Daniels' goal lifts Wheaton Academy past Benet

After a while Wheaton Academy just decided to try attacking Benet a little bit differently.

Instead of playing the ball through the middle of the field, only to be stymied by the Benet defense, the Warriors sent the ball wide first before crossing it into the middle of the penalty area.

That worked just well enough.

Junior Tim Daniels' 72nd-minute header off a Brian McLean cross from the right side gave Wheaton Academy a 1-0 nonconference victory over a tough Benet team Wednesday in West Chicago.

"Fantastic," Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said of the goal. "We finally got our outside back to step forward with the ball. Brian stepped into space, our outside mid covered, played a beautiful ball across and Tim Daniels just does what he continues to do which is find the back of the net. And he's doing it in big games too, which is a huge thing for him."

It was Daniels' 29th goal of the season, to go with his 10 assists.

"He's really played well," Brooke added. "The goals jump out, but he's increased his ability all over the field: on top of the ball, his vision, his possession, his pace. We're excited about what he's doing."

The game played evenly throughout, with most of the action in the midfield. Benet (10-5-2) stepped up its attack in the second half, but Wheaton Academy (14-3-2) still only needed senior goalkeeper Philip Oster to make 2 saves.

"We've got to get some shots on goal," Benet coach Henry Wind said. "They can't be going over. And that's the difference. They got one in and we didn't. We had some opportunities to strike the ball."

It was yet another tough test for the Warriors, who defeated Geneva on Saturday and finish the regular season with WW South on Friday.

"We're really trying to get up to our highest level," Brooke said. "Benet just plays hard, so hard, and we need that going into the postseason."