Benet takes down Andrew

Updated: April 30, 2011 10:37PM

Benet coach Henry Wind has been coaching long enough to be able to see the glass as both half full and half empty.

That would explain his measured satisfaction over Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Andrew in one of several consolation matches helping complete the 14th Annual Naperville Invitational. After a penalty-kick shootout loss and a 1-0 setback in the initial group play, the Redwings captured two consolation contests with the shutout of Andrew helping boost the season ledger to 12-4-3.

“I like the way we possessed the ball and attacked, until we got to the final third and couldn’t finish. It was like we were always a half step off,” Wind said. “With all the opportunities we created, I’d like to have seen us finish better.”

While Madie Burke had a series of near-goals in both halves, the scoreless draw remained until there was 16:58 left in regulation. That’s when Maria Schwabe’s pass to a wide-open Meghan O’Hara resulted in a blast off the crossbar that didn’t quite deflect inward, just down onto the goal line before O’Hara hustled in to make certain the ball found the back of the net. It was the sophomore’s fifth goal of the season.

“I always try to follow up on shots because rebounds off a post or a keeper can get banged around and you can get a second chance,” O’Hara said. “I was in the right spot. It was a little frustrating to have all those shots and nothing to show for it, but that’s when you have to stay composed and keep trying.”

Benet essentially put the victory away just under four minutes later when Amanda Kaiser pivoted sharply on the right wing and sailed a 17-yarder over the Thunderbolt keeper and under the crossbar for her sixth goal of the year.

“Meaghan gave me a nice pass into space for me to work in closer and the defender was racing by so I just stopped, turned and shot, hoping it would be on frame,” Kaiser said. “We had a rough start in this tournament so it was important for us to show some progress. Even though we didn’t score, we kept pushing it up knowing if we took a lot of shots, some of them would go in.”

Benet finished with a 17-3 advantage for overall attempts and was up 10-1 in shots on frame, along with a 6-0 edge for corner kicks.

It also marked the 10th shutout of the season for keeper Clare Munaretto and her Redwing defensive mates.

“On defense our goal every game is a shutout. The key is that we communicate a lot and a (windy) day like this I’ve got to stay focused and anticipate what the ball is going to do,” Munaretto said. “Getting a win is most important, but a shutout is very gratifying.”

The setback to Benet capped a frustrating 0-4 tournament showing for Andrew which had the misfortune to be assigned to the tourney’s “group of death” with No. 3-ranked Conant and the state’s unbeaten No. 1-rated squad in Neuqua Valley, which captured the Naperville Invite crown with a 1-0 title match victory over No. 5 Lyons. The Thunderbolts, who are now 6-8-2, also had a 3-0 consolation loss to No. 9-ranked Fremd.

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