Red Devils blank Redwings to advance to sectional finals

 

 

By Matt Le Cren

Bang, bang, bang.

That was how Benet Academy coach Bob Gros described Hinsdale Central’s rapid-fire attack in the early going of the second half Tuesday.

The host Red Devils scored three goals in a seven-minute span en route to a 3-0 victory at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional semifinals at Dickinson Field.

The victory advanced top-seeded Hinsdale Central (15-3-3) to the sectional finals for the second consecutive year.

The Red Devils will face either second-seeded Lyons Township or No. 6 Wheaton Warrenville South at 6 p.m. Friday. Those two teams were tied 1-1 when lightning led to the suspension of the other semifinal with 27 remaining in the first overtime.

After a scoreless first half in which neither side could get anything going, Hinsdale Central was able to extend its reliable short passing game into the final third after intermission.

The hosts broke through with 35:13 remaining when senior Casey May scored the first of her two goals on a 10-yard shot.

Jenn Jarmy started the play by dribbling into the left corner before centering the ball to Madeline Engelking in front. Engelking passed to her right to May, who was wide-open.

“Yeah, I was really surprised,” May said. “Usually they have that one girl on my back but I guess I was in the right place at the right time.”

It wouldn’t be the first time it happened. The Red Devils struck again just 1:38 later and May again had a hand in it.

Meghan Schick carried the ball through the midfield before sending a lead pass up the right wing to the speeding May, who took the ball into the box and crossed to Alison Cerny for a picture-perfect finish and a 2-0 lead.

Cerny now has scored in two consecutive playoff games. She got the game-winner against Wheaton North in the regional final.

“Alison has always been a strong player,” May said. “She is really aggressive, she hustles a lot, makes nice moves and she’s really a team player.

“She’s not a selfish player. She knows when to pass and when to shoot and she has a great shot and that’s led to a lot of her success on the field.”

May doesn’t have a bad shot either, as evidenced by her left-footed rocket from 17 yards out that settled in the lower left corner of the Benet net with 27:51 to go, giving the Red Devils a commanding 3-0 cushion.

“The last game we played in the regional final we were really anxious because we were trailing with five minutes left,” May said. “So when we got to…halftime we were really talking about how we didn’t want a repeat; we wanted to put them away early.

“I think we still played our style in the second half but we just played with a lot more desire and a lot more heart and I think that perseverance led to those three goals in that short period of time.”

Hinsdale Central coach Michael Smith concurred.

“The first half we were okay but we lacked that shiftiness, that craftiness in the final third to really create something that could be dangerous,” Smith said. “We were that much more decisive that first 15 minutes [of the second half]. We attacked in space quickly and just played with an urgency.”

Smith was particularly delighted with May’s first goal and not only because it broke the ice.

“That looked just like how we work on it in practice,” Smith said. “The thing that was funny was the girls on the bench were like, ‘Oh, that was just like it was in practice.’ So the fact that they see that, what we’re working on in practice, they’re painting a picture.

“Now will it always look the same? No, but that’s the beautiful thing about soccer – it’s the players on the field that paint that picture in the game. We make a strong stand in practice to paint it with a little more clarity, but that’s why we play the game.”

While May’s goal may have looked like a masterpiece to Smith, to Gros it was more akin to the soccer equivalent of Dante’s Inferno.

“It was a pretty horrible defensive breakdown and it was a bit of a personnel thing,” Gros said. “[Star defender] Sophia [Elbchiri] got tired. She’s been hurt, a sprained meniscus, and her conditioning kind of got out of whack.

“She really needed more rest and we put people we had been using in those positions and you could see what happened, so I had to get her back in and after that they didn’t open us up like a can of worms.”

But the damage had already been done. Benet (17-5-1) had come into the game having won nine of its last 10 games, with the only loss a 4-0 setback to Hinsdale Central on May 9 in a match that saw both squads substitute liberally.

The Red Devils were able to expose Benet’s one major weakness: its injury-riddled back line that was already missing standout Rachel Bernicky.

“Our offense is predicated on our ability to keep our back line organized and that’s a big part of where we start our possession,” Gros noted. “Rachel Bernicky is out. Katie Baumann is not technically familiar with that position.

“She’s a great player but she’s not used to that technical part of it. I thought she did really good and then all of sudden the defense doesn’t get it done. I had to put [Michelle] Morefield back to defensive mid instead of attacking mid. It’s kind of a domino effect.”

As a result, the Redwings were able to muster only five shots, three of which were on frame. Hinsdale Central goalie Riley Glenn saved them all to record her team’s 12th shutout.

“It was definitely a lot harder competition than it was in our previous game against them on Centennial [Field],” May said. “We knew they had a few new players in their back line so me and Jenn and Ali and whoever had to play up top had to learn to deal with them.”

Deal with them they did and now the Red Devils get to a chance to play in front of their home crowd with a sectional title on the line.

“I’m really excited,” May said. “My team is really excited. Last year the sectional final is the game we lost so I’m really excited to be back here again and we really want to win. Our being on our home turf gives us a big advantage because it makes us want to win it that much more.”

Despite the loss, Gros was happy with a season that saw Benet win its first large-school regional championship since 2007. The Redwings moved up to 3A after reaching the 2A supersectionals a year ago.

“To me it’s been a tremendous season with the girls,” Gros said. “Am I disappointed about this result? Yes, I am. Would I like to have those 10 minutes back? Yes, but that’s not the way it is.

“I’m very proud of the girls. We fought hard. We played with a lot of grit and determination and we won a lot of close games.

“[I’m proud of] what we accomplished in getting a 3A regional championship and we’ve got most of them back next year so I’ll look forward to that.”