LISLE -- Benet moved to the brink of its fifth-consecutive East Suburban Catholic Conference crown Tuesday afternoon when it delivered a dominating second half effort in a 4-2 home victory over rival Saint Viator.
    
The match turned sharply in favor of the Redwings after they shrugged off 1-0 and 2-1 first half deficits.

"It was kind of a dicey first half," began manager Gerard Oconer.

"(We) rarely find ourselves chasing the game, but twice -- playing into the wind -- we came back to make it 2-2 at the half. After that I felt really good about our chances against a very good Saint Viator team."

Oconer's club, which is ranked 23rd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, now stands with a 5-0-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference mark and the head-to-head tiebreaker in their back pocket. The Redwings have one conference match remaining against sixth place Joliet Catholic (1-14-0, 1-3-0). A home win would deliver the 12th title in the league and seventh solo crown.

Click here to see the East Suburban Catholic Conference standings

"We obviously all knew this game was important for the conference championship and how important it was not to be down a goal at the half," said Eleanor Mahan, whose first half double drew Benet even and gave the home side inspiration.

"Getting it back to 2-2 was a real morale boost for all of us. I think with the wind and the way we possessed the ball, we were able to take control in the second half." 

The humble Mahan, who shared the MVP of the Match honor with freshman teammate Megan Bergman, failed to mention how it was her nonstop effort that led to her first half brace. The first was a response five minutes after Saint Viator’s terrific junior Monica Correa bagged the opener in the fifth minute.

"We knew how good of a player no. 10 (Correa) is and how they would target a player that was so good,” Oconer said. “We were holding our breath every time the ball was on her foot."

The silky, smooth left-footed star found a way to send her 20-yard effort past a diving Kate Grubish after tricking her way free with a left-then-right move before loading up on that terrific left foot.

"We did so many things really well in the first half, including getting the ball to Monica from Allison Konopka in our midfield," said Lions manager Byron DeLeon. “Plus, we were able to keep (Ivana) Vukas from getting free and in on us.

Added Konopka: "(That) first goal from Monica really got us off to a great start. When we went up later 2-1, it gave us all a big lift knowing we could play with Benet and had a great chance to get the win.

"Our play fell off in the second half. We were sloppy, not completing passes and just playing in our own end for most of the half."

Mahan found a way to equalize from a difficult angle past Kyli Ziebka after Rania Fikri drew the Lions keeper’s attention with a marvelous effort. That allowed Mahan to get enough of a touch at the far post to find the back of the net.

Saint Viator, which is the top-ranked team in the Class AA Super 7 poll, was clearly the better side during the first 20 minutes with Correa, Konopka and sophomore Maggie Drake constant threats. The trio forced the Benet backline to defend far more than it would have liked.

"Our backline deserved a big shoutout for their effort today, especially in the first half when we were under a lot of pressure,” said Oconer. “They saved us when we needed it the most."

DeLeon went to his bench to bring on Camila Fuentes. The freshman paid immediate dividends with her endless pace and desire to take people on to help open things up for the visitors.

On the other side of the park, Benet (9-2-1 overall) brought its attack to life with some terrific possession that was lacking during the early stages of the match.

Vukas, Annie Fitzgerald, Fikri and Bergman were at the heart of an uprising from the home side. Then came a stunner from Saint Viator (10-2-0, 3-1-0) just before the half hour.

That's when Correa was at it again. This time she twisted her way to the end line before playing a lovely ball across to the spot where the opportunistic Drake drove her side-footed effort just inside the back post.

Soon thereafter, Mahan found yet another way to put the ball into the back of the net. It amazed her coach when the forward squeezed in her eighth goal of the season six minutes before the intermission.

"I honestly do not know how Eleanor got to that ball before it went out, let along getting enough on her shot to score," smiled Oconer.

Abby Gits, who joined the first 11 due to an injury to senior Gabby Hedden, kept things alive inside the visitor’s box and was responsible for the Mahan's 34th-minute equalizer.

