LISLE -- Brendan Bergnach earned a hat-trick, and Mathew Dohaghey added a goal and a pair of helpers as Benet flexed its muscles with a 6-0 win against visiting Carmel in an East Suburban Catholic Conference contest Wednesday afternoon.

Bergnach gave the Redwings (5-2-0, 2-0-0), who are ranked 25th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25,  the only goal they needed in the 13th minute when he smashed the ball into the far-inside netting from-in close. 

Jack Wesley doubled the advantage 60 seconds later.

After the half hour, Dohagney finished a near-perfect cross-field ball from Ruslan Holubec, and Jack Kuelthau scored moments before the intermission when the senior elevated above a crowd to thump his header into the back of the net for a 4-0 halftime edge.

"We had a tough game with Carmel a year ago (a 2-0 Redwings win in Mundelein)," said pleased Redwings manager Matt Kosterman. “So, it was good to see the guys come out with a lot of energy to score those back-to-back goals to help set the tone for the rest of the game.

"It was a good all-around effort from all of the guys against an opponent that we knew wanted to come in here and give us a good fight."

"Benet is a very good team with a lot of experienced players," said Carmel manager Colin Spude. “But once we were able to settle down from our long bus ride and short warm-up, I feel like we did some very good things, including attacking from the center-mid while playing the ball out wide.”

The Corsairs bus was nearly one hour late to the Redwings soccer park which led to a limited pregame preparation.

"Right now, we are in a rebuild of sorts," continued Spude, who is in his first year in charge after serving as the lead assistant to Rob Etheridge.

"When you look at our roster, you see that it is very young. So, those guys need to figure how to play at this level. Plus there's a new coaching staff trying to sort things out, keep things positive and do our best to bring this team along."

The defeat sent Carmel’s record to 1-6-1 overall, and 0-2-0 in league play. Joliet Catholic visits Mundelein on Monday evening.

"I thought we played hard and with a lot of heart, and played much better in the second half, which is important for such a young team," offered Corsairs senior Josh Kieltyka, who is one of four to wear the captain’s armband. He holds down one of the centerback spots for Spude.

"Josh was strong with his challenges of every ball in his area, especially coming from out of the air and running down guys who were ready to pose a threat. Plus he does a great job of communicating and motivating the guys when needed," said Spude.

Bergnach felt Benet’s opener had an impact.

"I thought Carmel came out real strong,” he said. “But once we scored the first one, it kind of put them on their heels. And our speed, possession and ability to move the ball around quickly forced them to defend throughout the game." 

After Kuelthau steered his close-range header over the bar at five minutes, Carmel came alive.

With the idea of playing through captain David Fajardo in the middle of the park, it was clear the senior would target his front-runners Leonardo Farias, David Fajardo and Andres Tellez as often as he could.

"(They) came out real hard," said Donaghey. “But we defended well and just played our game of possessing the ball and moving it around quickly. I don't really feel like they were able to defend that.”

The intense, high pressure from the home side gave the Corsairs some trouble early on as did the five midfielders in the Redwings 3-5-2 formation.

With Klosterman’s men displaying a great pressing ability that displaced their guests, it wasn't long before the home side began to test keeper Luke Reynolds, who despite taking a half-dozen balls out of his net, earned plenty of praise from his manager.

"The goals were not a result of Luke's play,” Spude began. “It was a result of simple mistakes in our own end and their ability to take advantage of the chances we gave them.

"(It) was one of his better games of the year. He was aggressive while making saves, coming off his line to challenge, taking command of the box while having his punts and goal kicks on-point."

Reynolds turned away Bergnach before the senior bagged the opener at the back post.

Moments later Jack Wesley finished what Sergio Polanco began from 20 yards.

Benet’s decision to play with five in the middle with Mateo Picha sitting just in front of his back three of Jackson Mares, Danny Serba and Kuelthau, always seemed to put Redwings in the right place at the right time to win first- and second-balls, both in the air and on the floor. That frustrated the Corsairs attack.

