Benet star Nico Picha sat out for two weeks earlier this season to rest a sprained ankle.
Being idle pained him more than the injury.
That’s why the senior midfielder is back in the lineup, regardless of how the ankle feels.
“I missed my two weeks at the beginning,” Picha said. “I’m done with that. I’m continuing to play.”
It hasn’t been easy. Picha, in his fourth varsity season, has played seven games since returning, all of them in varying degrees of discomfort he has tried to overcome.
“It’s a combination of the trainer doing a great job of taping my ankle and I’m just taking Advils and pushing through the pain,” Picha said. “And I’ve gone to physical therapy twice a week.”
Picha knows he won’t be 100% at any point this season. Trainers told him he would have to miss another two or three weeks for the ankle to fully heal.
“There’s no way that’s happening,” Picha said. “They’ve told me the best I’m going to be is 85% as long as I keep playing. So I’m just trying to do everything I can to give 100% effort, even if I can’t play to 100% of my ability.”
Even at 85%, Picha is better than most healthy players. He demonstrated that Tuesday by scoring one game-tying goal and setting up a second as the host Redwings tied Naperville Central 2-2 in Lisle.
The result snapped Naperville Central’s seven-game winning streak and allowed the Redwings (10-4-1) to avoid their first two-game losing streak since 2018. They did it despite playing without two starting midfielders.
“He turned it on today,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said of Picha. “He’s been trying to play through it, and today he obviously had a little extra motivation.”
That motivation was a match against the Redhawks (16-3-1), who are seeded first in the Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional, on Benet’s senior day.
Despite a 19-5 edge in shots, Naperville Central was unable to pull out a win. The elusive Picha was a major reason for that.
“He is by far the most dynamic player we have going forward,” Wesley said. “He changes the game because he can take anybody off the dribble, and when that happens you start to see everything start to break down in another team’s back line.
“When he can turn the corner and beat his first guy, that makes us really interesting. We have other pieces around him that have capitalized on those chances.”
Picha, who has five goals and five assists this season, scored Benet’s first goal Tuesday off an assist from Nick Roe.
Jack Kuelthau scored the second goal, heading home a rebound after Picha’s rocket was batted into the air by Naperville Central goalkeeper Dylan Scott.
“He makes the game so much faster,” Kuelthau said of Picha. “The ball sticks to his foot. He has the best first touch probably I’ve ever seen. It kind of motivates us to play faster too.”
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The speed and touch are innate.
“Both are just gifts that I grew up with,” Picha said. “My mom (Mariana) is from Argentina, so I like to think a little bit of that comes from my blood.”
Picha’s mom played tennis, not soccer, but she introduced him to soccer when he was 4.
“My mom and my coaches always said that I had something that not ever other kid had,” Picha said. “I’ve always been told that I’m a little bit special, which boosts the confidence a little.
“But I try to incorporate everyone, make everyone play the best that they can.”
Picha, who helped the Redwings win the Class 2A state championship as a freshman, is highly motivated.
“I want to make a difference,” Picha said. “I’m trying to do everything in my power to help us win as much as we can.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.