Geneva celebrates its seniors' moment
Mary Landry scores 4 1st half goals in 6-0 win over Rosary
By Chris Walker
GENEVA – A downpour arrived at Burgess Field midway through the second half of Geneva’s nonconference game against Rosary.
While fans held umbrellas for most of the second half, the rain stopped just before the end of the game, making it easy for parents and friends of players to pose for pictures with the team. Apparently, Mother Nature didn’t want to totally ruin the Senior Night fun.
Geneva breezed to a 6-0 victory against Rosary.
“Tonight is all about them. They’ve been a part of the program for four years and they’re all just great kids that have represented the program well,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “The have a great work ethic and worked hard to make varsity. They’ve contributed positively, and it’s going to be sad to lose them. It’s always sad to lose them, so I was happy that we could put together a nice night to honor them.”
Senior Mary Landry wasn’t officially named Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match until after the game, but she left little doubt that she earned it for her play in the first half, scoring four times as the Vikings built a 4-0 lead.
“I hadn’t done anything like this before,” she said. “It feels so good.”
Landry’s first goal came with 28:20 remaining in the first half. Rosary was unable to clear the ball on the defensive end and Landry made them pay.
She scored her next three goals during a nine-minute span late in the first half.
Senior Megan Newingham assisted on Landry’s second goal with 13:56 left in the half. Landry received the pass, dribbled and turned in front of the penalty area and sent in her shot.
The Vikings third goal was probably their prettiest. Senior Megan Fitz got things started from the midfield, sending a pass to senior Megan Albrecht on the left side. Albrecht found a zooming Landry, and she placed it in the net with 7:41 left.
“It felt so good to go out there and get the win,” Albrecht said. “We came out at the beginning a little bit weak, a little nervous, and weren’t ready, but then we put in some goals and really connected. It felt so good.”
Then, less than three minutes later, Landry scored off a rebound.
“I told the girls that she’s the one getting dirty, sliding and getting very physical,” Owens said. “She didn’t sit back and wait for the perfect ball. She got in the mix and capitalized. It was a great game for her.”
With the comfortable 4-0 lead at the half, the Vikings enjoyed a brief halftime ceremony as the seniors were introduced along with their parents and small tidbits about each player were announced.
Seniors Quincy Swanson and Caitlin Harkleroad are both going to Kansas State. Newingham is going to Purdue. Riley Sanders is heading to the University of Colorado, Fitz will enjoy the sun at the University of Arizona. Albrecht will attend the University of Alabama, and Landry is going to Missouri.
We also learned that Harkleroad’s favorite soccer memory is tee-peeing coach Pankow’s house and her favorite food is meatloaf.
“It’s my mom’s meatloaf,” she said. “I love it. I don’t know why, but I do."
She also loved the result.
'It’s means so much to get out here and play with these other seniors. Just being on varsity is great. The girls are so nice, and it was great to get the win. It was so much fun. Even with the rain, it was fun.”
Swanson, whose favorite movie is “Anchorman,” also will cherish memories of her final season.
“It feels great to be a senior,” she said. “We had 11 seniors graduate last year so it feels good to be one this year. Everyone has put in their time, and it feels great to get a very good win tonight. When I was a freshman, I used to look up to those seniors and think, ‘They’re so old,’ and now I’m one of them so it’s surreal and kind of bittersweet right now.”
Keeper Carrie Ostergard is one of those freshmen now and she’s been thrust into the net this spring because of an injury to Emma Harkleroad.
“It’s pretty crazy to believe that I’m here,” she said. “It was a very special night and tears were shed. I’m glad to celebrate with their successes.”
Ostergard is getting more comfortable each day after making the leap from the freshman squad.
“It was hard to adjust at first and pretty nerve-wracking,” she said. “Now that I’ve gotten to know these girls better and worked with Emma I’ve grown in my confidence and while I still have skills I need to improve on, things are working out.”
Sanders, whose favorite quote is “Y’all call this a moment, I call it life,” scored in the second half to lift Geneva to a 5-0 advantage.
Albrecht, who revealed that her favorite Geneva soccer memory is “taking cover from a tornado in the boys’ bathroom during the 2014 St. Louis trip,” completed the scoring.
“It felt good to score that last one,” Albrecht said. “It was almost over, and I was getting a little frustrated so it felt good to get one connected up top. If we can get it to our feet we can show that we can get those goals. That was nice.”
