Lions do everything but finish in OT loss to Benet
By Mike Garofola

Each time Michelle Morefield and Amanda Kaiser would mention how much Emma Hlavin meant to the Benet cause during a post-game interview, the sophomore, who was just a few feet away, would chirp "Hlavin - the H is silent".

The good-natured quip from the sophomore brought a quick smile to her teammates, and it also helped bring some much-needed relief from the stress of a tightly contested match with long-time ESCC rival Saint Viator.

Benet had just stunned Saint Viator in overtime following Kaisers' strike in the 83rd minute.

Goalkeeper Hlavin might have been the player-of-the-match for Benet, despite Kaisers' game-winner, as she took control of nearly every ball sent into or near the box and made a couple of important goal-saving stops in front of a newly-constructed backline.

At game time, the victory kept the Redwings (15-3-1, 8-1-0) within reach of a potential tie with Carmel for the ESCC silverware, but hours later the Corsairs clinched the conference title when they defeated Fenwick 3-0.

"Emma did a great job for us throughout this game," Kaiser said. "She came through when we needed her most, on a day when we played maybe our worse soccer of the season."

Morefield agreed with Kaiser's assessment.

"We came out so flat, and we didn't adjust well to playing on the thick, natural grass here," she said. "We're a turf team for sure and it showed, because we played and looked slow, and never really possessed the ball or played through our midfield. But we somehow hung in there, kept them off the board, and got the win. And that's what it's all about."

It appeared during the early stages that Benet would relent to the pace and energy that Saint Viator's Chloe Luthringshausen and Katharine Sexton brought, as the duo ran through and past the Redwings backline to put a scare in the Benet faithful.

"We were in pretty bad shape with the injuries that we had, almost all of them along our backline," Benet coach Bob Gros said.

Gros would tick off the names of Lindsy Kendrick (concussion), Rachel Pavlinec (ACL), Sophia Elbchiri and Rachel Bernicky among the missing along the back, before entering Emily Curtis, Grace Bumpus and Claire Elenteny into his first-11 along the back, with Katie Baumann positioned just in front of his back three.

"We struggled for most of the first half defensively, but the rest of us didn't help," began Morefield. "We weren't winning any balls in the middle, and we just didn't hold onto the ball very well either."

"I thought we let them off the hook in that first half," said Mike Taylor, the long-time manager at St. Viator.

"They couldn't match our pace at the start, Chloe was getting through them almost every time down, and we really dominated the all-around play, but just couldn't put one of those balls into the back of the net.”

The Lions had been riding their second three-game win streak of the season, outscoring their opponents 9-2 during that stretch, while finally showing signs of being the type of team Taylor envisioned at the start of the season.

"We're starting to gel, and I think the tough non-conference schedule is starting to show (that) we can play with anybody, which in the playoffs is going to help us get through when things get a little tight for us."

Viator senior Erin Renee Murphy also understands the benefits attached to the Lions' rugged schedule.

"We can compete with anyone we will see in the 2A state playoffs, and I think we all know it, and if we can just get a little better finishing, the chance to go far is there for us," said the midfielder Murphy, who along with Sara Cooney, Lauren Kohn and Molly Murphy showed a high work rate in the middle of the park and a high percentage of 50-50 wins, especially in the first period.

It was obvious if the Benet attack was going to go anywhere on this day, that it had to find or play through Kaiser, and it was the Redwings captain who put the first shot in the scorebook at 16 minutes, which veered left of keeper Samantha Stanley.

Hlavin saved a header off an Erin Murphy corner, a low drive at the near post from Luthringshausen, and then watched a fierce angled shot at 40 minutes from Luthringshausen ruffle the side netting.

Benet got a scare just minutes into the second period when a ball out of the back pried open its defense, and put the senior Luthringshausen through and in on Hlavin, but the Lions leading scorer wasn't able to put enough pace on her shot, which allowed the Benet keeper to save with ease.

Moments later, Hlavin was tested more severely and if not for a marvelous stop on Luthringshausen's 51st minute strike it would have been a 1-0 advantage for the home side.

It was all one-way traffic in the Benet end after this flurry, except for a well-played early ball from Meagan O'Hara that Stanley read well before racing off her line to gobble up the potentially dangerous ball at the top of the box.

Maggie Leazer set up Luthringshausen at 67 minutes - resulting in yet another Hlavin save -- and then a long throw from Erin Murphy found Kohn for a header near the 6. Kohn’s shot brushed the bar and fell to an awaiting Hlavin, but it was Sexton's 16-yard smash which brought applause from the Benet fans when their keeper made a strong save.

"When you put twenty-plus shots on their keeper, at least one of them has to go in, but it didn't today," bemoaned Taylor after the match.

Both sides were gasping for air during a frantic final 5 minutes of regulation, but each club perked up once the first sudden-death session began.

Stanley stopped a Morefield attempt, and after a patient buildup from Leazer and Kohn it was Sexton who had a go at Hlavin, who turned away the 82nd minute shot.

But O'Meara and Morefield were in sync moments later for the game-winner.

"I had noticed the last couple of times down that (Saint Viator) had been overloading that one side, so when Meagan (O'Hara) gave me that great ball, it was kind of easy from there to score," said Morefield, who drove her low shot past a diving Stanley.

"It's a frustrating loss for sure, especially after controlling most of the game,” Viator senior Liz Graff said. “But I really feel that we've come a long way with our defense, and that Micaela (Lonigro) and Kayne (Stanley) and I are playing well as a group, and that everyone is getting much more comfortable in the way the coaches want us to play. And that's going to help us all in the playoffs.”

Murphy agreed.

"We've been putting it all together of late. Today we did really well with our possession, especially in the first half, and we were all strong in our 50-50's, and we really didn't allow (Benet) anything at Sam (Stanley) until overtime.

"Everyone has to do better with their finishing, and if we do, we're going to be just fine when the state tournament begins next week."