Keefe lifts Benet past St. Viator in OT
There's always plenty of interest when Benet and St. Viator meet in their annual East Suburban Catholic Conference girls soccer matchup.
These two storied programs always make sure to give fans plenty of thrills, and it was true again Saturday morning.
Sophomore Betsy Keefe broke the hearts of the St. Viator fans with her 83rd-minute strike to give Benet a hard-fought 2-1 Saturday morning victory on the turf at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.
Keefe's run onto Ellie Bumpus' ball served from near the midline ended a well-played match, as Keefe got the ball past keeper Anna Johnston to give the Redwings (6-0-1, 1-0-0) the upper hand in the league race, at least for now, after their OT victory in a conference opener.
"It's a great win for us today, but as I told the girls afterward, this is just one game in a very long season, so we'll enjoy it now, take the day off tomorrow, and get back at it on Monday," said Benet coach Bob Gros, who now holds a 5-0-1 edge over Lions coach Mike Taylor.
"It really was a very good game," said Taylor, who spent a few extra long minutes with his team after Keefe's game-winner. "I thought we played extremely well in the first half, dominated for long stretches, defended well all across the back - but didn't finish our chances. And that's the type of thing you have to do against a quality opponent like Benet in order to come away with the result you want."
The Redwings were without top-flight striker Kerry Abello (13 goals), who is away with the National Team for training, and the sophomore's absence appeared to stall the Benet attack in the first half until Jacquie Kaufman gave the Redwings the shot in the arm they needed with a goal at 53 minutes.
"It wasn't so much that we were without Kerry, it was more that we came out a little tight and nervous with our play, and St. Viator didn't, which made for a less than positive first half of soccer by our team," said Kaufman.
With the Lions (5-1-0, 2-1-0) were working tirelessly at midfield to deny their opponents, the backline also kept air-tight when the Redwings did manage to get into the area.
"We did everything about as well as we could in that first half but put the ball into the back of the net, and that's the type of thing that can come back and bite you - and today it did," said St. Viator's Kayne Stanley, who gave Taylor and his staff a strong 80-minute effort along the back with her tackling, ball-winning and distribution.
Benet had the best scoring chance during the early stages when Hannah Pfeiffer got free up the left side before forcing Johnston into action. But the Lions ended up with a decisive possession edge and came close on a handful of their own chances, only to be stopped by keeper Emma Hlavin - or themselves.
Hlavin bravely turned Meagan Vicens' close-range shot aside at 19 minutes and moments later denied senior Susie Moynihan after Lauren Kohn and Vicens created a good opportunity for her.
Kaufman's nonstop running helped her finish what Kate Hennessy started with a wonderful ball that split the Lions center backs.
St. Viator's Delia Douglas pulled that goal back in the 63rd minute after Benet failed to clear Emma Henry's corner, allowing Douglas to slot past Hlavin in a crowd.
The speed and urgency picked up after the Douglas equalizer, and although the play was brisk for the final quarter-hour of regulation, neither side tested either keeper with a serious strike on frame, sending it to the first of two five-minute sudden-death sessions.
Keefe ended it quickly to send the Benet bench rushing onto the pitch, directly toward their newfound hero.
"Ellie gave me a great ball over the top, and the rest happened so quickly," said Keefe.