Redwings collect first win but Wind isn't pleased with play

By Eddie Burns

Henry Wind was anything but happy after Benet notched its first win of the season.

The veteran coach was extremely critical of the Redwings' effort after their 1-0 win against Glenbard West at a cold and blustery Memorial Field in Glen Ellyn on Thursday afternoon.

"No," Wind responded when asked if he saw improvement from Benet's 2-0 loss to York on Tuesday.

"I thought we didn't play very well. I thought we didn't handle situations very well. We didn't pass well. We need to get the ball up to the forwards quicker. We generated no offense. I'm telling you the truth -- we have a lot of work ahead of us."

The Redwings (1-1) did generate offense by way of creating corner-kick opportunities, finishing with eight corner-kick chances.

Benet cashed in on one of those situations when sophomore midfielder Madi Burke placed the ball so teammate Caytin Lewin could get her head on it and knock it into the net in the 31st minute.

"It was a perfect ball and I found the right spot," Lewin said. "We ran through their defenders so they ran into each other and I just worked my way through and got open."

The only way Lewin was going to score was by using her head because she's been battling blister issues throughout the early portion of the season.

"I have my feet taped up, but they are pretty bad – they are getting better," said Lewin, who got the blisters thanks to a pair of dull running shoes. "We've got spring break coming up and that should give everyone a good rest."

Wind was encouraged by the eight corner attempts, but outside of those scoring chances the Benet offense was silent against the Hilltoppers (1-1).

Junior midfielder Brittany Pullen almost scored a header off a corner kick played by Catherine Caniglia in the second half.

"Offensively we didn't do any attacking at all," Wind said. "The only other chance we had was off another corner – that was it, but at least we created those chances."

Wind said his midfielders spend too much time playing the ball back toward the defense instead of getting the ball up the field.

"The problem I have is most of the midfielders' first instinct is to touch the ball and touch it back and then everything is gone," he said.

"We need to pass it back and run up or turn with the ball and go attack people – don't give me a 5-yard ball back that the opposition gets and goes back the other direction."

Lewin said she saw signs of improvement in regards to Benet's ability to create offensive runs.

"In our first game, it was more of a relief when we cleared the ball out from the back," Lewin said.

"Today we started to connect and we're getting more of an offensive mindset. I thought we played more outside instead of forcing the ball down the middle."

One area that did not struggle was defense where the back row of Kelly Diedrich, Colleen Lewellyan and Maria Schwabe were solid as was goalie Claire Munaretto, who stopped a Hilltoppers' free kick in the 89th minute and finished with four saves.

"The backline is pretty good and my goalie is pretty good," Wind said. "But we have our work ahead of us offensively."

For the first time since Wind started the boys and girls program at Benet in 1990-91, he has not scheduled games during spring break. The Redwings will return to action April 6 at Marist.