The boys soccer regionals are underway at Metea Valley. Benet Academy enters the regional semifinals as the number five seed against Metea Valley, who comes in at number 12, as both teams are looking to advance to the regional championship on Friday night. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Less than five minutes into the first half, Redwing John VanWiggeren passes to Sergio Polanco to put the Redwings on the board, but his attempt gets caught by Chase Grosrenaud from Metea Valley.
No score yet as Mustang Tyler Johnson heads the ball to Dylan Arbetman, who looks to pass to Eric Jernigan, but the ball gets picked up by Benet’s Andre Cervantes Guardado. Guardado passes the ball to Ruslan Holubec, who fires a bullet towards the net, but gets denied by Grosrenaud once more.
Holubec attempts to score just outside the box with a free kick. However, Grosrenaud plucks the curling shot out of the air for the save.
Mustang Eric Jernigan has the ball as he dribbles rapidly through the defense, making a great move towards the middle. He sends a line drive towards the goal, but misses just wide to the right.
Ruslan Holubec gives Benet the lead
Late in the first half, Holubec has another free kick from the middle of the field. He powers a low line drive that somehow avoids the mass of bodies in front of the net, slotting the ball into the left corner. Benet breaks through to take a 1-0 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Mustang Jacob Ferreira passes to Jernigan, who again shows great footwork to find an opening. But his shot attempt has a little too much heat as it sails over the crossbar.
The Mustangs search for the equalizer
With 22 minutes remaining, Evan Loo of Metea Valley kicks from the right corner back towards the middle, but his ball gets deflected by Matthew Beaudoin, who pounces on the ball to make the save.
Later on, Sergio Polanco passes to Mark Ndrio to extend Benet’s lead. Ndrio passes back to Polanco, but the shot slides just past the right post and out of play.
The Redwings move on to the regional finals
With time running out, Michael Birkner has a free kick for Metea from midfield. The ball soars into the box and finds the head of Rami Fanek, but the ball pops into the arms of Beaudoin, who makes the save. It’s Benet Academy that ends Metea Valley’s season after an exciting matchup by a 1-0 score. The Redwings will face off against Lockport for the regional championship on Friday night at 6 pm.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
