Benet posts 11th shutout in win over Andrew

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By Darryl Mellema

The longer they played on Saturday, the better Benet's girls’ soccer team looked.

Lackluster at times in the first half, the Redwings looked positively terrific by the time the 80 minutes were finished and they had themselves a 2-0 victory over Andrew in the final match for both teams in the Naperville Invitational.

Benet won the game thanks to a pair of second half goals. Meaghan O'Hara scored the first when she hit a long-range rocket off the crossbar and then gathered her own rebound and scored. That goal came with 16:58 to play.

Four minutes later, Amanda Kaiser scored Benet's second goal when she hit a long-range shot from the right wing over the goalkeeper and into the left side netting.

“The second half was much better, Benet coach Henry Wind said. “My marking backs, right and left, came up in the first half and didn't hit the ball well. In the second half, they came up and we've been talking about hitting the ball into the gap, putting it on goal and then crashing.

And that's what happened on the first goal. And then Amanda made a beautiful turn and shot. She's probably one of our more talented players that way, turning and hitting the ball.”

There were chances in the first half. Kelly Diedrich had an effort cleared off the goal line 22 minutes into the match, and Diedrich headed the ball over the crossbar two minutes later.

Diedrich completed a hat trick of near-misses when her long shot 4 minutes from halftime caused some nervous defensive moments for Andrew.

“I think in the first half, we didn't come out hard enough and strong enough,” Diedrich said. “We had the wind and we definitely should have taken more shots than we did. In the second half, we fixed our mistakes, so it turned out nicely.”

For a team that likes to move the ball on the ground, playing on Naperville Central's artificial turf was perfect and the Redwings only rarely let Andrew attack them with numbers.

“I liked the way we passed the ball and controlled it and had movement,” Wind said. “Just our play in the attacking third. We talked about shooting with the wind but we never got our body in a situation where we were a half a step away from the ball. We were always reaching for the ball. We've got to learn to take people on one-on-one a little better.”

Take a look at Benet's schedule and you don't find a lot of easy matches, certainly not in the nonconference schedule, which includes the likes of Downers Grove South, York and Hinsdale Central.

The Redwings don't take things easy in their tournament competition either. In the Naperville Invitational, they played Wheaton Warrenville South, Carl Sandburg and Lincoln-Way Central as part of their four-experience, a sequence from which they emerged with a 12-4-3 record.

“I thought we really played well against Sandburg (1-0 loss),” Wind said. “I think the one thing we probably lack right now is one or two quality strikers. So we've got to do it as a team effort. I thought we did really well against Sandburg and also Wheaton Warrenville South (0-0, lost on penalty kicks.) The wind was awful when we played Lincoln-Way Central and the rain was coming down. I didn't get much out of that except being cold, but we scored five goals, which was nice to see.”

Wind said there are other things he gains from a quality tournament such as the Naperville Invitational.

“It gets us to play and it gets us to take a look at a few situations,” Wind said. “A lot of times when we play in conference, I know who my set lineup is. I got to see some kids in this and got to move some kids around and some kids impressed me.”

Certainly the Redwings are aware that they have to raise their playing level in the state tournament.

“We know we're playing against good teams,” Diedrich said. “We're a little frustrated with the outcomes we had with our first two games, against Sandburg and Wheaton Warrenville South.
But we focused and played strong and played well today. We're just a little frustrated with the two losses.”

Wind said one of the players whose play he liked through the tournament was Diana Kinn, a junior midfielder.

“She was our left-outside today,” Wind said. “She's not a left winger, but she did a nice job for us there. I need somebody on the left side. I have Madie (Burke.) But when I slide Madie inside, I have nobody on the left. I thought Diana Kinn did a nice job there.”

The IHSA tournament is only two weeks away, so the answers to questions a coach like Wind got through his team's Naperville Invitational performances could pay nearly immediate dividends.

“We're improving,” Diedrich said. “We've had a little rocky time, but we have to stay consistent. Overall, our record is where we want it to be be. But we want to come out and pick it up in the first 10 minutes or so a little stronger than we have been.”

Of the goals the Redwings still hope to achieve is the East Suburban Catholic Conference title. Key matches with Fenwick and St. Viator remain.

“We're definitely getting ready for playoffs, but we want to stay focused on the conference matches, because if we win them, we'll be champions,” Diedrich said. “In the playoffs, you never know what will happen.”