Benet flies to 3rd place finish
Redwings top Jacksonville 3-0 for 1st state trophy since 2001
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Soccer is the most capricious of games, subject to the unaccountable or thoroughly strange. On Friday, Benet worked ferociously for 100 minutes to score in a state semifinal game against Latin, only to be thwarted.
What a difference a day makes. Charlie Kane loomed large, like his fictional namesake in Orson Welles’s landmark film, Citizen Kane (the media mogul played by Welles was named Charles Foster Kane). Call it stagecraft of a high order. This time Benet’s success was no illusion.
Kane alertly seized a ball at the near post off a corner by midfielder Nick Trakszelis in the third minute that he put away to galvanize the Redwings early and provide a more optimistic indication of a better day ahead. Benet went on to defeat Jacksonville 3-0 in the Class 2A third place game Saturday at Hoffman Estates High School.
The Redwings (21-2-2) recorded their best state finish since Henry Wind directed the Lisle school to back-to-back Class A state championships in 2000 and 2001.
A physical 6-foot-1 defender, who is also the team’s long free-kick specialist, Kane did not flinch.
“Sometimes it happens that way,” said Kane, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction. “Yesterday, I think we had double the number of shots as Latin. Unfortunately none of them went in, and that’s the game we play. The better or more aggressive offensive team does not always win.”
Benet was also adjusting to a significant absence with elite senior defender Bennett Curtis out after suffering a foot injury Friday. In the third place game, the Redwings’ defense rose to the occasion with several spectacular clearances against the Crimsons in the second half with the game still in the balance. The psychological ramifications of the early goal was felt on both sides.
“Yesterday was the first time we have been shut out a long time,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We had some pretty good chances, but they played the counterattack very well, and it made it difficult for us to create really good scoring chances. Here today, obviously a third place game is a little more straight up.
“I think after yesterday we were very motivated not to go out with two losses to end the year after the season we had.”
Conversely, Jacksonville (21-6-0) experienced an epic shootout against Mount Carmel in its semifinal that was not decided until the ninth shooter. Allowing a goal right at the start was wounding.
“We are a team that plays with a lot of confidence, and I think after that early goal, that was not how we wanted to start. But we did a good job of controlling the action after that and had a lot of good chances in the first half,” Jacksonville star forward Steven Albers said.
The Benet goal provided some comfort. Jacksonville responded by mounting considerable and withering pressure.
“All of the games have been so big leading up to this, so that has happened to us before where score a goal early and then suddenly the pressure and anxiety made it very difficult,” Wesley said. “Our supersectional game in Sterling against Quincy Notre Dame was like that, where we got one very early and you feel the onslaught of the other team coming at you. And you have to be able to withstand that in order to get a result at the end of the day.”
Benet nearly surrendered an own goal late in the first half. Junior keeper Brian Gould made a quick recovery, underlining the team’s sharpness and ability to cope with the heightened pressure and stress. Both teams played with an edge and urgency, eager to go out with a victory.
Benet got to the break holding the 1-0 lead. Sometimes, holding steady and taking the other side’s best punch is not just sufficient. It breaks the other team’s spirit.
“In games like this with great teams, great players and great coaches, you are going to be under it at times and how you respond to that is going to be the key, and I thought we responded to it very well,” Wesley said.
Benet began the second half with discipline and confidence and dictated tempo and rhythm. The Redwings created some strong play in the final third, leading to a game-altering sequence. In the 47th minute, off a throw-in, sophomore forward Franklin Rutkowski controlled the ball on the right edge and worked his way down the flank before slotting the ball to wide open Ben Kelly for the easy finish for the 2-0 lead.
“I got the ball off of my chest, and I kind of held it off to wait and see what the defenders would do,” Rutkowski said. “I saw an opening to my right, and I turned and went through there and got a little bit of space and decided to go to the end line. I glanced up and saw Ben on the front post so I gave it to him, and he put it away.”
Countering Jacksonville’s pressure exposed their weakness in the back. Kelly scored the final goal of his Benet career -- his 24th of the year.
“After we got that first goal at the start, they really started to press us, and we were under it for a long time,” Kelly said. “The goal at the start of the second half was almost a statement, saying we were back, and we were going to play our game and put another one away. And I think the chances just started coming in. With so many chances you are going to eventually put one in, and once we got that third one we put it away.”
