Girls soccer: St. Charles North edges Benet in shootout
Friday night's Naperville Invitational girls soccer game between St. Charles North and Benet came down to a very strong performance by Redwings goalkeeper Shannon Clark and a North Stars squad that battled and battled until it got what it needed to win 2-1.
After the match was tied at 1 after regulation, it immediately went to penalty kicks and Lauren Balter's shot gave her team a 5-4 advantage on PKs and that secured the win.
"Our team did absolutely everything to persevere. I have not been more impressed by a keeper. We had fantastic shots and she gobbled them up," said St. Charles North coach Brian Harks.
Clark, a junior, finished with 10 saves.
Benet's Mariana Pinto made the first penalty kick after regulation time. It was her second penalty kick to result in a score. She hit net with 17:25 remaining until halftime to give Benet the first lead of the contest.
Teammates Katie Lewellyan, Annastacia Thiel and Keira Petrucelli made their penalty kicks.
For the North Stars, Bella Najera, Sophia Hein, Sophie Sutherland and Kayla Floyd made their shots, setting the stage for Balter's kick.
"They (St. Charles North) did a great job of running up to the ball on the penalty kicks. That's tough for a goalkeeper to read," Clark said.
Balter said penalty kicks are tense situations, but the team prepares for it.
"It does bring a lot of pressure. We practice our penalty kicks and we've done well with them this year," she said. "I am so proud of my team. I can't describe how proud I am. They gave it everything they could."
The North Stars (10-1), who return to Naperville Central on Saturday to face Oswego East at 11 a.m. in further invite competition, tied the game in regulation with just under 12 minutes remaining in regulation on a goal by Sidney Timms.
"Bella crossed it to me in the box and I saw the goalie and took a shot and it went in," Timms said. "She (Clark) is a very good goalie, but we like to challenge ourselves and put ourselves under pressure."
Benet (9-4) is done in the tournament, but looks forward to the rest of the season and going after what they want to accomplish which is a deep postseason run. And facing two tough teams over two nights is considered a plus.
The Redwings were edged by Oswego East on Thursday, 2-1.
"This will help us in the long term," said coach Gerard Oconer. "That's why we are in this tournament."