"We had an All-American in the back last year in Nick Roe (now at Loyola University). As far as I'm concerned we have another one with Kuelthau, who does it all for us back there," said Bergnach.

Picha chipped the Corsairs with a sublime touch that Wesley ran onto, but Reynolds make a brave run off his line to stop what could have been the third goal of the first half.

The visitors created a quality chance when Zach Grzesiak and Fajardo did some masterful combination play.

An ensuing corner gave way to an indirect free kick from just outside the box. From there, Grzesiak sent a bending effort over the bar after a slight touch from Jaiden Fajardo put things in play.

Donaghey buried his left-footed angled blast to make it 3-0, and Kuelthau’s header sent the visitors into the half chasing four goals.

"We stayed together as a team, even when we went down 4-0 at the break, which is a real positive for a team that is so young, and with little varsity experience," said Josh Kieltyka, who is a three-year varsity veteran.

Klosterman brought on junior Matthew Beaudoin in relief of Patrick Stasch between the sticks; each shared the clean-sheet at days end.

The Redwings manager lined up Edeki Uareme, Mares and Julian Mehra along his backline at the onset of the second period.

Carmel freshman Leonardo Furias tested Beaudoin during the early stages of the second half. Teammate Roger Bahena-Torres went over the bar moments later as the visitors began to show more life in their attack.

But as the game grew older, the off-ball movement, use of width and quick touches and pace forced the Corsairs to defend a majority of the time.

"I was pleased with the way we built our attack from the back, worked the ball out wide to our wings and used our ability to attack in a lot of different ways," said Klosteman.

Both Bergnach and Donaghey went close. Reynolds made a terrific save on Bergnach in the 59th minute after he was sent through by Kuelthau.

Reynolds had no chance when Bergnach made it 5-0, thanks in part to a brilliant early ball from Donaghey in the 61st minute.

The Redwings duo shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for their efforts on the day.

When the visitors were unable to clear the area, Bergnach took his third tally in the 64th minute with teammate Teddy Nawrocki earning the helper to close out the scoring in Benet's third-straight win since a loss to top-ranked Naperville North.

"Benet is a very good team. They were quicker to the ball and were able to attack up the field with speed," began Spude.

"Also, their centerback really helped control the middle of the field to prevent us from playing and building our attack."

"Grzesiak, Kieltyka and Jacobs Burke, our center-mid, played well."

Benet was pleased with its performance.

"We played well, attacked with numbers. I feel like we're slowly coming along as a team in every part of our game," said Donaghey, who agreed with Bergnach that Holubec, Polanco, Wesley and Kuelthau stood out on the day.

"We were a little out of sorts in our season opening (2-0) loss to West Chicago, but with each game we've gotten a little better and more fluid in our overall play, including today.”

Next up for Benet is the Morton Premier Invitational. After a Friday early evening match with the 22nd-ranked host club, the Redwings take on Lyons at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Starting lineups

Carmel (4-4-2)
GK- Luke Reynolds
D- Zach Grzesiak
D- Josh Kieltyka
D- Austin Paras
D- Garryn Thornberry
M- Lukasz Ciszewski
M- Jacob Burke
M- David Fajardo
M- Andres Tellez
F- Jaiden Fajardo
F- Leonardo Farias

Benet (3-5-2)
GK- Patrick Stasch
D- Danny Serba
D- Jackson Mares
D- Jack Kuelthau
M- Mateo Picha
M- Jack Wesley
M- Ruslan Holubec
M- Sergio Polanco
M- Mathew Donaghey
F- Wil Khazen
F- Brendan Bergnach

Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Brendan Bergnach, sr., F, Benet; Mathew Donaghey, sr., MF, Benet

Scoring summary

First half 
Benet: Bergnach (Polanco), 13'
Benet: Wesley (Polanco), 14'
Benet: Donaghey (Holubec), 35'
Benet: Kuelthau (Donaghey), 40'

Second half
Benet: Bergnach (Donaghey), 61'
Benet: Bergnach (Nawrocki), 64'