It’s the IHSA Sectional Semifinals at Kuhn Memorial Stadium at St. Francis High School as the Benet Academy Redwings take on the Belvidere North Blue Thunder.
The Redwings enter tonight’s match on a five-game winning streak including a 3-0 win over Nazareth Academy while Belvidere North is on a six-game winning streak after beating Central 1-0 this past Saturday. Let’s see who will book their spot in the sectional championship. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Redwings strike twice in the first half
The Redwings get the ball rolling on offense as Sam Trunnell delivers a nice pass to Matthew Benka. He shows off some fancy footwork and hits a nice strike past the goalkeeper. Benka gets the Redwings on the board first with a 1-0 lead.
Benet looks to keep the pressure up on Belvidere North. Benka passes to Mateo Picha but Blue Thunder goalkeeper, Mason Moore gets an arm to it. He gives up a rebound and Abdalla Alattar pounces on the rebound and scores. The Redwings extend their lead by two with under ten minutes to go in the first half.
Free kick chance for the Blue Thunder as Heriberto Dominguez gets set. He elects to go for goal, but Benet goalkeeper Drew Connell clutches this one for the save. The Redwings take a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
Benet Academy advances to the sectional championship
Second half now and the Redwings are on the attack. Sam Trunnell crosses the ball to Brendan Bergnach and he gets a foot on it, but Blue Thunder goalkeeper Logan Mooney makes a big save to keep his team in the game.
Corner Kick for Belvidere North as Edon Saipi takes it. He sends it to the box as a Blue Thunder player goes for the header, but Connell comes up with a huge save for the Redwings to protect their lead.
Corner kick chance, this time for Benet. Captain Nicholas Roe is left unmarked and goes for the header and buries it into the back of the net. The Redwings now lead 3-0 with under ten minutes to play.
Free Kick chance for the Redwings as Jack Wesley takes it. He decides to go for goal and the ball bounces through everyone and sneaks past the goalkeeper into the back of the net. The Redwings cruise to a 4-0 victory to get their sixth win in a row. They book a spot into the sectional championship game on Saturday against the Timothy Christian Trojans.
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