The Vikings now have a a little more than a week and two more games to prepare for the post-season. They’ll entertain Metea Valley on Tuesday and then finish the regular season with a make-up game at Wheaton Academy.
“We need to want it more, and at the beginning of the season I think we said it but didn’t show it as much on the field,” Landry said. “It was more of 'OK, we lost, maybe we’ll get them next time,’ and we’ve begun to realize that as seniors this is our last chance so we’ve been pushing the rest of the team, and they’re all beginning to buy it.”
There’s no denying that Geneva (8-9-2) is better than its record would indicate.
“We’re excited. I think we have a good chance of going far in the playoffs,” Albrecht said. “We’re just as good as half of the teams in the conference. Our record doesn’t it show it, but we’re ready to go out and play.”
Rosary (6-7-1) kept things close early on, but once Landry took over late in the first half, it was far too much for the Royals to overcome.
“We were a little gun shy against a bigger team, but I was happy with how we played in the second half,” Rosary coach Brian Frank said. “They’re much larger, more physical and quicker than us and there’s a lot of talent on that team. They’re probably the best team we’ve seen this year, but it’s a good experience for us heading into the postseason.”
Quincy Kellett and Maria Witte created the bulk of Rosary’s scoring chances, but most were from long range and Geneva’s back line either thwarted them or Ostergard was able to stop them.
“The thing is that they kept their heads held high and didn’t worry about the score,” Frank said. “We moved the ball better and played more aggressive in the second half. We needed to do more of that in the first half, but credit Geneva. They’re a quality team.”
Starting lineups
Rosary
GK: Mary Dant
D: Megan Deller
D: Anna Sheen
D: Katherine Thielen
MF: Grace Goheen
MF: Elizabeth Kelley
MF: Sonja Popovich
MF: Gabriella Wagoner
MF: Marian Witte
F: Julianne Hutchson
F: Quincy Kellett
Geneva
GK: Carrie Ostergard
D: Emily Hausen
D: Megan Newingham
D: Quincy Swanson
MF: Leah Govern
MF: Megan Fitz
MF: Mary Landry
MF: Allie Mikos
F: Megan Albrecht
F: Briar Schwardt
F: Riley Sanders
MVP of the Match: Mary Landry, MF, Geneva
Mary Landry scores 4 1st half goals in 6-0 win over Rosary
By Chris Walker
GENEVA – A downpour arrived at Burgess Field midway through the second half of Geneva’s nonconference game against Rosary.
While fans held umbrellas for most of the second half, the rain stopped just before the end of the game, making it easy for parents and friends of players to pose for pictures with the team. Apparently, Mother Nature didn’t want to totally ruin the Senior Night fun.
Geneva breezed to a 6-0 victory against Rosary.
“Tonight is all about them. They’ve been a part of the program for four years and they’re all just great kids that have represented the program well,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “The have a great work ethic and worked hard to make varsity. They’ve contributed positively, and it’s going to be sad to lose them. It’s always sad to lose them, so I was happy that we could put together a nice night to honor them.”
Senior Mary Landry wasn’t officially named Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match until after the game, but she left little doubt that she earned it for her play in the first half, scoring four times as the Vikings built a 4-0 lead.
“I hadn’t done anything like this before,” she said. “It feels so good.”
Landry’s first goal came with 28:20 remaining in the first half. Rosary was unable to clear the ball on the defensive end and Landry made them pay.
She scored her next three goals during a nine-minute span late in the first half.
Senior Megan Newingham assisted on Landry’s second goal with 13:56 left in the half. Landry received the pass, dribbled and turned in front of the penalty area and sent in her shot.
The Vikings third goal was probably their prettiest. Senior Megan Fitz got things started from the midfield, sending a pass to senior Megan Albrecht on the left side. Albrecht found a zooming Landry, and she placed it in the net with 7:41 left.
“It felt so good to go out there and get the win,” Albrecht said. “We came out at the beginning a little bit weak, a little nervous, and weren’t ready, but then we put in some goals and really connected. It felt so good.”
Then, less than three minutes later, Landry scored off a rebound.
“I told the girls that she’s the one getting dirty, sliding and getting very physical,” Owens said. “She didn’t sit back and wait for the perfect ball. She got in the mix and capitalized. It was a great game for her.”
With the comfortable 4-0 lead at the half, the Vikings enjoyed a brief halftime ceremony as the seniors were introduced along with their parents and small tidbits about each player were announced.
