Geneva, Wheaton A. play to sharp draw
WA soph keeper preserves 1-1 tie with standout stops
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WEST CHICAGO — This was a soccer variant subtitled “Finnegan’s Wake,” a place where Geneva shots on goal went to die.
Wheaton Academy sophomore Declan Finnegan is a bright, young prospect. He got his own awakening, a baptism by fire, the first week of his varsity career.
On Tuesday night, Finnegan experienced his varsity debut against defending Class 3A state champion West Chicago, ranked no. 2 in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 state-wide preseason poll.
He held his own in the 1-0 loss.
“There are a lot of nerves, but it has very very fun to be the back of the team and see the whole field and see how everybody succeeds,” Finnegan said.
He is lanky and agile and has expert timing. He finished with seven saves against Geneva on Saturday.
Finnegan recorded seven stops and preserved the 1-1 tie in a sharply played and compelling early-season showdown of top programs from the Western suburbs.
Finnegan has already posted a shutout and conceded just two goals in three games.
Geneva is a team on the rise. The Vikings are ranked no. 32 in the First 50 poll. They finished last year on a hot streak (9-2-3) en route to a 13-5-4 record.
The Vikings (2-0-1) are likely to be a permanent fixture in the rankings; they have size, speed and athleticism. At the tip of the formation Geneva has two elite forward finishers in junior Ryan Leake and senior Christian Diaz.
“We look to win every game we play,” Diaz said. “With myself and the other returning players, we are looking to having a better season or a better record than what we had last year.”
Geneva posted strong season-opening victories the first week in DuKane Conference against Wheaton Warrenville South and Glenbard North, which is ranked no. 29 in the First 50.
In the often surreal moments of our pandemic reality, players are just now getting accustomed to the typical rhythms and intensity of live game action.
“After the long period of not working together and coming back after a long time away, our focus is getting that chemistry and our fitness back to the top level where we were when we first started camp,” Diaz said.
Geneva has six starters back from last year. Diaz is quick and dynamic in space. Leake is fast and blessed with a howitzer of a right leg.
After the initial back-and-forth action, Leake broke through in the 19th minute. He blasted down the left seam and caught a thorough-ball from defender Evan Horvath.
He made a quick stutter-step action and blasted a ball from about 16 yards inside the near post for the opening score.
“We have really been working well together up-top, it has been working out for us,” Leake said
“Getting our chemistry back and working together is really big, and that has been our main focus so far. We found the through-balls, and it has worked out. We’ve had the shots on goal that we wanted.”
In a game built on emotion, Leake did not let up. Just moments after the goal, there was a near echo of the opening goal as he again expertly found a vulnerable location in the Warriors’ back and found himself one-on-one against Finnegan.
Leake blasted another ball from a nearly identical location that Finnegan snared. Wheaton Academy alertly played the ball out and countered with a beautiful sequence.
Defender Jude Barton punched the ball out of the back toward the left wing toward streaking midfielder Haetham Nasr.
He broke hard left and advanced the ball down the edge and unloaded a beautiful ball from about 14 yards for the stunning equalizer.
Just like that, the game was tied.
For their strong play, Ryan Leake and Declan Finnegan shared Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match recognition.
Soccer always dances around the unaccountable. Geneva held the seeming advantage, and Wheaton Academy punched back with a devastating fury all their own.
“I think we got ahead of ourselves after we scored that goal,” Diaz said. “We got overconfident, and that's when we tried to step up and get another goal.
“Our defense was a little bit higher, and they were able to counter off of us and send that long ball.”
Finnegan and three of the Wheaton Academy's four defenders started their first varsity game against West Chicago on Tuesday.
The Geneva contest marked just their third game. The team has largely passed their tests with flying colors.
Wheaton Academy (1-1-1) knocked out Aurora Central Catholic 10-0 in a Metro Suburban Conference cross-over game Thursday.
Geneva represented another daunting task.
“I was really pleased to see us find the back of the net and in the run of play,” second-year Wheaton Academy coach Cody Snouffer said.
