Notebook: Benet-Deerfield semifinal
By Michael Wojtychiw
NAPERVILLE -- Benet and Deerfield both came into the second, Class AA semifinal at North Central College looking to make a statement.
Benet won the Class AA state title in 2019 and made it to the sectional final in Class 3A last season before dropping their only match of 2021 to Lyons. They are ready to repeat in AA the hard way -- winning three years later back in AA and beating Triad again (after a 3-1 win in the 2019 semis).
Deerfield hoped to make some noise in just its second appearance at the state’s Final Four. The previous trip in 2016 produced a second place finish. So, the upperclassman-heavy team sought to gain its second final, this time against Benet, but the Redwings slammed that door shut.
Deerfield's Fox bursts onto the scene
Emily Fox, a sophomore midfielder, made quite the debut last year with 17 goals and 10 assists, but has upped her play even more this spring.
Fox came into the state semifinal against Benet with a team-high 25 goals. Her 14 assists rank third on the team. Even after a freshman year that saw her put up nice numbers, manager Rich Grady is really happy with the improvement he’s seen with her over the year.
“She has just been taking over,” Grady said. “She’s an unbelievable player and knows everyone is going to be focused on her. But she still does very, very well. She can control the ball well, beat people off the dribble, shoot with either foot.
“She’s fun to watch.”
“It was definitely exciting to score in a big game like this,” Fox said.
Fox’s role changed a bit in the sectional semifinal when teammate Riley Schimanski, who had the team’s second-highest goal total, went down with a torn ACL, forcing Grady to make a lineup adjustment.
“We’ve had to change our lineup and she’s definitely picked up the slack with Riley out,” Grady said.
All Fox has done since is score two goals in the sectional final, score both regulation goals in the supersectional and then add both goals in the Warriors’ 3-2 loss in the state semifinal.
When the moment gets bigger, so does Fox’s play.
“I’ve played with her for four years now and she continues to amaze me,” teammate Holly Deutsch said.
Bouncing back
Deerfield came into the playoffs off two-consecutive losses and was looking to get its footing back as it hoped to make a deep playoff run.
While Grady was disappointed in the way his squad ended the regular-season, he was happy with how they’ve responded since. They side-stepped getting down and out.
“The Evanston game was 1-1, right there but they got one and then another as we started to press up,” Grady said of the 3-1 loss in the Central Suburban League championship game on May 10. “The Warren game (a 5-0 loss May 12), we didn’t mentally or physically show up for, but I think it was a good wake-up call for the playoffs.”
Deerfield has had extreme success against a highly-competitive schedule this year with wins against New Trier, Downers Grove North and Young.
One of the reasons the team has gotten better is that its played up to the level of established foes. The team bounced back from an uncharacteristic couple of seasons, before an upperclassman-heavy squad helped them navigate through the playoffs yet again.
“The quality of competition we’re playing, we’re not scared of playing anybody,” Grady said. “We just do what we do, and that’s get the ball down to attack.”
Benet on a roll
Benet has been on quite the run over the past month and won its 13-consecutive game in the semis.
“The last game we lost (in Naperville Invitational pool play vs. St. Charles North (1-1, 5-4), we decided that we were on the same page and were not going to lose again,” Caspere said. “We’re still determined to hold that up.”
Benet has scored at least two goals in 10 of the 13 games of the winning streak and has done so with the play of upperclassmen like Lewellyan, who scored the Redwings’ opener in the first minute against Deerfield, and juniors like Casmere, who scored the final two.
“I was just praying ‘Please go in, please go in, please go in,’” Caspere said about her game-winning goal. “I just knew it was now or never, so I just hit it.”
Depth shines
While the Redwings have numerous players with double-digit goals and assists, such as Lewellyan, Mariana Pinto, Keira Petrucilli and Gabi DiMatteo, it has been more than just those four who have had their hands in the squad’s success.
That was no more obvious than in the semifinal, when freshman Eleanor Mahan stepped up and played a ball to Casmere for Benet’s second goal.
The assist was only her third of the year. She has not scored a goal and played in just 13 of the Redwings 26 games.
“I love everybody on this team so much, and I knew were down,” Mahan said. “Everyone has worked so hard. I was going to do anything I could to help the team and get one step further.”
