Redwings win "track meet" over Batavia
Morefield goal sends Benet to a regional title game

 

By Gary Larsen
Photo courtesy of Bret Richter

A 6-5 barnburner would have taken place between Batavia and Benet in their regional semifinal game, if not for a defiant soccer ball that flatly refused to be put in net.

Except once.

Brian Morefield’s goal at 73 minutes gave Benet a 1-0 win over Batavia at Naperville Central, where chances flew far, wide, and were turned away repeatedly by both team’s goalkeepers.

“The way it was going back-and-forth, it seemed like the first team to put one in was going to win it,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said.

“It was a track meet,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “I thought it was a great soccer game to watch. It felt like (Batavia) defended with six and attacked with four. There was nothing in the middle for either team. It was end-to-end. They had chances and we had chances, and we were fortunate to get one.”

It was also a game of odd occurrences. Twice in the second half, Benet sent in shots that Batavia keeper Ben Steskal tipped off the underside of the crossbar. Both times the ball caromed straight down to the artificial turf, and both times Benet had players crashing net only to send the follow-up wide of net.

Steskal stood tall in net all night, punching out serves, gathering in free kicks, and hitting the ground to smother Benet scoring chances to keep the slate clean for nearly the entire contest.

Benet keeper Kyle DalSanto stood equally tall in a game that saw both teams find dangerous shots with relative regularity.

“Kyle is fantastic. He makes the hard things in soccer look very easy,” Wesley said. “Is he ever diving, pulling them out of the window? No, because he’s always in the right place and always eats it up, and doesn’t give up rebounds. He has great hands. The best compliment you can give a goalie is that he makes it look easy, and it’s obviously not easy.”

After a scoreless first half, the two teams took turns embarking on wild romps into each other’s defensive thirds.

“I’m happy with the way the guys played,” Gianfrancesco said. “I thought they put a great effort in. Nobody quit, a hundred-and-ten percent, and we created some opportunities.

“If you’re not getting the opportunities, then you’ve got problems. But we’ve been creating and it’s just been a matter of putting it in the back of the net.”

Benet employed the lunchbucket attacking style they’ve used all season until Morefield finished on a Ryan Reilly feed from 14 yards out.

“It’s kind of our style. I know it’s not pretty,” Wesley said. “We want to put the ball in the box forty times. We believe that high school soccer is just that, and if we get guys who turn into men and go find the ball in the box, we’re going to get goals.”

Nobody ever wants their senior season to end, and Morefield extended his by scoring a goal for a Benet team that has had its ups and downs this year, but has never stopped throwing punches.

“We worked hard. It was played over the top and I just knew I had to beat (the defender) and put it over him,” Morefield said. “We lived to see another day.”

For Batavia, Justin Rayburn, Lalo Cuautle, Cody Witkowski, and Cody Balogh all found dangerous space throughout the contest, but simply couldn’t finish.

“In my opinion we were really well-matched. It was competitive, hard hitting, and very good soccer in my opinion,” Rayburn said. “I hit a lot of one-timers over the goalie. It seemed like we had more chances, but they had opportunities and neither team could score.”

A Bulldogs team that only graduates three seniors went 8-8-5 this season, playing another rock-solid schedule and entering the sectional as the No. 11 seed.

“I thought Calvin Baez stood out for us, and I thought Anthony Torres was steady, and Cody Witkowski had his moments,” Gianfrancesco said. “Cuautle had his moments, and Ben (Steskal) stepped up for us and made some good saves. He was consistent tonight.

These guys should feel down, remember the taste in their mouth they have right now, and come back next year. I hope this motivates them for next year.”
 
No. 6 Benet (11-8-1) and No. 3 Naperville Central (11-6-1) will get after each other on Saturday with a regional title on the line, at 2:00 p.m. at Naperville Central.
 
“I was proud of the way our kids kept fighting, kept putting the ball in the box, and kept making things dangerous,” Wesley said.

“We got good play out of Ryan Reilly in the back, great play out of Brendan Gesior – we had all kinds of kids coming back from injuries and not knowing how they were going to play. They all stepped up.”