“We did well on Thursday night, but this was as good Geneva team with a good keeper and a couple of towering center backs, so finding the back of the net was definitely a good confidence boost for us.”
The peculiarity and wonder of the game was on full display. Two goals less than a minute apart, and that was that.
If the balance of the game lacked scoring, it was not deprived of incident or momentum or some high-caliber plays on both sides.
In the 53rd minute, Finnegan made a superb diving stop to his right off a short volley by Geneva forward Dominik Barwiolek.
He also forced midfielder Lucas Hipp into pushing a ball wide. He made another excellent denial of Leake in the 59th minute.
“It has been really fun to get back and play and everybody has put in more than 100 percent out there,” Finnegan said.
His experience is going to come. Right now, Finnegan is just appreciating the game and developing the subtleties of the varsity position and trying to learn on the fly.
“I think I am pretty aggressive,” Finnegan said. “There are lots of things I have to work on, like getting off the line and stuff.
“I am looking forward to the next game.”
The Warriors are young, but they flashed confidence and freedom in their patterns and sharp execution.
Senior midfielder Rian Bautista showed some terrific potential as a free kick specialist.
He served several balls that just eluded the final touch of a teammate. Junior forward Robert Platt also demonstrated a quickness and presence of mind.
Defensively, senior Solomon Pitts anchored the back with his speed and athleticism, using his range and reach to break up the Geneva passing lanes and play with spirit and confidence.
Sophomore midfielder Joshua Mariotti also demonstrated tremendous potential.
“Every chance we step on the field is a chance to learn,” Snouffer said. “That’s really the frame of mind we’re asking of the kids, to step out every game and learn something new, about ourselves and the way we want to play.
“A lot of the time you learn through adversity. That’s why we tried to schedule some big nonconference games, so that we could learn a few things and then adjust and improve and get ready for the next one.”
Geneva has already proven it is going to be a major factor in the highly competitive DuKane Conference.
Freshman keeper Hayden Vostal showed terrific touch and anticipation abilities on his own part. He had five saves.
Defenders Grant Havertine, Evan Horvath and Jack Cannon are an athletic and imposing bunch on their own terms.
Early season ties tend to always be neither here nor there, a somewhat amorphous or abstract end.
This pandemic year is different. Every game has its own meaning, with underlying importance and symbolic value.
“We have to fight every game, and we can’t let go,” Leake said.
Thinking of his own response, Diaz amplified his own words.
“It feels amazing being back, especially as a team, and now we are all together,” he said.
“We are working towards our goal, what we are looking for and keeping our eyes on.
“We are looking toward an amazing season.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK: Hayden Vostal
D: Evan Horwath
D: Grant Havertine
D: Bennett Nippert
D: Jack Cannon
MF: Caleb Humphrey
MF: Dominik Peri
MF: Gabe Boivin
F: Christian Diaz
F: Ryan Leake
F: Christian Diaz
Wheaton Academy
GK: Declan Finnegan
D: Solomon Pitts
D: Xander Anaya
D: Jude Barton
D: Rian Bautista
MF: Kyle Holwerda
MF: Andrew Ramirez
MF: Evan Eckert
F: Robert Platt
F: Joshua Mariotti
F: Haetham Nasr
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Ryan Leake, jr., F, Geneva; Declan Finnegan, soph., GK, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Geneva—Ryan Leake (Evan Horvath), 19th minute
WA—Haetham Nasr (Jude Barton), 20th minute
Second half
No scoring
WA soph keeper preserves 1-1 tie with standout stops
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WEST CHICAGO — This was a soccer variant subtitled “Finnegan’s Wake,” a place where Geneva shots on goal went to die.
Wheaton Academy sophomore Declan Finnegan is a bright, young prospect. He got his own awakening, a baptism by fire, the first week of his varsity career.
On Tuesday night, Finnegan experienced his varsity debut against defending Class 3A state champion West Chicago, ranked no. 2 in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 state-wide preseason poll.