"It was mistakes here and there that cost us today," said DeLeon. “I I know that late goal before the half took something out of us as well.

"When we went into the break, I think everyone was feeling really good about the second half," said Bergman.

Her coach is a big fan of the rookie varsity player, who has taken over admirably for a graduated all-stater.

"Megan has been big for us in front of our backline -- taking over for a player like Reese (McDonald) who was just great for us in that same spot in our formation," said Oconer.

Both sides mustered a couple of half-chances early in the second half, but it would not take long before the Redwings took control for good.

Mahan went close at the back post but was stopped by a brave effort from Ziebka.

More creative play from Fikri, FItzgerald, Vukas and Johnna Caliendo kept the visitors under constant pressure and forced some gritty work from Saint Viator’s backline of Meghan McLaughlin, Emma Mikrut, Kate Ziebka and Drake.

"We defended as best as we could as a team, but you could tell before they scored their third goal that we were getting tired from all of their pressure," said DeLeon.

"Our depth is our strength," said Oconer. “We tried to keep fresh legs out there as best as we could, and I really feel that was a big reason for our second half success.”

It was a well-executed build-up that led to the eventual game-winner from Fitzgerald. Fikri stretched the Lions and allowed her teammate to send her left-footed attempt from 22 yards high into the back of the net with a cool finish.

After that it was all Benet. The hosts dominated possession with an extremely high pass-completion percentage. Several chances were created before the home side doubled its advantage.

"Ivana, Rakia, Johnna, Annie and our backline were connecting passes really well in the second half, especially after we scored our third goal," said Bergman.

Freshman Kasey Glynn initiated the final goal of the afternoon when her long throw rattled around inside the Saint Viator box like a ping-pong ball. Fitzgerald directed her shot past Kyli Ziebka, who had no chance when the ball deflected off of one of her teammates.

"I wish we could have played better in the second half, but I know we've learned a lot from this game, and we'll be better for it going forward," said Konopka.

Saint Viator followed up the match with a 3-2 loss to Notre Dame (Green Bay) in a four-team bracket at the Tournament of Champions on Thursday in Bettendorf, Ia. The Lions follow-up with a match against Normal West on Friday.

"This was a big game for us, and for me,” said Bergman. “There are four-five players on Saint Viator that are on my club team, so I knew I had to be at my best today."

"I'm proud of the way we played today," said Mahan. “We had two delays before we started because of the Thor Guard, but we kept our focus and really played well in the second half to get the win we needed.”

Benet went to the quarterfinals of the Naperville Invitational on Thursday and pulled of a 1-0 upset over eighth-ranked Lyons. The Redwings will meet no. 15 St. Charles East at 9 a.m. Saturday at Naperville Central for a chance to advance to the final April 29.

Starting lineups

Saint Viator (4-4-2)
GK- Kyli Ziebka
D- Emma Mikrut
D- Frannie Drake
D- Meghan McLaughlin
D- Kate Ziebka
M- Monica Correa
M- Evelyn Urbaniak
M- Jenna Caputo
M- Kiley Wrzos
F- Maggie Drake
F- Allison Konopka

Benet (4-3-3)
GK- Kate Grubish
D- Chloe Sentman
D- Bailey Abbott
D- Meghan Sarros
D- Abby Gits
M- Rania Fikri
M- Megan Bergman
M- Annie Fitzgerald
F- Johnna Caliendo
F- Ivana Vukas
F- Eleanor Mahan

Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Megan Bergman, fr., MF, Benet; 
Eleanor Mahan, jr., F, Benet

Referee: Tom Schaffer

Scoring summary

First half 
Saint Viator: Correa (unassisted), 5'
Benet: Mahan (Fikri), 10' 
Saint Viator: M. Drake (Correa), 27'
Benet: Mahan (Gits), 34'

Second half
Benet: Fitzgerald (Fikri), 53'
Benet: own-goal (Fitzgerald), 66’