Junior goalkeeper Shannon Clark has been playing so well lately for Benet that people are starting to take notice.
That has been true even in defeat.
“She’s always at her best against our toughest opponents,” Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said. “When she has a lot to do, she just locks herself in. She’s such a competitor.”
Clark was locked in Friday night, making seven saves against St. Charles North during a Naperville Invitational game at Memorial Stadium.
That effort wasn’t quite enough to prevent the North Stars from beating Benet 2-1 on penalty kicks, but it did draw praise from the winning team.
“I have not been more impressed by a keeper in a long time,” St. Charles North coach Brian Harks said. “Our girls were taking fantastic shots, some where I almost began to celebrate, and she gobbled them up.
“Some teams might get discouraged. Our team kept grinding, and then for (Sidney) Timms to find the back of the net was fantastic.”
Benet (9-4) struck first when Lewis-bound senior forward Mariana Pinto converted a penalty kick at the 17:24 mark of the first half.
Despite being outshot 13-3, the Redwings clung to the 1-0 lead for 45 minutes until Timms finally solved Clark.
Timms, a senior defender, received a corner kick from Michigan State recruit Bella Najera and scored on a shot from the top of the box with 11:58 left in regulation.
It was the fourth goal of the season for Timms, all coming on corner kicks.
“I was in the box and I saw the goalie right there,” Timms said. “I took one little breath and then I shot it in the corner. Thank goodness it went in.
“The goalie was amazing. She made very good saves.”
As good as Clark was in regulation, St. Charles North (10-1) was even better in the shootout. All five shooters scored, with junior defender Lauren Balster converting to clinch the 5-4 decision.
“All five of us went in there knowing we were going to make it,” Balster said. “We made sure we all knew where we were going to place the ball.
“We weren’t going to change which way we were going to go based on the goalie’s reactions because we knew she was very good. I think the confidence we walked up there with really helped us finish them.”
Clark, who also made seven saves Thursday in a 2-1 loss to Oswego East, was impressed with the North Stars’ acumen.
“They did a great job with how they ran up to the ball,” Clark said. “In PKs, it is very difficult for a goalkeeper to read when a forward runs directly onto the ball.
“They had a lot of good forwards that were doing that.”
That resulted in Clark being left flat-footed on all but Balster’s shot. She guessed correctly on that one but the ball went into the upper corner.
“On my part, I think I got a bit anxious at the end and just wanted to jump off my line as quickly as possible,” Clark said. “I did more of my decision-making on just jumping and guessing more than reading the player and reading the ball.”
While disappointed with the loss, Clark left the stadium with a smile on her face.
“I am so proud of my team right now,” Clark said. “We came out here and gave it everything we could and played a great game.
“We are going to work on the little things we need to make ourselves 100% perfect and we’re going to go to state.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.