Girls soccer: Burns' goal all Benet needs to beat Wheaton Academy
Nicole Burns isn't used to being the center of attention.
Scoring the lone goal in a soccer game will draw you into the heart of matters, though, which the Benet freshman learned really quickly.
She converted with 15:07 remaining to lift the Redwings to a 1-0 nonconference victory over Wheaton Academy on Monday night in West Chicago.
It was just her second goal. She scored her first last Monday against Joliet Catholic Academy.
"I was so happy to give my team the advantage and it just ended up being the game winner," she said. "I just got a ball forward and was able to finish it. The ball was nicely played behind the defense and all I had to do was put it in the goal."
Wheaton Academy (7-3-1) had come on strong offensively as the game progressed and barely missed scoring during one of its best chances of the night before Burns delivered.
"We felt like we had three really good chances there in the second half," Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood said. "Against a good team like Benet you've got to finish."
It was Burns who did the only finishing, and it was sophomore Erin Flynn who did the beautiful job of setting her up perfectly.
"Erin was able to see that she was on the correct side and in a good position right at midfield," Benet coach Bob Gros said. "She played her the right kind of ball and Nicole had the right amount of speed."
Benet (6-1-1) wasn't threatened much the rest of the way, although Rebecca Smith, Johanna Pendley and Julia Della Torre had shots during the final 10 minutes.
"Nothing was working in the middle in the first half, but in the second half I was pleased with the chances we were creating," Underwood said. "I felt that they had the run of play in the first half, and we weren't used to their pace so we were a little frazzled, but we figured out some things we could do in the second half."
The Redwings, who will play five games in eight days, were generous with their substitutions, but there didn't appear to be much of a dropoff in their play, especially defensively.
"We rested some people that we normally wouldn't have," Gros said. "You can see how deep we are, though, as our play really didn't drop off in any way."
As for the Warriors, while they were disappointed in coming up short, they continue to get better, especially after battling another top program.
"We feel that even in a loss like this we're closing the gap between potential and performance," Underwood said. "Tonight, especially after the second half, I feel we're closing that gap pretty significantly."