By Mark Gregory
@Hear_The_Beard
The Benet Academy boys soccer team dropped its second game of the season this year. But in the more than 10 matches since that loss – the Redwings have not lost a match.
“Our only loss of the year came on the second game of the year and now we are a couple weeks past that,” said Benet coach Sean Wesley. “We think we have a lot of talent and we think we are pretty sharp up top most days. We have some good results against some big time programs like Naperville North and Neuqua Valley. We are really optimistic.”
Optimistic may be an understatement for Benet, as the team has high goals for the 2016 IHSA playoffs.
“We bowed out early in the playoffs last year and once the playoffs start it will be next game mentality, but right now I would say that is we are not in the last four in the state, I will look back like I did something wrong,” Wesley said. “We have that much talent and that good of kids.”
Benet is the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A Wheaton St. Francis Sectional and will open in the Kaneland Regional with a match against the winner of No. 9 Plano and No. 10 Sandwich.
A win would force a regional championship against No. 4 Glenbard South and No. 5 Kaneland.
Wesley said the success of the Redwings goes beyond just the talent on the team.
“Everyone is always talking about chemistry and fortunately these guys have great personalities and they all bring something different,” he said. “One is a super hard worker, one is smooth and never gets rattled, one is relentless all the time in front of the goal and then we have the guys that do the dirty work and you need that. I would love to say its coaching – but it’s not – we just have a great group of kids.
“This is probably the first year that I enjoy every aspect of it. I enjoy practices, I enjoy games, I enjoy the personalities of the group.”
Wesley said the seniors have been the key to everything that has gone on this season for the Redwings.
“Our senior class is awesome,” he said. “Ben Kelly up top, Connor Mote in the midfield, Devin Martini in the midfield and Bennett Curtis are like the four horsemen for us. They have been really good and they play at different levels of the field which makes us even better.”
The seniors, however, could not accomplish the team’s goals alone.
“We have young guys like Franklin Rutkowski that have really stepped up,” Wesley said. “He is fun to watch and he is super dangerous up top and he is unselfish. You don’t often have that forward that is that good and unselfish. It is fun to see a lot of different kids have success and not rely on just one or two guys.”