Benet advances on penalty kicks

History always seems to find ways to repeat itself.

On April 20 at the Naperville Invitational Tournament, Benet and Wheaton Warrenville South went to penalty kicks to determine which would advance to the next round. The Tigers ended up winning the game.

Now, with the stakes even bigger in the Neuqua Valley Class 3A Regional semifinal, the teams met again. However, unlike last meeting, the Redwings got their revenge.

Benet goalie Claire Munaretto stopped three out of the five Tiger shooters to lead the Redwings to a 2-1 victory via penalty kicks in Naperville.

Munaretto stopped the first and fourth kickers to force a must-make by the Tigers Katrina Geannopoulos. Geannopoulos blasted a shot towards the left corner but Munaretto guessed correctly and was able to knock down the shot with both hands.

“I had let in all five goals the last time it went to penalty kicks so this is kind of redemption for me,” Munaretto said. “The goal was just to stay calm and focused throughout the game.”

The No. 8-seeded Redwings (18-4-3) needed some late-game heroics just to force the extra session. Benet tied the game with 1:49 remaining in regulation via an unassisted goal by Brittany Pullen. Katie Michalik lofted in a cross that was tipped by the Tigers goalie and bounced softly off of the far post. Pullen raced past her defender on the weak side and was able to jab it in from inside the 6-yard box.

“This (game) was amazing. We knew we had them on their heels after we scored the goal and we had the feeling like we would pull it out,” Pullen said. “Games against them (WWS) are always tough.”

Benet controlled all four overtime sessions but couldn’t notch a goal. The Tigers nearly stole the game though with 2.7 seconds remaining in the final overtime session as Dana Miller split the Redwings defense and went in on a breakaway. Munaretto came out of her box, and in going for the ball, tripped Miller down, resulting in a free kick 20 yards away from the goal.

The senior goalie was issued a yellow card and under IHSA rules, had to be substituted for. Freshman goalie Christina Stopka stepped in cold off of the bench and luckily wasn’t tested as the free kick by Natalie Jensen was driven over the bar.

“Christina is a good keeper but I can’t say I wasn’t glad when I saw the ball go over the net. That is a difficult spot for a freshman to come into,” Benet coach Henry Wind said. “The girls played with a lot of heart and I felt we did a good job of attacking.”

The Tigers (11-8-2) got on the board with 27:02 remaining in the second half thanks to a goal by Mary Heaton. Heaton corralled a crossing pass from 15 yards away and fired an arcing shot that found the corner of the net.

Benet plays the No. 1 seed Neuqua Valley in the regional final at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

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