Senior midfielder Katie Lewellyan does a lot of things that go unnoticed for Benet.
That won’t be the case for much longer.
“I truly believe that she’s the most underrated player not only in this area but maybe the whole state,” Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said. “She’s just so unassuming, but everything is so under control when she’s out there.
“She just calms everything down and makes everything so much easier for everyone around her.”
The brave souls who sat through a chilly rain got to see that firsthand Thursday night.
Lewellyan scored the winning goal and had a beautiful assist on another to lead the Redwings to a 3-0 victory over the host Falcons on the final day of competition at the Wheaton North Kickoff Invitational.
Benet, which had already lost twice in the tournament, had no chance to win the championship. Metea Valley took the title with a 1-0 win over Glenbard West.
But the Redwings (3-2) did knock Wheaton North (2-2) from contention.
“We just wanted to bounce back and we really came out with the right attitude,” Lewellyan said. “That’s what made the change.”
Oconer switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2, allowing Lewellyan to showcase more of her skills. She converted on the first shot of the game, taking a lead pass from senior forward Mariana Pinto, racing up the right wing and scoring on a breakaway.
“In this formation, it allows Katie more freedom to go forward and make those deep runs from the midfield,” Oconer said. “That’s how she scored that first goal.”
Lewellyan had four goals and seven assists last season while playing the old formation. The new scheme fits her like a glove.
“I play it for club, so it’s super comfortable for me,” Lewellyan said. “We have a lot of really good midfielders, so I think we’re able to get more of them in the game.
“Like Bailey (Abbott) really played well, stepped it up as a sophomore and really held down the middle.”
That allowed Lewellyan and the Lewis-bound Pinto plenty of room to figure out how to break down Wheaton North’s defense. The duo was consistently dangerous, especially in the first half.
“We just look at each other and we know she’s going to pass it to me and I’m going to pass it to her,” Pinto said. “So we already have that built-in connection.”
That connection worked again on Benet’s second goal, which Pinto scored with 22:20 left in the first half.
Lewellyan set it up by lofting a pass from the midfield over the defense to Pinto, who settled the ball on the left side of the penalty area before ripping a 15-yard shot into the net.
It was a perfect example of what Oconer wants to see.
“Really, what it came down to is we just executed what we’ve been talking about all year — just good, crisp passing and movement off the ball, finishing our opportunities,” Oconer said. “The overall work rate has been there the whole year, but we’re really starting to find our rhythm offensively.
“We’ve been pretty solid all year defensively. It’s just something was missing offensively.”
Pinto, who finished the scoring with a penalty kick at the 13:15 mark of the second half, said it will be hard for people to miss Lewellyan’s contributions this season.
“She’s definitely a fighter,” Pinto said. “Katie helps us with both offense and defense, and she’s a huge help for everyone on the field. She does such a great job of it.
“That’s why she gets the goals that she does.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.