Geneva hands Wheaton A. rare home loss
Anderson goal, tenacious 'D' give Vikings 1-0 win
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – A coach can’t step on the field and make plays for his team, but he can make a big difference.
At least that’s what Geneva goalkeeper Jeffrey Bode believes.
He might be right. The Vikings are already a quarter of their way to equaling their 2016 win total after edging host Wheaton Academy 1-0 Saturday.
Geneva looks like a new team under enthusiastic first-year head coach Jason Bhatta.
“We got a new head coach,” Bode said. “He’s really forcing us to train hard. He’s forcing us to get better technically and tactically.
“He pumps us up, and he really pushes us to be the best we can be, and I really think he’s one of the key reasons that we’re winning.”
Experience is another reason the Vikings are 2-0 and became the first team since 2015 to beat the Warriors on their home field. It starts in the back with co-captain Bode, who was terrific in making seven saves to record his first clean sheet of the season.
It extends to a veteran backline and up-front to senior forward Eric Anderson, who has scored all three Geneva goals so far.
“We have a very strong group of seniors this year, so we’ve been playing together for a long time,” Anderson said.
“Coming here wasn’t easy. Wheaton Academy is historically a very strong team, and we knew we had to go in and play our game. We locked down their forwards, and we got the result we wanted.”
Wheaton Academy (1-1-0) hadn’t lost at home since a 3-0 loss to St. Charles East on Sept. 26, 2015. That was also the Warriors last regular season home defeat.
The Warriors held a slight edge in possession and total chances, outshooting the Vikings 11-7, yet it was a rare mistake in the back that cost them.
Anderson, who 30 seconds earlier had an open shot at the goal but was thwarted by Warriors goalie J.D. Gunn, alertly reacted to a weak pass back to the keeper. He stole the ball from a defender and dribbled around Gunn before bagging the game’s only goal with 31:52 to play in the game.
Bhatta said that play was an example of his team’s hustle.
“I think the boys put in good work during preseason,” Bhatta said. “We got a good result on Wednesday (a 2-1 win over East Aurora), and I think we’re going to keep playing how we want to play.
“I told them at halftime it doesn’t matter how we score, just take advantage of mistakes. And that’s what happened on the back pass, and Eric hopped on it. Then we’ve just got to defend well.”
Anderson’s feat did not surprise Bhatta.
“He’s a talented kid,” Bhatta said. “He’s so fast, and he’s technical.
“I told them before the year even started that if we’re going to have a good year, he’s got to have a good year. This is his third goal this year. He’s putting them away for us.”
Anderson was annoyed he connect on his earlier chance, but he didn’t get down on himself.
“The first one I was kind of disappointed because I was just with the goalie and I didn’t put it away,” Anderson said. “It made me more fired up, gave me more motivation to put in the next one.
“I saw the defender have a weak pass back to the goalie, and I just pounced on it and ran forward around the keeper and slotted it home. You’ve got to anticipate everything.”
The Vikings were smart enough to anticipate the Warriors would throw everything they had into the attack after that, which is exactly what happened.
But Bode, who two minutes before Anderson’s goal had leaped to tip a free kick from Sam Froslid over the crossbar, was up to the challenge. He made five of his saves in the second half, including a strong move to charge out to punch away Froslid’s 50-yard free kick.
Bode was knocked to the ground by a huge collision on that play, but later made point-blank stops on Froslid and Jack Kilgallon. On the former play, Froslid got loose just outside the right post and his shot hit Bode’s body and spun up and backward toward the goal before Geneva defender Ryleigh Strubler cleared it off the line with 14:00 left.
“He was huge,” Bhatta said of Bode, one of Geneva’s co-captains. “Maybe on the second corner kick he was a little timid coming out, but I said you’ve got to be big in the 6, even if you hit one of our guys.
“That box has got to be yours. And he put his body on the line on the one, and he got knocked down, but he was big for us. We’ve got to have performances like that if we’re going to take games like this.”
Bode was happy with his performance but shared credit with his defense, which started a backline of Strubler, Myles Birkhead, Josh Hartsock and Jason Belloli.
“We’re lucky this season,” Bode said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors. Our team is mainly seniors, and they’ve got a lot of experience. So I’m really glad I’ve got them out here to protect me.”
