Benet continues string of recent success

Updated: March 28, 2011 12:28PM

Two players who normally don't start hooked up for what turned out to be the game-winning goal for Benet in its 4-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory over Nazareth Saturday in Lisle.

Goalie Tony Auerbach and midfielder Chris Parks were only in the starting lineup because it was Senior Day, but they seized the opportunity for the Redwings (9-6-1, 5-2), who started an all-senior crew.

Auerbach, making just his third appearance of the season and first as a starter, picked up an assist in the 23rd minute as he punted the ball over midfield to Parks, who headed the ball twice to get past defenders before scoring his second goal of the year.

"[Auerbach] was punting them really long today and coach [Sean Wesley] told to win this next ball," Parks said. "So I won it, headed it twice, the ball bounced right in front of me and I just put it away."

Nazareth (14-5-1, 4-4) didn't have an answer for a Benet team that has won four straight games, including a 3-1 upset of Downers Grove South, after a string of inconsistent performances. Auerbach had to make just three saves to get the shutout, and the Redwings peppered Roadrunners goalie Jamie Nassar-Velasquez (five saves) with nearly two dozen shots.

"We all just realized that it's coming down to the end of the season," Parks said. "It's not a long season, so we just knew that we had to do something about it. So we gave it a 100 percent effort the whole time."

Benet made it 2-0 in the 37th minute when Nassar-Velasquez failed to control a loose ball and Dan Coleman tracked it down and scored from 15 yards out before Nassar-Velasquez could get back on his line.

Brian Morefield added two insurance goals in the second half for the Redwings, the first a 17-yard shot inside the left post off a cross from Sean O'Hara and the second a nifty volley into the upper left corner off Chris Lucke's 40-yard free kick.

The margin could have been greater, but Benet hit the crossbar twice and Nassar-Velasquez made a great diving save on a shot by Nick Iehn. O'Hara, West Point-bound midfielder Sean Mogan and senior defender Joe Mahoney also shined for the Redwings.

"We have a little bit of urgency to our game," said Benet coach Sean Wesley, whose team faces Wheaton Academy, St. Viator and Lyons next week before opening the playoffs against Batavia. "We were up and down at the beginning of the year. It was a little disappointing for the seniors. Now we're getting toward the end so it seems we're riding a good wave of momentum. Guys are playing unselfish soccer."

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