The Benet Academy varsity soccer team wrapped up their run in the playoffs with a final record of 17-4-1. Having a combined 13 shutouts and total of 70 goals, their season ended on a strong note. The Redwings’ soccer program finished second in the ESCC, with a record of 7-1, and their only loss being to St. Patrick’s, the eventual ESCC champions. The squad faced a tough non-conference schedule, with games against the two best teams in the state of Illinois: Naperville North and Libertyville, respectively. Benet finished with a total of three losses up until the playoffs.

This rough schedule didn’t reflect in the sectional rankings, as Benet was only given the seventh seed. The Redwings began their run in the playoffs at the Wheaton Academy Regional against West Chicago. Winning this game by a comfortable 4-1 margin, the boys moved on to the Regional final on the road against second-seeded Wheaton Academy. Benet came out strong and won the game 3-1, with goals coming from seniors Franklin Rutkowski and C.J. Warren, and sophomore Chris Mankowski. With this victory, the Redwings captured the Class 3A Regional Champions title.

After winning the Regional title, the Redwings moved into the Addison Trail Sectional, where they were matched against sixth-seeded Addison Trail. In a tough matchup of two underrated teams, the game’s regular time ended in a 0-0 deadlock. The game went into double overtime, where Benet responded with two goals of their own to win the game 2-1.

The sectional final was set between Benet and top-seeded Lake Park. It was a tightly contested game, where the outcome after regular time and an overtime period put the score at 1-1. The game went into penalty shots, where a close penalty shootout saw the Redwings fall 5-4 in penalty kicks.

This brought an end to a solid season for a Redwing team which included 10 seniors. Although all of them made an impact on Benet’s soccer program, the Redwings are in good hands with the youth on their roster.