NAPERVILLE – They say homegrown talent is a good thing.

That’s true unless that homegrown talent beats you, which is what happened to Lyons on Thursday.

Benet got a great goal from sophomore forward Ivana Vukas and a spectacular save from senior goalkeeper Kate Grubish in an historic 1-0 victory over the Lions in a Naperville Invitational quarterfinal at Naperville North High School.

With the win, the Redwings, who are ranked 23rd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, advance to the tournament semifinals for the first time. They will play no. 15 St. Charles East (13-2-2), a 1-0 winner over no. 6 Naperville North, at 9 a.m. Saturday at Naperville Central’s Memorial Stadium.

The best part about Benet’s victory, unless you’re a Lyons supporter, is the fact that both Vukas and Grubish live in the Lions’ district. Grubish attended the school her freshman year before transferring to Benet. Vukas was a classmate with several Lions in middle school.

“It’s surreal,” Grubish said. “I’m like walking on air right now.

“We haven’t beat them in a very long time and this is just huge. They played fantastic, but we’ve been looking forward to this game a lot, so this is like ‘The Game.’”

Eighth-ranked Lyons (11-2-2) controlled much of the action but the effort went for naught, in large part due to Vukas and Grubish. Vukas struck what could be described as “The Shot” and Grubish made “The Save.”

Both plays were about as stellar as they come.

The play by Grubish, who finished with eight saves to record the clean-sheet, came first. Lyons midfielder Izzy Wirtz ripped a 35-yard rocket through the wind that appeared like it would be a sure goal to the upper right corner of the net with 30 minutes left in the second half.

But the 5-foot-7 Grubish made an incredible leap and got one hand on the ball. Not only did she stop it from going in, her deflection someone stayed in the field of play, where it was eventually tracked down by a defender.

“That was pretty much going in the upper 90, and that’s the benefit of having a taller goalkeeper, because we’ve had shorter goalkeepers over the last several years,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “She needed every inch of height on that one and a huge reach and a strong hand to be able to block that.”

Shots from distance, especially during windy conditions, can be the toughest of plays for goalkeepers to judge. But Grubish, who had earlier stopped a 40-yard blast from Wirtz in the first half, was ready and knew what to do.

“I’ve played with Izzy,” Grubish said. “She’s a fantastic player, and I knew she had a really, really good kick.

“I knew as soon as she was taking that shot it was going to be long, and it’s one of those shots that you know is going to be just under (the crossbar). I just ran as fast as I could to get there, and I just jumped as high as I could, and it worked. That was surreal.”

It was also typical of the way the match went. The Lions outshot the Redwings (10-2-1) by a 14-3 margin but had nothing to show for it. Wirtz took six of the shots and was her team’s most dangerous threat.

“She hit a couple great shots, but their keeper stood tall when she had to. We just didn’t get it done today,” Lyons assistant coach Andy Newcomb said. “That seems to be a theme right now. We don’t give up very many shots, but we’re not scoring right now.”

Grubish’s big save kept the game scoreless, but it didn’t stay that way for long.

Vukas, who had been bottled up all game by Lyons’s defense, delivered on a long-distance cracker in the 53rd minute. It was Benet’s first shot of the game.

Forward Natalie Grover dug a ball out of the left corner and passed it back to Vukas on the wing, who circled back to her right and saw she had enough space to tee up a 35-yard shot.

With the wind at her back, Vukas uncorked a right-footed liner that sailed over the head of Lyons goalkeeper Anna Bigenwald for the game’s only goal.

“That was probably one of the few times they gave her any kind of space,” Oconer said. “Because every time she touched the ball, there were always two on her.”

Which, despite the respect it confers, can be frustrating for most players. But Vukas persevered.

“They doubled up on me every single time I got the ball,” Vukas said. “(On that play), Natalie passed it back. I was out here, and she kind of passed it behind me.

“I was running, sprinting for it, and I just saw the space. I didn’t have space all game

“I couldn’t take people on, which is the thing I can do the most. I saw an open shot, and I just took it. I really hit it as hard as I could.”

It was the sixth goal of the season for Vukas, but it didn’t come in the usually way for her.

“I usually don’t shoot from that far out,” Vukas said. “But I took what they gave me, and it worked.”

Newcomb acknowledged as much.

“That kid hit a great shot,” Newcomb said. “That was a rifle.

“I thought we had some good chances early, and in the first half we didn’t feel very threatened. 

Second half we came out and had a little more offense.

“We had some nice shots. We just didn’t score. And the longer the game went on and we didn’t score, it just always leaves the door open.”

For most of the match, Benet tried valiantly to keep the door shut on the formidable Lions. They did just that to extend their winning streak to nine with a tremendous effort across the board.

“It had to be,” Oconer said. “Lyons is just so solid all the way around, so we had to do just enough.

“They just put so much pressure on us defensively. Every time we tried to clear the ball out, they were on us. They stepped in front of us and just made it really difficult for us to get any kind of rhythm going.

“We tried to limit the amount of really dangerous opportunities they had. Certainly, they had some opportunities, but for the most part we dealt with them.”

The backline of Chloe Sentman, Abby Gits, Bailey Abbott and Meghan Sarros played a huge role in that. Freshman midfielder Megan Bergman tracked back often to help out.

“The defense was fantastic,” Grubish said. “I love those girls so much.

“They saved me so many times, and Megan Bergman too. She was a great fifth defender.”

Vukas said beating her local team made the win more special. More importantly, it took Benet to a place it has never been.

“We are super excited,” Grubish said.
 

Starting lineups

Lyons
GK: Nora Ezike
D: Jillian Herchenroether
D: Caroline McKenna
D: Brennan Israel
D: Abby Brown
D: Sophia D’Antonio
M: Josie Pochocki
M: Izzy Wirtz
M: Leahla Frazier
F: Zibby Michaelson
F: Izzy Lebar
 
Benet
GK: Kate Grubish
D: Chloe Sentman
D: Abby Gits
D: Bailey Abbott
D: Meghan Sarros
M: Rania Fikri
M: Megan Brennan
M: Annie Fitzgerald
F: Johnna Caliendo
F: Eleanor Mahan
F: Ivana Vukas
 
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Kate Grubish, sr., GK, Benet
 

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring
 
Second half
Benet: Ivana Vukas (Natalie Grover), 53’