Boys soccer: Benet breaks through against West Chicago

For nearly an hour West Chicago and Benet went back and forth to see which boys soccer team could break down the other's defense first.

Eventually, the Redwings found the back of the West Chicago net, and then again, and then one last time for good measure. The result was a 3-0 nonconference Benet victory in Lisle on Thursday.

"They were definitely hard to break down," West Chicago coach Jose Villa said of the Redwings. "They work hard. They're going to work hard for every ball, and that's what we noticed. We finally were able to create some opportunities and got in behind them and didn't finish some opportunities. They finished the opportunities that they got, so hats off to them. They're a great team."

"I love the way they play," Benet coach Sean Wesley said of West Chicago's possession-oriented attack. "I'm happy it didn't result in a goal today. But they're a fun team just to watch keep possession of the ball. That being said, I think it suits us. We'll sit in a little bit and absorb that and we'll give up possession. ... We feel like eventually it will come, and it did today."

The breakthrough goal came via a moment of "genius" between Benet senior Connor Mote and junior Nicholas Trakszelis. Finding the ball at his feet about 30 yards in front of the West Chicago (4-4-3) net in the game's 50th minute, Mote sent a through ball wide left to Trakszelis, who was active on the wing throughout the game. His first-touch shot became the first goal of the day.

"Oh my gosh, genius, right?" Wesley asked rhetorically. "Great. And that's what we kind of talked about was they were pressing so high up the field that if we could win it in transition and switch the field, that there's going to be time and space, and of course Nick hits a great ball. That's not savable."

"One was coming," Mote added.

So was another one. Mote gave the Redwings (8-1-2) some breathing room in the 78th minute when his 25-yard free kick sailed over a four-man West Chicago wall and under the crossbar.

"They were tough," Mote said. "I think they had like five or six players when they were attacking in the midfield, and that was hard. So we adjusted in the second half. I would drop back on defense and play side-by-side with my other center mid, and once we switched to offense I would play center attacking mid with the two forwards. That adjustment really helped us, I think."

West Chicago nearly tied the game at 1 in the 70th minute when it was awarded a penalty kick. The spot kick sailed high, however.

"It got away from us there a little bit at the beginning of the second half," Wesley said. "That being said, it's high school soccer. We had our chances, don't put them away, you let a team stay in the game you're going to give up chances. The PK, we're fortunate that that doesn't go in; it's a totally different game if it does. But I liked the way that we finished. We kept our heads and kept going forward."

Benet sophomore Franklin Rutkowski added a breakaway goal in the game's final seconds, catching the Wildcats pressing forward.

Meanwhile the Benet defense was stifling the Wildcats in the final third of the field. Goalkeepers Brian Gould and Caden Martin split the shutout for the Redwings.

"I think our defense did a good job of making sure they didn't get in behind us," said Mote, who has 3 goals and 8 assists this year. "They only had opportunities from the outside mostly, so that's pretty good from our aspect."