The Benet defense did the rest, marking a complete effort for the Redwings. Gould made a great kick stop off a great shot by Albers, who scored 37 goals this year. Defender Matt Lang also made a great clearance in the 59th minute. Midfielder Collin Dannheim, playing back, headed another strong Jacksonville ball off the line.
Benet punctuated the victory in the 74th minute as Nick Renfro advanced the ball down the right edge and delivered a sharp ball that midfielder Ryan Tomecek volleyed in for the Redwings’ final goal of the year.
Camaraderie and a natural togetherness played a significant part in the Redwings’ run.
“We all knew each other before the start of the season,” Kelly said. “We had a greater partnership on the field. It wasn’t like years past, where some of those partnerships were isolated. Each partnership worked really well with other partnerships and that created one whole really good group that flowed very well together.”
That fusing of youth and experience paved the way for a dream run, Wesley said. The closeness between senior Kelly and sophomore Rutkowski illustrated the deeper unity.
“I mean they’re not supposed to mix in high school, a senior star and a sophomore who will be the next great player,” Wesley said. “They’re not supposed to get along, and they sit together on the bus.
“You could go through the whole lineup, and it’s like that. If we had success it was for that reason alone, the seniors being very welcoming and wanting to get the best out of the young guys.
“It was a dream season as a coach, all of it -- our record, winning, and throw in the fact we had an amazing roster. Maybe the only downside was when I broke my nose in practice. Other than I’d say the entire ride was fantastic. We only lost two games, one came in August and the other came yesterday.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK: Brian Gould
D: Devin Martini
D: Matt Lang
D: Charlie Kane
D: Tony Hopp
MF: Nick Trakszelis
MF: Ryan Tomecek
MF: Nick Renfro
MF: Connor Mote
F: Ben Kelly
F: Franklin Rutkowski
Jacksonville
GK: Grant Flynn
D: Ethan Karr
D: Reece Cox
D: John Gibbons
D: Brandon McCombs
MF: Tyler DeGroot
MF: Nash Oldenettel
MF: Jacob Bates
MF: Ben Luetz
MF: Drew Keller
F: Steven Albers
Man of the match: Charlie Kane, D, Benet
Redwings top Jacksonville 3-0 for 1st state trophy since 2001
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Soccer is the most capricious of games, subject to the unaccountable or thoroughly strange. On Friday, Benet worked ferociously for 100 minutes to score in a state semifinal game against Latin, only to be thwarted.
What a difference a day makes. Charlie Kane loomed large, like his fictional namesake in Orson Welles’s landmark film, Citizen Kane (the media mogul played by Welles was named Charles Foster Kane). Call it stagecraft of a high order. This time Benet’s success was no illusion.
Kane alertly seized a ball at the near post off a corner by midfielder Nick Trakszelis in the third minute that he put away to galvanize the Redwings early and provide a more optimistic indication of a better day ahead. Benet went on to defeat Jacksonville 3-0 in the Class 2A third place game Saturday at Hoffman Estates High School.
The Redwings (21-2-2) recorded their best state finish since Henry Wind directed the Lisle school to back-to-back Class A state championships in 2000 and 2001.
A physical 6-foot-1 defender, who is also the team’s long free-kick specialist, Kane did not flinch.
“Sometimes it happens that way,” said Kane, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction. “Yesterday, I think we had double the number of shots as Latin. Unfortunately none of them went in, and that’s the game we play. The better or more aggressive offensive team does not always win.”
Benet was also adjusting to a significant absence with elite senior defender Bennett Curtis out after suffering a foot injury Friday. In the third place game, the Redwings’ defense rose to the occasion with several spectacular clearances against the Crimsons in the second half with the game still in the balance. The psychological ramifications of the early goal was felt on both sides.
“Yesterday was the first time we have been shut out a long time,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We had some pretty good chances, but they played the counterattack very well, and it made it difficult for us to create really good scoring chances. Here today, obviously a third place game is a little more straight up.
“I think after yesterday we were very motivated not to go out with two losses to end the year after the season we had.”
Conversely, Jacksonville (21-6-0) experienced an epic shootout against Mount Carmel in its semifinal that was not decided until the ninth shooter. Allowing a goal right at the start was wounding.
