Girls soccer: Benet bounces past Wheaton Academy

Clare Bumpus was so far away she didn't see her shot go into the goal.

Wheaton Academy's players wished they hadn't seen it.

Bumpus, a junior defender, launched a shot from 50 yards out that bounced into the goal in the third minute Monday for her second goal of the season.

That set the tone for what turned into a 4-0 Benet victory that was as impressive as it was improbable.

"I was just trying to beat the girl to the ball because it was kind of an awkward touch out, and (once I got it) I wasn't going to aim outside of the goal," Bumpus said. "I didn't even see the goal. Someone was like, 'Clare, you scored.'"

Rain was coming down in sheets at the time, so it wasn't surprising that Bumpus didn't see it. But the rain did the Redwings (10-5) a favor, ironically, because it forced the nonconference game to be moved to Wheaton Academy's turf field.

Bumpus' ball likely would not have bounced so high had the game been played on Benet's grass field.

"It definitely boosted morale for our team," Benet midfielder Maddie Becker said. "I think everybody realized we can do this and we're already in it."

Becker made sure the host Warriors (12-4) were never in it when she blasted a 30-yard shot under the crossbar to make it 2-0 with 11:21 to go in the first half. It was the second goal of the season for Becker, who came off the bench and scored on her first shot.

"We had the wind for the first half and my coach told me before I went in to keep taking shots and look for those because it's definitely attainable," Becker said. "They've always been a really good team and it was really good to get this win. We didn't realize it was going to be (4-0), so that was really good."

Wheaton Academy, which suffered its most lopsided loss since 2012, didn't expect it either. The Warriors seemed stunned after Bumpus' goal and couldn't string many passes together.

"It was an unfortunate start to the game," Wheaton Academy defender Holland Kosiek said. "We've gone down 1-0 before and we've fought back, so I was hopeful that we'd be able to fight back.

"We stepped it up but it just wasn't our time, I guess. We weren't capitalizing on the opportunities we had and they worked hard and finished when they had the opportunities."

Abby Casmere and Nicole Burns also scored for the Redwings, who won their third straight game while snapping the Warriors' seven-game winning streak. The two teams could meet again in the Class 2A semifinals.

"I think it just puts a fire in our bellies," Kosiek said. "I am 100 percent confident that we can beat them if we play them again.

"We know what they do well and we know what we can do and I don't think we showed them our full potential, so it would be an awesome opportunity to play them again."