Boys soccer: Benet, West Chicago leave it on the line

Like a lot of sports, soccer is a game of inches.

That was the literal truth Thursday in a scoreless tie between Benet and West Chicago, both ranked in the top 5 in the area and recently awarded top seeds in their respective IHSA playoff brackets.

In the 76th minute Benet sophomore forward Trent McVey lofted a corner kick from the left side. The ball floated down in front of the right post into the middle of a scrum, which included senior midfielder Nick Renfro, who appeared to score.

But no. Somehow, West Chicago junior goalkeeper Luis Parra corralled the ball and cleared it, averting disaster.

So what exactly happened?

West Chicago's version:

"I put my defender right there, and I couldn't block it, and he was there and he got it and I took it," Parra said. "I grabbed it and I just kept it."

And Benet's:

"I just decided to switch it up and put it over the goalie," McVey said. "Nick got a good jump, but it was just short."

"It was just a great serve," Renfro added. "I just have to put a little more power on it to get across the line. From what people were saying, it was on the line."

That wasn't the only scoring opportunity for Benet (9-1-1). In the 18th minute freshman forward Nico Picha fired a shot from about 30 yards out that Parra had to go up high to save. In the 37th junior forward Chris Mankowski nearly tallied after Parra cleared the ball in his direction. But Mankowski fired the shot just left.

And West Chicago (11-1-3)?

The Wildcats had their opportunities as well. In the 35th minute senior midfielder Moises Morfin got loose coming down the left sideline. He beat one defender and fired a shot to the right side of the goal that was blocked away by Benet goalkeeper Vytautas Staniskis.

That was just the beginning. In the 69th minute senior defender Alejandro Cadena was coming down the right sideline and took a cross pass from the left. He was wide open … but lofted a high shot over the net.

"I saw my teammate coming down the side and I saw him cross the ball, and I wasn't sure to expect it or not, but I should have expected to get that easy goal," Cadena said. "I wish I had that one back."

Considering these are two of the better teams in the area, what did they learn about themselves after facing a formidable opponent?

"I think first half, we didn't play good soccer, we didn't really play to our system, we kind of got overwhelmed by the amount of their possession," Benet coach Sean Wesley said. "What I learned was second half we could flip the coin and start playing better soccer and start playing in their half."

West Chicago coach Jose Villa echoed those sentiments.

"I think that we can compete with these teams, and we had opportunities to finish, but hats off to Benet, because they challenged us in different ways," Villa said. "They are high energy, press and make you release the ball a little quicker."

West Chicago outshot Benet 7-5, with 5 shots on goal. Benet had 3 on goal.