Seniors Quincy Swanson and Caitlin Harkleroad are both going to Kansas State. Newingham is going to Purdue. Riley Sanders is heading to the University of Colorado, Fitz will enjoy the sun at the University of Arizona. Albrecht will attend the University of Alabama, and Landry is going to Missouri.
We also learned that Harkleroad’s favorite soccer memory is tee-peeing coach Pankow’s house and her favorite food is meatloaf.
“It’s my mom’s meatloaf,” she said. “I love it. I don’t know why, but I do."
She also loved the result.
'It’s means so much to get out here and play with these other seniors. Just being on varsity is great. The girls are so nice, and it was great to get the win. It was so much fun. Even with the rain, it was fun.”
Swanson, whose favorite movie is “Anchorman,” also will cherish memories of her final season.
“It feels great to be a senior,” she said. “We had 11 seniors graduate last year so it feels good to be one this year. Everyone has put in their time, and it feels great to get a very good win tonight. When I was a freshman, I used to look up to those seniors and think, ‘They’re so old,’ and now I’m one of them so it’s surreal and kind of bittersweet right now.”
Keeper Carrie Ostergard is one of those freshmen now and she’s been thrust into the net this spring because of an injury to Emma Harkleroad.
“It’s pretty crazy to believe that I’m here,” she said. “It was a very special night and tears were shed. I’m glad to celebrate with their successes.”
Ostergard is getting more comfortable each day after making the leap from the freshman squad.
“It was hard to adjust at first and pretty nerve-wracking,” she said. “Now that I’ve gotten to know these girls better and worked with Emma I’ve grown in my confidence and while I still have skills I need to improve on, things are working out.”
Sanders, whose favorite quote is “Y’all call this a moment, I call it life,” scored in the second half to lift Geneva to a 5-0 advantage.
Albrecht, who revealed that her favorite Geneva soccer memory is “taking cover from a tornado in the boys’ bathroom during the 2014 St. Louis trip,” completed the scoring.
“It felt good to score that last one,” Albrecht said. “It was almost over, and I was getting a little frustrated so it felt good to get one connected up top. If we can get it to our feet we can show that we can get those goals. That was nice.”
The Vikings now have a a little more than a week and two more games to prepare for the post-season. They’ll entertain Metea Valley on Tuesday and then finish the regular season with a make-up game at Wheaton Academy.
“We need to want it more, and at the beginning of the season I think we said it but didn’t show it as much on the field,” Landry said. “It was more of 'OK, we lost, maybe we’ll get them next time,’ and we’ve begun to realize that as seniors this is our last chance so we’ve been pushing the rest of the team, and they’re all beginning to buy it.”
There’s no denying that Geneva (8-9-2) is better than its record would indicate.
“We’re excited. I think we have a good chance of going far in the playoffs,” Albrecht said. “We’re just as good as half of the teams in the conference. Our record doesn’t it show it, but we’re ready to go out and play.”
Rosary (6-7-1) kept things close early on, but once Landry took over late in the first half, it was far too much for the Royals to overcome.
“We were a little gun shy against a bigger team, but I was happy with how we played in the second half,” Rosary coach Brian Frank said. “They’re much larger, more physical and quicker than us and there’s a lot of talent on that team. They’re probably the best team we’ve seen this year, but it’s a good experience for us heading into the postseason.”
Quincy Kellett and Maria Witte created the bulk of Rosary’s scoring chances, but most were from long range and Geneva’s back line either thwarted them or Ostergard was able to stop them.
“The thing is that they kept their heads held high and didn’t worry about the score,” Frank said. “We moved the ball better and played more aggressive in the second half. We needed to do more of that in the first half, but credit Geneva. They’re a quality team.”
Starting lineups
Rosary
GK: Mary Dant
D: Megan Deller
D: Anna Sheen
D: Katherine Thielen
MF: Grace Goheen
MF: Elizabeth Kelley
MF: Sonja Popovich
MF: Gabriella Wagoner
MF: Marian Witte
F: Julianne Hutchson
F: Quincy Kellett
Geneva
GK: Carrie Ostergard
D: Emily Hausen
D: Megan Newingham
D: Quincy Swanson
MF: Leah Govern
MF: Megan Fitz
MF: Mary Landry
MF: Allie Mikos
F: Megan Albrecht
F: Briar Schwardt
F: Riley Sanders
MVP of the Match: Mary Landry, MF, Geneva