Benet stunned by Nazareth OT heroics
Roadrunners overcome adversity to upset Redwings
By Dave Owen
LAGRANGE PARK – The challenge of playing defending East Suburban Catholic Conference champion and perennial state power Benet will undoubtably bring out extra effort in teams.
Nazareth had an even bigger motivation Tuesday against the Redwings, who are ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
With longtime coach John Nikchevich undergoing surgery earlier in the day and expected to not return to the team until early May, the Roadrunners (5-2-0) delivered their mentor a great get-well present – a 3-1 double-overtime upset of the visiting Redwings (2-2-0) in the ESCC opener for both teams.
“Our coach is in surgery today, so we played for him and won for him,” said Nazareth senior Claire Ramsey, whose dominant play in the two five-minute overtimes earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“We had more spirit going into this than ever before, and we knew he wanted this more than anything, so we did it for him.
“It means a lot to the team,” Ramsey added. “We’ve never beaten Benet before in my four years here. It means a lot to coach too – I know he’ll be happy to hear.”
After the Redwings had drawn even at 1-1 with 7:04 left in regulation on Nicole Burns’ goal off a nice Betsy Keefe assist, Nazareth was re-energized to act fast in the non-golden goal overtime sessions.
Just 1:16 into the first overtime, Ramsey’s left side corner kick high across the crease was lined in at the back post by Amanda DeCesare to put Nazareth up 2-1.
“We practice those a lot,” Ramsey said, “and make sure the girls on the back post are running in.”
After repelling a trio of Benet threats in the last 3:05 of the first OT (an Erin Flynn 38-yard free kick, a Flynn left side drive, and a Katie Gesior and Burns combination drive that was denied), the Roadrunners answered waves of Redwing second OT pressure with another score in the final seconds.
A nice send by Benet’s Mary Kate Wilhelm to Gesior eventually set up a Flynn shot with 2:20 left. But Nazareth’s Maddie Mazur blocked that attempt, and Ramsey followed 15 seconds later with her own block of a Madeleine Becker 30-yard shot.
Nazareth then made its first chance since the first OT corner kick pay off. After Angelica Ariola was fouled, Ramsey tucked a perfectly struck 25-yard free kick from the right side inside the upper left crossbar for a 3-1 lead with just 20.9 seconds left.
“I’ve been practicing those a lot in practice, and I like that spot right there. It just worked out nicely,” said Ramsey, who plans to walk on at Michigan after the fall season.
“We knew we had to lock it down,” Ramsey added about the Roadrunners’ OT strategy. “A lot of times we get to the overtime, and we get a little panicky. We had to keep composed and play how we knew we could play.”
Longtime Nazareth assistant Ben Boyd had a memorable debut as interim head coach.
“They were very well organized, kept to their responsibilties and showed team effort,” Boyd said of his squad. “We’ve started to get our team chemistry going, and today for the whole game girls were listening to each other and doing what they were supposed to. I think that was the big difference from our other games so far.”
As for Benet, the overtime adversity capped a day of frustrating missed chances.
“We definitely put a lot of pressure on them,” Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said, “but they were so much more efficient from goal. That’s what it comes down to.
“Once they put one in in the overtime period, it’s hard to crawl back. That 10-minute span goes by so quickly.
“We just need to do better with our chances at the goal,” Oconer added. “Every conference game for us is going to be a battle – we have a huge target on our backs from winning conference last year.”
That target combined with rustiness set the Redwings on their heels.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Oconer said, “because I don’t think they (Nazareth) went on spring break, and we haven’t done anything in about a week. We had practice yesterday, but that’s about it (since a March 28 win over York).
“And they’ve had some really good results – they’re a really good team.”
Benet came out strong, producing quality first half chances. A Becker 8-yard shot over the net off a Erin Flynn corner kick was one near miss, then off a deflection of Gesior’s 30-yard direct kick 15:30 before halftime, Mia Tommasone’s rebound try went just over the net.
A Betsy Keefe corner kick in the 37th minute was another huge threat – Alexandra Sarros’ subsequent pass was one-touched just over the net from 10 yards by Cami Picha.
