FENTON – Villa Duchesne junior goalkeeper Grace Benac still feels the pain, but the joy has superseded it by far.
Almost one year to the day when Benac underwent surgery on a torn ACL and meniscus, she notched her second consecutive shutout to propel Villa Duchesne to its first state championship appearance in soccer program history.
“This whole year has been recovery for me,” Benac said. “To be here is amazing.”
Benac earned her fourth solo shutout and senior Georgia Leary and sophomore Izzy Miller each scored twice as Villa Duchesne defeated Saxony Lutheran 4-0 Friday in a Missouri State High School Athletic Association Class 1 semifinal at Soccer Park in Fenton.
Villa Duchesne (10-11-1) will face Tolton Catholic (17-8-1) for the Class 1 championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Soccer Park.
Saxony Lutheran (12-9) will face Bishop Leblond (14-6) at 10 a.m. Saturday in the third-place game.
Soon after Leary opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the ninth minute, Benac rebuffed an offensive assault by the Crusaders.
First, she cut down the angle from Saxony sophomore Camille Richey and deflected away a dangerous shot. Moments later, as the Crusaders attempted a long, over-the-top pass to sophomore Faith Dreyer, Benac rushed 15 yards above the penalty area to boot it away with her right foot.
“Those hurt me a little bit, and also taking goal kicks with my right foot, but punts don’t hurt at all,” Benac said.
Benac continued to deliver a clean sheet by scooping a tricky short hop off a shot from Saxony Lutheran junior Clara Brune. Then, she withstood a near collision with sophomore Lyla Craft to make a tough save.
The play was reminiscent of a collision with a John Burroughs player on May 6, 2022 that knocked Benac out of action and sent her on a long road to recovery.
“I do get nervous when they come to me, but it only happened that one time, and I’ve been through it a thousand more times, so I just have to do my job,” Benac said.
And the Villa offense did the job from there.
Sophomore Izzy Miller, who stepped in for Benac as the Saints’ state champion field hockey goalie last fall, showed she had just as much talent on offense.
Doing her best Eduard Löwen impersonation, Miller took a touch above the penalty area on the left side and curled a beautiful goal into the upper right corner of the net to increase the Villa lead to 2-0 in the 29th minute.
Miller, who claimed she did not watch Löwen’s free kick feat for STL City against Vancouver on Saturday, bent the ball with an identical trajectory and from almost the exact distance.
“When I kick the ball, I feel like I have blinders on. I don’t really think, I just go,” Miller said.
Eight minutes later, a Saxony hand ball in the penalty area awarded Leary a second penalty kick opportunity. It was a rare occurrence and required much thought before she struck the ball.
“It’s a little scary, but we’ve been practicing (PKs) the last two weeks and that made me more comfortable,” said Leary, who will play field hockey at Wake Forest. “On the second one, I thought, ‘Approach it the same way, but try to go the other way,’ and I was able to sneak it in.”
Villa Duchesne continued to pressure in the second half as the Saints collected the first three shots on goal, including a strong run from Miller that required an impressive save from Saxony goalie Grace Ozark.
In the 50th minute, Villa junior Hope Kleeman delivered a long pass with perfect backspin that Miller accepted and delivered into the back of the net to put the Saints ahead 4-0.
From there, the Saints’ defense closed the door. Strong play by sophomores Hanna Hulett and Allison Frame and junior Claire Garton kept few opportunities from reaching Benac. Freshman Margot Leary dropped into a defensive position to help clear away Saxony advances.
“Sometimes, those are the tough ones. When you get less action, more mistakes can be made, but I have a strong back line in front of me,” Benac said.
Benac, who also plays basketball, attended every field hockey and basketball game during the school year to support her teammates. She credits the support of her teammates across all sports for helping her reach the eve of a state title opportunity.
“I couldn’t have done it without them. I love them so much,” Benac said.
And now, after her clean sheet on Friday coupled with a 12-save shutout in a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Borgia, Benac is hoping for the perfect ending to her year-long journey.
“It has been a long road. I had to start at zero percent and work my way back to 100 percent, and I’m so happy I’m here,” Benac said.
