Benedictine is seeking to build a bright future

It was good-natured kidding, but in an encounter between football players and the soccer team Oct. 12 at Benedictine, it did speak in a broader sense to how far the Bengals have come on the pitch.

With kickoff time approaching against Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, from an overlook above Bossu Field, football players began a back-and-forth with junior midfielder Justin Mitchell as he and his side warmed up.

“Is this junior varsity?” one asked Mitchell.

Mitchell corrected the assertion it wasn’t.

A few years prior, though, it may have been fair for a bystander not knowing any different to truly wonder.

In two falls under Coach Miguel Cora, Benedictine has taken big strides after heavy struggles for results in the decade-plus prior.

The Bengals were 11-6-1 last fall and ended 12-3-1 in 2017 after capping their regular season with a competitive 3-2 loss to NDCL and a 2-1 extra-time loss in a Division II sectional semifinal to Crestwood on Oct. 17.

It’s a long way from seasons finding even five wins tough to come by — and being able to bring in a traditionally solid side in the Lions for a match shows growth.

“I’m very happy with the way the guys have learned,” Cora said. “They’ve taken to it really well. They take instruction very well. They are very competitive.

“There’s a lot of school spirit. These guys have learned over the past couple of years, when they do well on the field, they get rewarded at school. They get it from a lot of the football players and everything else. So it’s a very big family environment once these guys come off the field. I think that’s really helped them mentally kind of bridge the gap from being a competitive team to kind of start pushing over the top.”

Benedictine had a nice mix this fall of being senior-laden but having tremendous young promise.

There were veteran performers in the attack, including standout senior John Dosen (18 goals, seven assists), and in the defensive third. Offensivethird play is in good stead for the foreseeable future paced by junior striker Nahun Figueroa and sophomore Anthony Cora.

Figueroa (21 goals, 18 assists) was among this area’s leading scorers in 2017. Given his height — he’s over 6-foot — he may be the fastest and toughest striker in the area to close down. His pace showed on the opening goal against NDCL when, with the Bengals playing highly direct, Figueroa collected service and played an ambitious first touch into space, turning the corner on a Lions defender with speed and then a nice finish.

Cora (23 goals, 14 assists) is a technically sound attacker who can be paired up top with Figueroa or float into an attacking center mid role with his foot skill and field sense.

Cora had a highlight for the ages earlier this year with a rare buzzer-beating goal for a wild 6-5 win over Holy Name on Sept. 9.

While elements of midfield play and combination work do have to be settled in more — the Bengals found the offensive-third going more difficult after NDCL shifted its backline positioning in the second half — the promise in the attack is clear.

“Those are potent forwards,” Lions coach Marco DiFranco said of Figueroa, Cora and Dosen. “You can tell by how many goals they’ve scored. It is a tough group to handle — all three of those guys.”

Benedictine is hopeful this is only the start. The Bengals went into the final week of the regular season unbeaten until losses to Wickliffe and NDCL, but a 12-win campaign is a highwater mark for the side in recent memory.

Miguel Cora is confident in the incoming freshmen group he has for 2018.

His son, Christian, who watched from the bench during the NDCL match, is an accomplished club standout for Internationals 14-and-under side in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Christian Cora has nine goals in seven matches this year and traveled to Dallas last week for a USSDA showcase.

So the days of the Bengals being asked if a junior varsity match is taking place are likely firmly in the rearview mirror.

“I am very encouraged for the next couple of years,” Cora said. “We’ve got new recruits coming in. I’ve got a lot of guys graduating, but I’ve got a lot of good, young guys.

“There is a lot of good talent that we’ll show off a little bit next year.”