Redwings advance to BOTW title game
By Chris Walker

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Naperville North failed to clear the ball in the 76th minute of Saturday morning’s Best of the West Tournament match against Benet and it ultimately led to the outcome being decided by penalty kicks, where the Redwings converted all five to earn a hard-fought, 2-1 victory.

The win for Benet sent the Redwings into the title game of this year's Best of the West tournament.

At the start, Alex Senak, Kyle Dal Santo and Brad Bozych all converted their PKs for Benet, while Connor Sharples, Madisen Gonzalez and Zach Peterson matched the Redwings for Naperville North.

Benet senior Joey Chiarello, who also scored the game-tying goal late in the second half, gave the Redwings a 4-3 edge before Dal Santo guessed correctly and rejected Naperville North senior Joe Sullivan’s PK.

Robert Tomecek proceeded to make it a perfect 5-for-5 effort for the Redwings and seal the victory.

“(PKs) are one of the most heart-pounding moments in the game of soccer,” Dal Santo said. “It’s nerve-wracking and only the best can step up to the plate and that’s what we did today.”

While it was the first time this season that the Redwings were part of a match that was decided by penalty kicks, they were prepared, including Senak who inadvertently paid homage to Don Dokken.

“We’ve been practicing those the last two weeks and we were gearing for that big game where we were matched,” Senak said. “We fought tooth and nail to the end and we knew our best five were better than their best five. This was very good for our team.”

Naperville North (3-2-0) was heading toward its third consecutive shutout victory but was unable to clear the ball from the box with less than five minutes remaining.

It offered a great opportunity for the Redwings, and Chiarello left no doubt when he knotted the score at 1-1 with a shot from near the 20-yard line.

“That felt just great,” Chiarello said. “I just wanted to attack the ball and get on it and get a shot on goal. There were a bunch of people in the box and the goalie had made a great save on that.  It bounced loose and we had five guys there and a lot of congestion. I just tried to get the ball and shoot through the congestion.”

Suddenly it was a brand new game.

“We don’t quit,” Chiarello said. “No matter what happens, the game isn’t over until the last second and the horn blows. We play from start to finish all the time.”

Both teams had good bouts of controlling the possession game, but scoring chances were at a premium, which was to be expected when two of the top teams in the state get together.

“It was an even game at 1-1, which would’ve been a fair result but in the end, in a tournament situation we lose in PKs,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Their kid made a nice save and we weren’t able to make one, but Benet’s a good team and it should be a good game tonight, them against (Naperville) Central.”

The Huskies took a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute when Connor Sharples dribbled down the right sideline before sending a cross to Marek Jurkiewicz who buried his shot out of the reach of Dal Santo.

“We really could’ve used another goal, especially with how it turned out,” Jurkiewicz said. “You obviously always want more than one and we didn’t have as many opportunities after that as we did before. We still played hard, but they played hard too. It was a tough game for both sides.”

Fortunately for the Redwings, they are the team that gets to move on to Saturday night’s championship. The Huskies will enjoy the holiday weekend before opening the DVC season against Wheaton North on Tuesday.

“It feels really good and it’s been a longtime since we’ve been to the finals,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We have a good team. Everyone plays together and they play unselfish. They fight, they battle and they try to get over any adversities. I was super happy today.”

Coming off a single-loss season last year, but having lost a great deal of talent from that team due to high school diplomas, has done little to slow a Naperville North team which is going through some growing pains but has a lot of new players chockfull of talent.

“For this point in the season, with the guys we lost, I’m thrilled with how we’re playing,” Konrad said. “They are further along than I thought they’d be.”

Konrad was especially impressed with what he saw from sophomore Chris Ensign and junior Alec Thompson on Saturday.

“Chris plays a defensive mid and has done a real nice job controlling the field and letting Sully (Joe Sullivan) run and create,” Konrad said. “Alec had a great game at left back, which is a new spot for him. He’s a tough kid, a rugged player. He did well for us today and (Benet) didn’t get behind us at all. We didn’t give them a lot of good chances to score and I’m happy about that.”

Of course, the late breakdown is something that might irritate Konrad the rest of the day, but the same can be said with Benet in allowing Jurkiewicz to modify the scoreboard.

“There was a little lapse in the defense of both teams, but that’s part of soccer,” Dal Santo said. “It’s hard to be 100 percent all the time, but I was really proud of our defense today. The guys stepped up. They had one lapse, but didn’t quit and the offense was able to get the goal we needed back.”

And now the Redwings are back in the Best of the West Tournament championship game and looking to avoid any lapses against Naperville Central.