopefully we can do well at state now.”
Soaking in the postgame scene, Smith tried to put the feat in perspective.
“It's all just really incredible,” Smith said. “I've got nothing but respect for Sean and Benet and what they've done.
“I told the guys before the game, ‘it's OK to be nervous, but at the end of the day it's 80 minutes, they're playing on the same field as us.’”
“In the first 10-15 minutes you could see the nerves a little bit,” Smith added. “That sometimes happens in big games, and with six sophomores a part of this team, the nerves show.”
But after quickly answering Benet’s first- alf goal, nerves gave way to belief.
“We told the boys at halftime that we were sitting in the same position in the spring: 1-1 against them, conference title on the line,” Smith said. “We said to outplay them for 40 minutes, and it was one of our best second halves of the season.
“I give a lot of credit to our seniors. They were part of our 2019 run. We had a talk after the supersectional that was a really emotional, sad one. Today was quite the opposite.”
And the win came with special rewards.
“We never beat Benet in the history of our school,” Freddy Krug said. “And we really had the hunger that we should be the first team to bring the (conference championship) plaque back to Notre Dame.
“Benet was ranked 10 in the state,” Krug added. “Taking them down, we have the confidence that we could go further (in the state tournament) and the trophies we are trying to take could be possible.”
The Dons’ coach certainly knew the significance of the win, both as a historic feat and as a sign of his side’s postseason potential.
“We did this for Notre Dame,” Smith said. “Alumni. Teachers. The whole school.”
“I think this is validation for everything we've done this year. We knew our last four games were the toughest in our schedule, and to go 3-0-1 in those games and beat these guys (Benet) who in 2019 in AA won the state championship …
“It gives our guys confidence we can do this,” Smith added. “It's not just us saying it in a room. Now they've got that belief that we can go out in the postseason and do something special.”
Starting lineups
Notre Dame
GK Luca Lobianco
D Paul Harris
D Jack Plovanich
D Martin Krug
M Michael Ziemba
M Michael Shanahan
M Andy Barrazueta
M Daniel Deano
M Zach Martin
F Trevor Johnson
F Freddy Krug
Benet
GK Evan Lucas
D Jared Plummer
D Evan Frazier
D Nick Roe
D Dan Boyle
M Nick Picha
M Brendan Forsythe
M Daniel Pepping
F John Kolb
F Andy Nash
F T.J. McVey
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Paul Harris, sr. D, Notre Dame; Andy Barrezueta, sr. MF, Notre Dame
Scoring summary
First half
Ben- Daniel Pepping (Nick Roe assist), 23’
ND- Paul Harris (rebound), 27’
Second half
ND- Andy Barrezueta (PK), 52’
ND- Freddy Krug (Cesar Lopez), 63’