Trojans and Redwings shine in a season opener in Downers Grove

By Matt Le Cren

Expectations are high for both Downers Grove North and Benet this fall and the two sides demonstrated a high level of skill when they met Tuesday night.

Which team is better? That’s a question that will be answered another day after the Trojans and Redwings played to an action-packed 2-2 tie at Carstens Field in Downers Grove.

“[Downers North] has a fantastic squad, a great group of kids,” said Benet coach Sean Wesley, who was making his head-coaching debut. “They have to be one of the best teams in the state. I think everyone was a little anxious at the beginning, but it was fantastic high school soccer. Both teams played unbelievable.”

The host Trojans, who return 10 players who were at least part-time starters a year ago, think they have their best squad since 2001, when they made their second straight state quarterfinal appearance. North scored both of its goals on lead-footed strikes from outside the box.

The first came with 26:32 left in the opening half when senior Azmi Sharif took a short touch from Paul Hogan and drilled a 20-yard shot into the upper right corner.

“It felt really great getting our team off to a great start,” Sharif said. “Getting the first goal of the season means a lot. Hopefully they keep coming.”

But Benet stunned the Trojans by scoring twice on free kicks. The Redwings tied it on a 23-yard shot from the left wing by senior co-captain Sean Mogan with 10:36 left before intermission. The West Point recruit swerved his shot around the wall and inside the left post.

“In practice I’ve been taking those and trying to do that, so it was exactly what I wanted to do,” Mogan said. “It was definitely exciting and it was a big momentum shift when we took the lead. We were all pretty pumped up.”

Hunter Miller put Benet ahead 2-1 at the 31:51 mark of the second half when his 35-yard free kick slipped through the gloves and over the head of North goalie Matt Paprocki, who was otherwise solid in making five saves.

The lead didn’t last long. North sophomore A.J. Jeffries got the equalizer just 2:33 later, ripping a 25-yard shot off the inside of the right post before Benet goalie Kyle DalSanto could even blink.

“I think we could be a little more solid on our clearances,” Mogan noted. “I think the two goals they had were the result of miss-clears. Our two goals came from free kicks, which was excellent, and Brad [Bozych], our sophomore, came up big with some runs so that was good.”

Benet’s back line of Miller, seniors Ryan Reilly and Joe Mahoney and junior Ben Kucera were solid for the most part in defending a potent-looking Downers North offense. Both teams had nine shots, but the Trojans were more dangerous.

With Jeffries, Eric Garcia, Reid Milton and Jakob Mousel setting the stage in the midfield, Sharif and Hogan had numerous chances to do damage up front. Hogan nearly tallied the game-winner with 8:25 left, taking a long punt from Paprocki and breaking free before knocking the ball over the head of DalSanto, who had charged 35 yards off his line. The Redwings breathed a sigh of relief, however, when Hogan’s shot bounced just wide of the right post.

“Coming into this game we wanted to see really where we stood, to see if we got better from last year and see how we compete this year,” Sharif said. “Based on how we came out today I think we’re going to be real contenders. This is a good team.”

He’ll get no argument from Wesley.

“This was a really good competition,” Wesley said. “It was fun. We had a great goal. Their second goal, you couldn’t ask for a better goal than that.

“We got lucky on [our] second one, but all of the credit goes to the kids for putting something on frame when the pressure counts.”

Benet returns seven starters and has one of its most experienced teams in years, so the Redwings are optimistic.

“I think we could go pretty far this year,” Mogan said. “Coach says he hasn’t seen a team work this hard for a while, so he thinks we can go pretty far.”

That wouldn’t surprise Downers North coach Brian Gervase.

“I was surprised when they got here how large they were,” Gervase said. “They challenged us in the air. I thought we were going to be one of the bigger teams around but we got challenged by them. I thought they were a little more physical than us, especially in the first half. They let us know they were there and that’s something we need to respond to.

“This was good for us, because Benet reminded us that we’re going to have to bring another level of physical play along with what we can do [skill-wise].”

With returning starters, including defenders Marcin Modzelewski, Thomas Budnik and Alex Vogler, all over the field, there is no reason to think the Trojans won’t rack up the victories this season.

“These guys are really dedicated to what they’re doing,” Gervase said. “They’re not goofing around. They come to work hard every day. They have high expectations for themselves, which is the key. I always have high expectations, but we have a group of guys that believe in themselves, that they know that they can do it.”