Wheaton Academy, in contrast, has one of its youngest teams in years. The lack of finishing, which included two shots from Quinn Partain and one from Kilgallon that rolled wide, can and will be fixed.
“I don’t think we played bad,” Gunn said. “All credit to them.
“They played really well in the back and their keeper made some good saves. We just couldn’t find the target in some moments, and they got an unlucky bounce from us but a good hustle play from (Anderson).”
Unlike Bode, Gunn is working with a whole new crew.
“We graduated 14 seniors, and I think six or seven of them were starters,” Gunn said. “The whole backline, it’s their first year playing varsity so it’s a little bit of a challenge for me just getting them all together and keeping their shape.
“But they’ve been doing well the first two games. It was just that unlucky mistake today.
“I think this is a good learning process for them and the rest of the team, and I think we’ll bounce back from this and come back on Monday and get a win.”
Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke was upbeat despite the loss, saying he liked the effort.
“I thought (Geneva) played solid,” Brooke said. “They should be proud of what they did.
“I thought their back four plus their keeper probably ended up winning them the game. They were very solid for 80 minutes.
“I like that we created five really good chances. We just couldn’t find (a goal).
“We’ve got to find a way to win that game, but hats off to Geneva. They came in organized and structured. We’ll be better on Monday.”
While it’s still early, Geneva already is better than last season and hoping to improve even more.
“(The victory) means a lot,” Bode said. “This is the start to a great season.
“We were looking forward to the season, and I think getting two wins right off the bat is really putting forth a lot of momentum that we can carry forward.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK Jeffrey Bode
D Ryleigh Strubler
D Myles Birkhead
D Josh Hartsock
D Jason Belloli
M Nick Dispensa
M Ethan Norman
M Jack Cottrell
M Sean Geismann
F Eric Anderson
F Patrick O’Neil
Wheaton Academy
GK J.D. Gunn
D Owen Setran
D Brian Henry
D Max Dominguez
D Mathew Oster
M Owen Hardy
M Jack Kilgallon
M Seamus Kilgallon
F Luke Holwerda
F Quinn Partain
F Grayson Harris
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Eric Anderson, F, Geneva
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Geneva – Eric Anderson 31:52 left
Anderson goal, tenacious 'D' give Vikings 1-0 win
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – A coach can’t step on the field and make plays for his team, but he can make a big difference.
At least that’s what Geneva goalkeeper Jeffrey Bode believes.
He might be right. The Vikings are already a quarter of their way to equaling their 2016 win total after edging host Wheaton Academy 1-0 Saturday.
Geneva looks like a new team under enthusiastic first-year head coach Jason Bhatta.
“We got a new head coach,” Bode said. “He’s really forcing us to train hard. He’s forcing us to get better technically and tactically.
“He pumps us up, and he really pushes us to be the best we can be, and I really think he’s one of the key reasons that we’re winning.”
Experience is another reason the Vikings are 2-0 and became the first team since 2015 to beat the Warriors on their home field. It starts in the back with co-captain Bode, who was terrific in making seven saves to record his first clean sheet of the season.
It extends to a veteran backline and up-front to senior forward Eric Anderson, who has scored all three Geneva goals so far.
“We have a very strong group of seniors this year, so we’ve been playing together for a long time,” Anderson said.
“Coming here wasn’t easy. Wheaton Academy is historically a very strong team, and we knew we had to go in and play our game. We locked down their forwards, and we got the result we wanted.”
Wheaton Academy (1-1-0) hadn’t lost at home since a 3-0 loss to St. Charles East on Sept. 26, 2015. That was also the Warriors last regular season home defeat.
The Warriors held a slight edge in possession and total chances, outshooting the Vikings 11-7, yet it was a rare mistake in the back that cost them.
Anderson, who 30 seconds earlier had an open shot at the goal but was thwarted by Warriors goalie J.D. Gunn, alertly reacted to a weak pass back to the keeper. He stole the ball from a defender and dribbled around Gunn before bagging the game’s only goal with 31:52 to play in the game.
Bhatta said that play was an example of his team’s hustle.
“I think the boys put in good work during preseason,” Bhatta said. “We got a good result on Wednesday (a 2-1 win over East Aurora), and I think we’re going to keep playing how we want to play.
