Benet’s Johnna Caliendo knows soccer players sometimes just have to let it rip.
The junior forward isn’t shy about doing so.
“I don’t think I have the biggest leg,” Caliendo said. “But I think I have a hard shot.”
Caliendo proved that when she scored the game-winning goal in the Redwings’ 3-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory against Nazareth in La Grange Park on Thursday.
The goal, Caliendo’s second of the season, came with 2:43 left in the first half. It opened the scoring after Nazareth senior goalkeeper Audrey Moster had stymied the Redwings with her brilliant play.
Moster made nine of her 14 saves before halftime, including a point-blank rejection on Caliendo five minutes before the breakthrough.
But Caliendo found herself open just inside the top of the box when she intercepted a clearing pass. She took one touch before ripping a 15-yard shot by Moster.
“I kind of just saw the ball coming,” Caliendo said. “I calmed down and just felt good and locked in, and I leaned over the ball to make sure it went in.”
Caliendo’s strike was just what the doctor ordered for a Benet offense that has struggled after routing Marian Catholic 12-0 in the season opener. The Redwings (2-2-1, 2-0) had scored only one goal in their previous three games before Thursday.
“That’s what we’ve been talking about this whole season,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “We’ve had too many shots that have been one- or two-bouncers.
“That was finally a shot with some authority, and those obviously have a better chance of going in. If you hit it a little bit weak, we made this goalkeeper look really, really good tonight. She made some phenomenal saves in the first half.”
Moster made a couple of good ones in the second half, too, but the Roadrunners (1-3, 0-1) still weren’t able to get out of their end much.
The Redwings enjoyed a 30-1 advantage in shots. Junior defender Chloe Sentman increased the lead to 2-0 when she buried a 30-yard shot with 24:36 left, and senior midfielder Rania Fikri capped the scoring by converting a penalty kick with 1:23 remaining.
Fikri said Caliendo’s goal sparked the Redwings.
“She’s a very important part of our team,” Fikri said. “I think that her goal kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. That kind of shot is what we need for us to score, and that kind of energy and intensity is what we need.”
While the Redwings don’t have a dominant goal scorer, they do have plenty of talented attacking players. But most use finesse to stand out. Caliendo brings a different element.
“She brings the physicality up front that maybe we’re a little bit lacking without her,” Oconer said. “She’s a target player for us to be able to play into. It really helps to complement our talented midfield and our wingers. So it just kind of ties everything together when we have her there.”
Caliendo contributed five goals and an assist in 13 games in a supporting role last season, when Benet reached the Class 2A state championship game for the second straight year. But she figures to play a more prominent role this season, especially considering junior forward Keira Petrucelli, who had 11 goals and 11 assists in 2023, will miss the season with an ACL injury.
“It’s always different from year to year,” Oconer said. “Obviously we’re still looking to be a little bit more efficient in the final third, just kind of working out the spacing and just how we’re going to have to try to create this year.”
Caliendo was glad to be the creator against Nazareth.
“Our team deserved a goal, so I was just happy to be the one to do that,” she said. “It kind of brought up our spirits. It was just what we needed, and I was happy to contribute for the team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
