Benedictine Military School (10-2) defeated Charleston, South Carolina’s, Porter-Gaud (8-3) 7-3 on Tuesday with a complete team performance. Benedictine also entered the game ranked sixth in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) D2 rankings by LaxNumbers.com.
“We knew it was going to be a defensive game, so we needed to play for each other. We needed to make it about us and play hard for one another,” said Cadets’ Head Coach Dustin White.
After allowing an early man-down goal, Benedictine quickly recentered, took control, and dominated the rest of the game, going on a 7-1 run that included 4 unanswered goals.
“One big thing was we told our guys that we have to shoot low: we have to shoot overhand. Defensively, we slid well, we got to hands, and we were more physical. That was one thing we emphasized right after that first goal, that we have got to be physical and use our athleticism. We made that adjustment, the offense made their adjustment, we started to pick and cut more, and we were just able to tack it on and possess the ball,” White said.
Junior midfielders Wiley Chandler and Mac Headley were integral in Benedictine’s offensive onslaught, with both of them scoring hat tricks. The duo accounted for all of the Cadets’ 4 unanswered goals that turned the game on its head, taking the Cadets from down 1-0 to up 4-1 less than a minute into the second quarter. Porter Gaud tacked on one more goal, and despite hitting two posts, BC was unable to grow its lead, going into halftime up 4-2.
The Cadets came out of halftime on fire, with both Chandler and Headley finishing off their hat-trick performances. They held the ball for the majority of the fourth quarter to capture a 7-3 win.
Sophomore goalie Reef Leonard set the tone for Benedictine, saving 15 of the 18 shots that he faced, standing on his head during several man-down situations.
“Reef stepped into goal 3 months ago for the first time because our other goalie got injured. He saw the ball really well today, he stayed tall, and he didn’t flinch,” White said. “He really made some huge saves. That game goes another way if he doesn’t make some of those doorstop saves he had. He had a phenomenal game today.”
BC has one home game remaining before the playoffs begin.
“It’s really about staying together and not ever being satisfied. That’s what I always tell the boys, that you can’t ever be complacent. We know we have to get better to prepare for the Atlanta teams that we’re going to see in the playoffs,” White said. “We’re confident in our ability, but we just have to be more consistent.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Just Shoot Sports on Instagram
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