Finishing work continues for Redwings in loss to Redhawks

By Darryl Mellema
Photos courtesy of Bret Richter

Creating scoring chances hasn't been a problem for Benet this year. Even though the Redwings are 2-3-1 after the first half-dozen matches, they have carved openings in every match they have played.

Finishing those chances is another matter, and that piece of the puzzle has at times been elusive – as it proved on Saturday at Naperville Central where the hosts defeated the Redwings 1-0.

“I thought we created a lot early in the game,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “I thought the flow of the game was definitely in our favor. They threw the ball at the goal and it went in and suddenly we were on our heels for the next 20 minutes looking for an equalizer.”

That goal came after 26 minutes of play through Adam Hamielic. The sequence started with an A.J. Seaman corner kick, and an initial shot was saved off the line by Andrew Slaga. There was no answer for Hamielic's driven rebound.

“It's our Achille's Heel,” Wesley said. “We have a lot of big kids. And yet we give up goals on set pieces every game. We'll fix it.”

The goal knocked back the Redwings, who barely survived to halftime trailing by the lone goal. Naperville Central had the ball in the net in the final minute of the half, but the goal was disallowed for a foul at the top of the penalty area.

With halftime to regroup, Benet came out flying. The Redwings mounted attack after attack and forced the Redhawks to scramble defensively or to rely on strong goalkeeping by Zach Richter.

“I was extremely happy with the way we played,” Wesley said. “Their goalie made some fantastic saves. We put some balls on frame. We got the ball into the box and finally started to do what we wanted to do. We just didn't get one.”

Linking the parts of Benet's formation together was Sean Mogan, and that was part of the Redwings' game plan.

“He's such a talent,” Wesley said. “He breaks defenses down.”

Benet has had a relaxed playing schedule recently. Saturday's match was the first in a week after competition in the Best of the West tournament,. The only match the Redwings play this week is Wednesday, in Nile against Notre Dame.

“We just played five of the best 20 teams in the state in the past two weeks,” Wesley said. “We're close. I think you can see we have the talent and the ability. We're very close to breaking through and getting through to the elite level. We have something to work on. We're giving up chances in the box.

We take those away and play like this and the game opens up. We have Sean Mogan. We have Sean O'Hara up top. We have some talent.”