Benet Academy girls soccer heads out west to face Kaneland where the Redwings end the regular season on a high note. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Fresh off winning the ESCC championship, Benet Academy girls soccer heads out west to Kaneland High School to face the Knights in the final game of the regular season.
1st Half
Less than two minutes into the game, Kaneland with the early opportunity. Avery Erickson to Brigid Gannon for the shot, but it stays just wide of the post. Redwings dodge the early deficit.
Benet on the attack now, senior captains Katie Lewellyan and Mariana Pinto with some nice passing back and forth. Pinto gets ahead and takes the shot, but Knights goalie Gillian McDonald makes a great diving stop to knock the ball away.
Late in the first half, Anna Casmere centers a pass that deflects to Rania Fikri. Her shot is saved by a sprawling McDonald as we head to halftime locked in a 0-0 tie.
2nd Half
Benet gets a great chance early in the second. Katie Lewellyan makes some nice moves to free herself and is one-on-one with the goalie, but she pushes the shot too far wide. The senior can’t believe it as we stay scoreless.
Kaneland going the other way, Gannon with a pass to Audrey Salamon who gets a foot on it. Shannon Clark drifts back and makes a nice leaping save to keep the Knights off the scoreboard.
Midway through the second half, freshman Kiera Petrucelli showing some good strength and footwork to get past her defender, but the shot sails too high over the net, still 0-0.
Less than ten minutes to play, Fikri with a pass to Lewellyan who creates some space and fires, but finds the crossbar. Freshman Chloe Stayman tracks the ball down and pops up a pass for a header, but Gillian McDonald jumps up for the save. Redwings just can’t break through.
Five minutes to play, Reese MacDonald finds the loose ball and launches a rocket towards the net. She too hits the crossbar. Fikri with a second chance, but her shot is wide. Yet another close call for Benet.
Under two minutes left, Chloe Stayman finds Mariana Pinto. She passes ahead to Katie Lewellyan who shoots and the captains connect for the game-winning goal. The Redwings end the regular season on a high note with a hard fought 1-0 road victory over Kaneland. Benet will be the number one seed in the Wheaton Academy 2A sectional next week.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
