St. Charles East shuts out Benet

Benet couldn't get close to the Gator often on Monday morning in Lisle.

When the Redwings did, the Gator protected her territory.

That "Gator," the nickname of St. Charles East goalkeeper Alison Chesterfield, denied Benet's only serious scoring threat with a diving save midway through the second half to preserve a 1-goal lead.

The Saints added an insurance goal and departed Benedictine University in Lisle with a 2-0 victory, their fifth consecutive shutout win to open the season.

"This was a massive test and we knew they were going to be high quality," Saints coach Paul Jennison said. "Benet's a very talented team. They're hardworking and they really did test us."

The biggest test came Chesterfield's way with 21:35 left in the game off the foot of Benet junior Elizabeth Keefe.

Chesterfield's diving save redirected the shot out of harm's way.

"That's world class," Jennison said. "You don't get to see saves like that very often. If that goes in and makes it 1-1, you've got a fair argument that Benet is pushing on and looking to get something else."

Even though she wasn't tested often, Chesterfield was ready when a challenge came her way.

"I just found a spot between where everyone was and they were all over the place," she said. "I got myself set and just made the save. It's just like second nature by now trying for stuff like that."

St. Charles East (5-0-0) scored with 37:10 remaining in the second half off a corner kick from Shannon Gatehouse.

Claire Rasmussen retrieved it and set up Megan O'Neal perfectly. It was O'Neal's first goal of the season.

"Claire played a perfect ball and all I had to do was place it right in. She did all the work for me," O'Neal said. "We knew we had to put it in the back of the net. It felt great to have one in and keep going with it."

The Saints missed a great chance with 24:35 remaining when Kyla Augustine hit the crossbar, but they finally produced an insurance goal when Rose Stackhouse connected with 8:26 left in the game.

Benet (1-1) might have fallen short, but coach Bob Gros was pleased with how the Redwings battled.

"They have one of the better defenses I've seen in a long time," he said. "I thought we attacked with some relish. We couldn't quite finish the deal, but we competed. We put them on their heels every once in a while."

The Redwings beat Queen of Peace 8-0 in their season opener last Monday.

"We knew today would be more of challenge because St. Charles East has a great program," Benet senior Mary Bumpus said. "Our defense is really young, but I couldn't be more proud of our back line. If we can play like we did in the first half, we'll be good."