Bumpus goal holds up against Wheaton Academy

In brutally cold and windy conditions Monday, senior central defender Rachel Bernicky and the Benet girls soccer team had a relatively calm game against Wheaton Academy until the final minute.

The Warriors' Jamie Netzley received a cross from Gabi LeMantia and took a left-footed shot. It was slowed down by the oncoming wind but going toward the open side of the goal.

"I don't know if it would have made it, but it was headed that way and there was a girl headed on my back," Bernicky said. "It was rolling right in front of the net, and I was like, 'Just kick it out of the middle and get it out of here.' "

Bernicky and the undefeated Redwings survived and they left their home field with a 1-0 nonconference victory in Lisle.

Junior Ellie Bumpus scored the lone goal for Benet (10-0-1) against the wind in the 16th minute off a pass by sophomore Katie Gesior. The defense posted its sixth shutout of the season and third in the last four games.

"Our back line was playing great today," Bumpus said. "We've really been working on clearing the ball and giving our defense a break because we have a great defense. They deserve for us to play offense because I know how hard it is back there."

This begins a tough week for Benet, which visits Marist Wednesday and plays defending Class 3A champion New Trier and 2A quarterfinalist Rockford Boylan in the Naperville Invitational. Wheaton Academy (7-3) beat Marist 1-0 Saturday.

"I thought we had a little bit better of the possession, but (Wheaton Academy is) a very good team," Benet coach Bob Gros said. "His attack was young and learning and look out for them in the future. They like to play their angles and I thought we shut off their angles."

A veteran defense certainly helps. Benet started senior goalie and fourth-year varsity player Emma Hlavin and the defensive line of Bernicky, seniors Elena McCarthy and Sophia Elbchiri and freshman Erin Flynn.

They blanked a Wheaton Academy offense that has scored 30 goals and previously had been shut out once.

"I felt like we didn't play poorly at all. We did a lot of really good things today," Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood said. "I felt that particularly at stretches, we were possessing the ball really well, knocking it around. I felt like our attack was kind of stalling once we got into that final third and that's a credit to their back line. They're fast. They cover well."

The Redwings found some offense in the first half against the wind. Although they were outshot 6-5, the Redwings struck when Gesior made a cross across the crease to Bumpus, who lifted her left foot to strike the ball diagonally inside the left post.

"I am right-footed, but I probably score all of my goals with my left foot," said Bumpus, who has 6 goals this season. "I was just kind of able to place it where I wanted it. It was an awesome pass. It was a cool combination to kind of pull off there at the beginning of the game."

Bernicky and McCarthy have played together four years, the last three on varsity, and Elbchiri has joined them the past two. Senior midfielder Margaret Johnson provided temporary relief to the back line during the second half.

"They have a lot of experience. All the way across the board, I have very experienced players," Gros said. "The defense did a good, solid job."

Benet rode the wind to lead the second half 7-1 in shots and 4-0 in corner kicks after each team had three in the first half. In the 57th minute, senior Jackie Kaufman took a one-bounce pass from Johnson and blasted a shot that grazed off the crossbar.

"That's why it was very critical we got that goal early on because the wind plays tricks on you and you never know what can happen," Bernicky said. "You just have to put yourself in the mindset that you can't worry about the cold. It's cold for both teams. You just have to fight through it. It's part of the game. It's part of playing an outdoor sport."

The Redwings again played without sophomore and leading scorer Kerry Abello, who has missed about half of their games while busy with the U.S. Under-15 girls national team. Della Torre missed the entire second half after injuring her ankle in the 33rd minute.