Nazareth withstood those threats, and made a well-struck shot count just 51.6 seconds before the half.
Off a throw-in, Julie Saladino lofted a high 30-yard shot that landed over the outstretched arms of Benet goalkeeper Anna Keefe and just under the crossbar for a 1-0 halftime lead.
“Right under the crossbar over the hands is something female goalkeepers struggle with,” Boyd said. “I have a friend who plays for the Red Stars, and that’s her weakness. It’s a struggle with depth perception – its’s hard to read those well.”
Benet answered the 1-0 deficit with two early second half chances, including Nazareth goalkeeper Mary Clare Harrington’s diving cover of Kate Flynn’s end line attack and cross with 32:30 left.
The Roadrunners’ defense later blocked two Gesior shots in succession of a corner kick sequence at 27:15, and Ramsey made a nice steal on a Betsy Keefe and Abby Casmere threat in the box with 26:05 to go.
Ramsey’s defense nearly led to a Nazareth score with 10 minutes left – she intercepted a corner kick cross and dribbled end to end, eventually being denied by Anna Keefe’s save on her 20-yard shot.
Outside of that counterattack and two other Ramsey-produced chances in the 24th minute of the second half (headers wide off a corner kick and 40-yard Ramsey direct kick), Benet was on the offensive.
After Grace Girard was fouled, Clare Bumpus’ strong 60-yard free kick set up an Erin Flynn shot on goal with 11:30 left.
Then with 7:30 to go, Harrington barely beat Erin Flynn in a race to Becker’s long send to the box.
The next Benet attack would finally pay off – Betsy Keefe raced in on the right side, and her cross to the front was punched home by Burns for her second goal of 2017 and a 1-1 tie.
“Betsy had a great run down the line,” Burns said. “I was just in the right place at the right time, and I was able to finish it.”
Keefe’s role in the goal was nothing new.
“Betsy Keefe is probably our most dangerous offensive player,” Oconer said. “And (midfielder) Katie Gesior has basically carried us all year. Primarily those two have really stood out for us.”
Back in a tie and seemingly with momentum, the Redwings’ hopes were spoiled by Ramsey’s overtime heroics and her win-or-else approach.
“I talked with Claire (before the OT), and I asked if she wanted to go for a win or play for the tie,” Boyd said. “She said she wanted to play for the win, so we changed our formation a little bit to put pressure on and create opportunities. And it worked out in a positive way.
“Claire is just a natural leader. For her four years here, game in and game out she’s been a difference maker. I’ve really tried to get her to understand the importance of being an on-field leader and assisting goals rather than score goals, because I think it’s the next step in her game to make her even more difficult to defend. Especially when she goes on to the next level, having multiple dimensions to her game will help her be successful.”
A breakthrough win over perennial power Benet has Nazareth’s confidence soaring.
“We’re rolling now,” Ramsey said. “We just have to keep focus, make sure we’re working hard in practice and not get too cocky.”
Benet hopes the setback is a good early season lesson learned.
“They (Nazareth) just played harder – they had more heart and wanted it more,” Burns said.
“We can’t take anything for granted. We beat them by a lot last year (4-1 score), but we have to realize we’re going to have a target on our backs after winning conference last year. So we just have to try harder and not taking anything for granted.”
Benet makes its ESCC home debut Thursday against Marist, with its high hopes for 2017 dented but undiminished.
“We’re just building for the end of the year,” Oconer said. “This isn’t the most ideal of games for us, but it helps us for the end of the season.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Anna Keefe
D Mary Kate Hansen
D Kate Flynn
D Clare Bumpus
D Mary Kate Wilhelm
M Madeleine Becker
M Abby Casmere
M Katie Gesior
F Betsy Keefe
F Mia Tommasone
F Erin Flynn
Nazareth
GK Mary Clare Harrington
D Brianna Tovar
D Allison Salata
D Amanda DeCesare
D Holly Skrip
M Claire Ramsey
M Sophia Cullotta
M Grace Heery
M Maddie Mazur
F Julia Olander
F Angelica Ariola
MVP of the Match: Claire Ramsey, sr., MF, Nazareth
Roadrunners overcome adversity to upset Redwings
By Dave Owen
LAGRANGE PARK – The challenge of playing defending East Suburban Catholic Conference champion and perennial state power Benet will undoubtably bring out extra effort in teams.