“We are a team that plays with a lot of confidence, and I think after that early goal, that was not how we wanted to start. But we did a good job of controlling the action after that and had a lot of good chances in the first half,” Jacksonville star forward Steven Albers said.
The Benet goal provided some comfort. Jacksonville responded by mounting considerable and withering pressure.
“All of the games have been so big leading up to this, so that has happened to us before where score a goal early and then suddenly the pressure and anxiety made it very difficult,” Wesley said. “Our supersectional game in Sterling against Quincy Notre Dame was like that, where we got one very early and you feel the onslaught of the other team coming at you. And you have to be able to withstand that in order to get a result at the end of the day.”
Benet nearly surrendered an own goal late in the first half. Junior keeper Brian Gould made a quick recovery, underlining the team’s sharpness and ability to cope with the heightened pressure and stress. Both teams played with an edge and urgency, eager to go out with a victory.
Benet got to the break holding the 1-0 lead. Sometimes, holding steady and taking the other side’s best punch is not just sufficient. It breaks the other team’s spirit.
“In games like this with great teams, great players and great coaches, you are going to be under it at times and how you respond to that is going to be the key, and I thought we responded to it very well,” Wesley said.
Benet began the second half with discipline and confidence and dictated tempo and rhythm. The Redwings created some strong play in the final third, leading to a game-altering sequence. In the 47th minute, off a throw-in, sophomore forward Franklin Rutkowski controlled the ball on the right edge and worked his way down the flank before slotting the ball to wide open Ben Kelly for the easy finish for the 2-0 lead.
“I got the ball off of my chest, and I kind of held it off to wait and see what the defenders would do,” Rutkowski said. “I saw an opening to my right, and I turned and went through there and got a little bit of space and decided to go to the end line. I glanced up and saw Ben on the front post so I gave it to him, and he put it away.”
Countering Jacksonville’s pressure exposed their weakness in the back. Kelly scored the final goal of his Benet career -- his 24th of the year.
“After we got that first goal at the start, they really started to press us, and we were under it for a long time,” Kelly said. “The goal at the start of the second half was almost a statement, saying we were back, and we were going to play our game and put another one away. And I think the chances just started coming in. With so many chances you are going to eventually put one in, and once we got that third one we put it away.”
The Benet defense did the rest, marking a complete effort for the Redwings. Gould made a great kick stop off a great shot by Albers, who scored 37 goals this year. Defender Matt Lang also made a great clearance in the 59th minute. Midfielder Collin Dannheim, playing back, headed another strong Jacksonville ball off the line.
Benet punctuated the victory in the 74th minute as Nick Renfro advanced the ball down the right edge and delivered a sharp ball that midfielder Ryan Tomecek volleyed in for the Redwings’ final goal of the year.
Camaraderie and a natural togetherness played a significant part in the Redwings’ run.
“We all knew each other before the start of the season,” Kelly said. “We had a greater partnership on the field. It wasn’t like years past, where some of those partnerships were isolated. Each partnership worked really well with other partnerships and that created one whole really good group that flowed very well together.”
That fusing of youth and experience paved the way for a dream run, Wesley said. The closeness between senior Kelly and sophomore Rutkowski illustrated the deeper unity.
“I mean they’re not supposed to mix in high school, a senior star and a sophomore who will be the next great player,” Wesley said. “They’re not supposed to get along, and they sit together on the bus.
“You could go through the whole lineup, and it’s like that. If we had success it was for that reason alone, the seniors being very welcoming and wanting to get the best out of the young guys.
“It was a dream season as a coach, all of it -- our record, winning, and throw in the fact we had an amazing roster. Maybe the only downside was when I broke my nose in practice. Other than I’d say the entire ride was fantastic. We only lost two games, one came in August and the other came yesterday.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK: Brian Gould
D: Devin Martini
D: Matt Lang
D: Charlie Kane
D: Tony Hopp
MF: Nick Trakszelis
MF: Ryan Tomecek
MF: Nick Renfro
MF: Connor Mote
F: Ben Kelly
F: Franklin Rutkowski
Jacksonville
GK: Grant Flynn
D: Ethan Karr
D: Reece Cox
D: John Gibbons
D: Brandon McCombs
MF: Tyler DeGroot
MF: Nash Oldenettel
MF: Jacob Bates
MF: Ben Luetz
MF: Drew Keller
F: Steven Albers
Man of the match: Charlie Kane, D, Benet