“I told them at halftime it doesn’t matter how we score, just take advantage of mistakes. And that’s what happened on the back pass, and Eric hopped on it. Then we’ve just got to defend well.”
Anderson’s feat did not surprise Bhatta.
“He’s a talented kid,” Bhatta said. “He’s so fast, and he’s technical.
“I told them before the year even started that if we’re going to have a good year, he’s got to have a good year. This is his third goal this year. He’s putting them away for us.”
Anderson was annoyed he connect on his earlier chance, but he didn’t get down on himself.
“The first one I was kind of disappointed because I was just with the goalie and I didn’t put it away,” Anderson said. “It made me more fired up, gave me more motivation to put in the next one.
“I saw the defender have a weak pass back to the goalie, and I just pounced on it and ran forward around the keeper and slotted it home. You’ve got to anticipate everything.”
The Vikings were smart enough to anticipate the Warriors would throw everything they had into the attack after that, which is exactly what happened.
But Bode, who two minutes before Anderson’s goal had leaped to tip a free kick from Sam Froslid over the crossbar, was up to the challenge. He made five of his saves in the second half, including a strong move to charge out to punch away Froslid’s 50-yard free kick.
Bode was knocked to the ground by a huge collision on that play, but later made point-blank stops on Froslid and Jack Kilgallon. On the former play, Froslid got loose just outside the right post and his shot hit Bode’s body and spun up and backward toward the goal before Geneva defender Ryleigh Strubler cleared it off the line with 14:00 left.
“He was huge,” Bhatta said of Bode, one of Geneva’s co-captains. “Maybe on the second corner kick he was a little timid coming out, but I said you’ve got to be big in the 6, even if you hit one of our guys.
“That box has got to be yours. And he put his body on the line on the one, and he got knocked down, but he was big for us. We’ve got to have performances like that if we’re going to take games like this.”
Bode was happy with his performance but shared credit with his defense, which started a backline of Strubler, Myles Birkhead, Josh Hartsock and Jason Belloli.
“We’re lucky this season,” Bode said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors. Our team is mainly seniors, and they’ve got a lot of experience. So I’m really glad I’ve got them out here to protect me.”
Wheaton Academy, in contrast, has one of its youngest teams in years. The lack of finishing, which included two shots from Quinn Partain and one from Kilgallon that rolled wide, can and will be fixed.
“I don’t think we played bad,” Gunn said. “All credit to them.
“They played really well in the back and their keeper made some good saves. We just couldn’t find the target in some moments, and they got an unlucky bounce from us but a good hustle play from (Anderson).”
Unlike Bode, Gunn is working with a whole new crew.
“We graduated 14 seniors, and I think six or seven of them were starters,” Gunn said. “The whole backline, it’s their first year playing varsity so it’s a little bit of a challenge for me just getting them all together and keeping their shape.
“But they’ve been doing well the first two games. It was just that unlucky mistake today.
“I think this is a good learning process for them and the rest of the team, and I think we’ll bounce back from this and come back on Monday and get a win.”
Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke was upbeat despite the loss, saying he liked the effort.
“I thought (Geneva) played solid,” Brooke said. “They should be proud of what they did.
“I thought their back four plus their keeper probably ended up winning them the game. They were very solid for 80 minutes.
“I like that we created five really good chances. We just couldn’t find (a goal).
“We’ve got to find a way to win that game, but hats off to Geneva. They came in organized and structured. We’ll be better on Monday.”
While it’s still early, Geneva already is better than last season and hoping to improve even more.
“(The victory) means a lot,” Bode said. “This is the start to a great season.
“We were looking forward to the season, and I think getting two wins right off the bat is really putting forth a lot of momentum that we can carry forward.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK Jeffrey Bode
D Ryleigh Strubler
D Myles Birkhead
D Josh Hartsock
D Jason Belloli
M Nick Dispensa
M Ethan Norman
M Jack Cottrell
M Sean Geismann
F Eric Anderson
F Patrick O’Neil
Wheaton Academy
GK J.D. Gunn
D Owen Setran
D Brian Henry
D Max Dominguez
D Mathew Oster
M Owen Hardy
M Jack Kilgallon
M Seamus Kilgallon
F Luke Holwerda
F Quinn Partain
F Grayson Harris
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Eric Anderson, F, Geneva
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Geneva – Eric Anderson 31:52 left