Nazareth had an even bigger motivation Tuesday against the Redwings, who are ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
With longtime coach John Nikchevich undergoing surgery earlier in the day and expected to not return to the team until early May, the Roadrunners (5-2-0) delivered their mentor a great get-well present – a 3-1 double-overtime upset of the visiting Redwings (2-2-0) in the ESCC opener for both teams.
“Our coach is in surgery today, so we played for him and won for him,” said Nazareth senior Claire Ramsey, whose dominant play in the two five-minute overtimes earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“We had more spirit going into this than ever before, and we knew he wanted this more than anything, so we did it for him.
“It means a lot to the team,” Ramsey added. “We’ve never beaten Benet before in my four years here. It means a lot to coach too – I know he’ll be happy to hear.”
After the Redwings had drawn even at 1-1 with 7:04 left in regulation on Nicole Burns’ goal off a nice Betsy Keefe assist, Nazareth was re-energized to act fast in the non-golden goal overtime sessions.
Just 1:16 into the first overtime, Ramsey’s left side corner kick high across the crease was lined in at the back post by Amanda DeCesare to put Nazareth up 2-1.
“We practice those a lot,” Ramsey said, “and make sure the girls on the back post are running in.”
After repelling a trio of Benet threats in the last 3:05 of the first OT (an Erin Flynn 38-yard free kick, a Flynn left side drive, and a Katie Gesior and Burns combination drive that was denied), the Roadrunners answered waves of Redwing second OT pressure with another score in the final seconds.
A nice send by Benet’s Mary Kate Wilhelm to Gesior eventually set up a Flynn shot with 2:20 left. But Nazareth’s Maddie Mazur blocked that attempt, and Ramsey followed 15 seconds later with her own block of a Madeleine Becker 30-yard shot.
Nazareth then made its first chance since the first OT corner kick pay off. After Angelica Ariola was fouled, Ramsey tucked a perfectly struck 25-yard free kick from the right side inside the upper left crossbar for a 3-1 lead with just 20.9 seconds left.
“I’ve been practicing those a lot in practice, and I like that spot right there. It just worked out nicely,” said Ramsey, who plans to walk on at Michigan after the fall season.
“We knew we had to lock it down,” Ramsey added about the Roadrunners’ OT strategy. “A lot of times we get to the overtime, and we get a little panicky. We had to keep composed and play how we knew we could play.”
Longtime Nazareth assistant Ben Boyd had a memorable debut as interim head coach.
“They were very well organized, kept to their responsibilties and showed team effort,” Boyd said of his squad. “We’ve started to get our team chemistry going, and today for the whole game girls were listening to each other and doing what they were supposed to. I think that was the big difference from our other games so far.”
As for Benet, the overtime adversity capped a day of frustrating missed chances.
“We definitely put a lot of pressure on them,” Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said, “but they were so much more efficient from goal. That’s what it comes down to.
“Once they put one in in the overtime period, it’s hard to crawl back. That 10-minute span goes by so quickly.
“We just need to do better with our chances at the goal,” Oconer added. “Every conference game for us is going to be a battle – we have a huge target on our backs from winning conference last year.”
That target combined with rustiness set the Redwings on their heels.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Oconer said, “because I don’t think they (Nazareth) went on spring break, and we haven’t done anything in about a week. We had practice yesterday, but that’s about it (since a March 28 win over York).
“And they’ve had some really good results – they’re a really good team.”
Benet came out strong, producing quality first half chances. A Becker 8-yard shot over the net off a Erin Flynn corner kick was one near miss, then off a deflection of Gesior’s 30-yard direct kick 15:30 before halftime, Mia Tommasone’s rebound try went just over the net.
A Betsy Keefe corner kick in the 37th minute was another huge threat – Alexandra Sarros’ subsequent pass was one-touched just over the net from 10 yards by Cami Picha.