The plateau comes Saturday against Triad.
By Michael Wojtychiw
NAPERVILLE -- Benet and Deerfield both came into the second, Class AA semifinal at North Central College looking to make a statement.
Benet won the Class AA state title in 2019 and made it to the sectional final in Class 3A last season before dropping their only match of 2021 to Lyons. They are ready to repeat in AA the hard way -- winning three years later back in AA and beating Triad again (after a 3-1 win in the 2019 semis).
Deerfield hoped to make some noise in just its second appearance at the state’s Final Four. The previous trip in 2016 produced a second place finish. So, the upperclassman-heavy team sought to gain its second final, this time against Benet, but the Redwings slammed that door shut.
Deerfield's Fox bursts onto the scene
Emily Fox, a sophomore midfielder, made quite the debut last year with 17 goals and 10 assists, but has upped her play even more this spring.
Fox came into the state semifinal against Benet with a team-high 25 goals. Her 14 assists rank third on the team. Even after a freshman year that saw her put up nice numbers, manager Rich Grady is really happy with the improvement he’s seen with her over the year.
“She has just been taking over,” Grady said. “She’s an unbelievable player and knows everyone is going to be focused on her. But she still does very, very well. She can control the ball well, beat people off the dribble, shoot with either foot.
“She’s fun to watch.”
“It was definitely exciting to score in a big game like this,” Fox said.
Fox’s role changed a bit in the sectional semifinal when teammate Riley Schimanski, who had the team’s second-highest goal total, went down with a torn ACL, forcing Grady to make a lineup adjustment.
“We’ve had to change our lineup and she’s definitely picked up the slack with Riley out,” Grady said.
All Fox has done since is score two goals in the sectional final, score both regulation goals in the supersectional and then add both goals in the Warriors’ 3-2 loss in the state semifinal.
When the moment gets bigger, so does Fox’s play.
“I’ve played with her for four years now and she continues to amaze me,” teammate Holly Deutsch said.
Bouncing back
Deerfield came into the playoffs off two-consecutive losses and was looking to get its footing back as it hoped to make a deep playoff run.
While Grady was disappointed in the way his squad ended the regular-season, he was happy with how they’ve responded since. They side-stepped getting down and out.
“The Evanston game was 1-1, right there but they got one and then another as we started to press up,” Grady said of the 3-1 loss in the Central Suburban League championship game on May 10. “The Warren game (a 5-0 loss May 12), we didn’t mentally or physically show up for, but I think it was a good wake-up call for the playoffs.”
Deerfield has had extreme success against a highly-competitive schedule this year with wins against New Trier, Downers Grove North and Young.
One of the reasons the team has gotten better is that its played up to the level of established foes. The team bounced back from an uncharacteristic couple of seasons, before an upperclassman-heavy squad helped them navigate through the playoffs yet again.
“The quality of competition we’re playing, we’re not scared of playing anybody,” Grady said. “We just do what we do, and that’s get the ball down to attack.”
Benet on a roll
Benet has been on quite the run over the past month and won its 13-consecutive game in the semis.
“The last game we lost (in Naperville Invitational pool play vs. St. Charles North (1-1, 5-4), we decided that we were on the same page and were not going to lose again,” Caspere said. “We’re still determined to hold that up.”
Benet has scored at least two goals in 10 of the 13 games of the winning streak and has done so with the play of upperclassmen like Lewellyan, who scored the Redwings’ opener in the first minute against Deerfield, and juniors like Casmere, who scored the final two.
“I was just praying ‘Please go in, please go in, please go in,’” Caspere said about her game-winning goal. “I just knew it was now or never, so I just hit it.”
Depth shines
While the Redwings have numerous players with double-digit goals and assists, such as Lewellyan, Mariana Pinto, Keira Petrucilli and Gabi DiMatteo, it has been more than just those four who have had their hands in the squad’s success.
That was no more obvious than in the semifinal, when freshman Eleanor Mahan stepped up and played a ball to Casmere for Benet’s second goal.
The assist was only her third of the year. She has not scored a goal and played in just 13 of the Redwings 26 games.
“I love everybody on this team so much, and I knew were down,” Mahan said. “Everyone has worked so hard. I was going to do anything I could to help the team and get one step further.”
The plateau comes Saturday against Triad.