Nazareth withstood those threats, and made a well-struck shot count just 51.6 seconds before the half.
Off a throw-in, Julie Saladino lofted a high 30-yard shot that landed over the outstretched arms of Benet goalkeeper Anna Keefe and just under the crossbar for a 1-0 halftime lead.
“Right under the crossbar over the hands is something female goalkeepers struggle with,” Boyd said. “I have a friend who plays for the Red Stars, and that’s her weakness. It’s a struggle with depth perception – its’s hard to read those well.”
Benet answered the 1-0 deficit with two early second half chances, including Nazareth goalkeeper Mary Clare Harrington’s diving cover of Kate Flynn’s end line attack and cross with 32:30 left.
The Roadrunners’ defense later blocked two Gesior shots in succession of a corner kick sequence at 27:15, and Ramsey made a nice steal on a Betsy Keefe and Abby Casmere threat in the box with 26:05 to go.
Ramsey’s defense nearly led to a Nazareth score with 10 minutes left – she intercepted a corner kick cross and dribbled end to end, eventually being denied by Anna Keefe’s save on her 20-yard shot.
Outside of that counterattack and two other Ramsey-produced chances in the 24th minute of the second half (headers wide off a corner kick and 40-yard Ramsey direct kick), Benet was on the offensive.
After Grace Girard was fouled, Clare Bumpus’ strong 60-yard free kick set up an Erin Flynn shot on goal with 11:30 left.
Then with 7:30 to go, Harrington barely beat Erin Flynn in a race to Becker’s long send to the box.
The next Benet attack would finally pay off – Betsy Keefe raced in on the right side, and her cross to the front was punched home by Burns for her second goal of 2017 and a 1-1 tie.
“Betsy had a great run down the line,” Burns said. “I was just in the right place at the right time, and I was able to finish it.”
Keefe’s role in the goal was nothing new.
“Betsy Keefe is probably our most dangerous offensive player,” Oconer said. “And (midfielder) Katie Gesior has basically carried us all year. Primarily those two have really stood out for us.”
Back in a tie and seemingly with momentum, the Redwings’ hopes were spoiled by Ramsey’s overtime heroics and her win-or-else approach.
“I talked with Claire (before the OT), and I asked if she wanted to go for a win or play for the tie,” Boyd said. “She said she wanted to play for the win, so we changed our formation a little bit to put pressure on and create opportunities. And it worked out in a positive way.
“Claire is just a natural leader. For her four years here, game in and game out she’s been a difference maker. I’ve really tried to get her to understand the importance of being an on-field leader and assisting goals rather than score goals, because I think it’s the next step in her game to make her even more difficult to defend. Especially when she goes on to the next level, having multiple dimensions to her game will help her be successful.”
A breakthrough win over perennial power Benet has Nazareth’s confidence soaring.
“We’re rolling now,” Ramsey said. “We just have to keep focus, make sure we’re working hard in practice and not get too cocky.”
Benet hopes the setback is a good early season lesson learned.
“They (Nazareth) just played harder – they had more heart and wanted it more,” Burns said.
“We can’t take anything for granted. We beat them by a lot last year (4-1 score), but we have to realize we’re going to have a target on our backs after winning conference last year. So we just have to try harder and not taking anything for granted.”
Benet makes its ESCC home debut Thursday against Marist, with its high hopes for 2017 dented but undiminished.
“We’re just building for the end of the year,” Oconer said. “This isn’t the most ideal of games for us, but it helps us for the end of the season.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK Anna Keefe
D Mary Kate Hansen
D Kate Flynn
D Clare Bumpus
D Mary Kate Wilhelm
M Madeleine Becker
M Abby Casmere
M Katie Gesior
F Betsy Keefe
F Mia Tommasone
F Erin Flynn
Nazareth
GK Mary Clare Harrington
D Brianna Tovar
D Allison Salata
D Amanda DeCesare
D Holly Skrip
M Claire Ramsey
M Sophia Cullotta
M Grace Heery
M Maddie Mazur
F Julia Olander
F Angelica Ariola
MVP of the Match: Claire Ramsey, sr., MF, Nazareth