He held his own in the 1-0 loss.
“There are a lot of nerves, but it has very very fun to be the back of the team and see the whole field and see how everybody succeeds,” Finnegan said.
He is lanky and agile and has expert timing. He finished with seven saves against Geneva on Saturday.
Finnegan recorded seven stops and preserved the 1-1 tie in a sharply played and compelling early-season showdown of top programs from the Western suburbs.
Finnegan has already posted a shutout and conceded just two goals in three games.
Geneva is a team on the rise. The Vikings are ranked no. 32 in the First 50 poll. They finished last year on a hot streak (9-2-3) en route to a 13-5-4 record.
The Vikings (2-0-1) are likely to be a permanent fixture in the rankings; they have size, speed and athleticism. At the tip of the formation Geneva has two elite forward finishers in junior Ryan Leake and senior Christian Diaz.
“We look to win every game we play,” Diaz said. “With myself and the other returning players, we are looking to having a better season or a better record than what we had last year.”
Geneva posted strong season-opening victories the first week in DuKane Conference against Wheaton Warrenville South and Glenbard North, which is ranked no. 29 in the First 50.
In the often surreal moments of our pandemic reality, players are just now getting accustomed to the typical rhythms and intensity of live game action.
“After the long period of not working together and coming back after a long time away, our focus is getting that chemistry and our fitness back to the top level where we were when we first started camp,” Diaz said.
Geneva has six starters back from last year. Diaz is quick and dynamic in space. Leake is fast and blessed with a howitzer of a right leg.
After the initial back-and-forth action, Leake broke through in the 19th minute. He blasted down the left seam and caught a thorough-ball from defender Evan Horvath.
He made a quick stutter-step action and blasted a ball from about 16 yards inside the near post for the opening score.
“We have really been working well together up-top, it has been working out for us,” Leake said
“Getting our chemistry back and working together is really big, and that has been our main focus so far. We found the through-balls, and it has worked out. We’ve had the shots on goal that we wanted.”
In a game built on emotion, Leake did not let up. Just moments after the goal, there was a near echo of the opening goal as he again expertly found a vulnerable location in the Warriors’ back and found himself one-on-one against Finnegan.
Leake blasted another ball from a nearly identical location that Finnegan snared. Wheaton Academy alertly played the ball out and countered with a beautiful sequence.
Defender Jude Barton punched the ball out of the back toward the left wing toward streaking midfielder Haetham Nasr.
He broke hard left and advanced the ball down the edge and unloaded a beautiful ball from about 14 yards for the stunning equalizer.
Just like that, the game was tied.
For their strong play, Ryan Leake and Declan Finnegan shared Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match recognition.
Soccer always dances around the unaccountable. Geneva held the seeming advantage, and Wheaton Academy punched back with a devastating fury all their own.
“I think we got ahead of ourselves after we scored that goal,” Diaz said. “We got overconfident, and that's when we tried to step up and get another goal.
“Our defense was a little bit higher, and they were able to counter off of us and send that long ball.”
Finnegan and three of the Wheaton Academy's four defenders started their first varsity game against West Chicago on Tuesday.
The Geneva contest marked just their third game. The team has largely passed their tests with flying colors.
Wheaton Academy (1-1-1) knocked out Aurora Central Catholic 10-0 in a Metro Suburban Conference cross-over game Thursday.
Geneva represented another daunting task.
“I was really pleased to see us find the back of the net and in the run of play,” second-year Wheaton Academy coach Cody Snouffer said.
“We did well on Thursday night, but this was as good Geneva team with a good keeper and a couple of towering center backs, so finding the back of the net was definitely a good confidence boost for us.”
The peculiarity and wonder of the game was on full display. Two goals less than a minute apart, and that was that.
If the balance of the game lacked scoring, it was not deprived of incident or momentum or some high-caliber plays on both sides.
In the 53rd minute, Finnegan made a superb diving stop to his right off a short volley by Geneva forward Dominik Barwiolek.
He also forced midfielder Lucas Hipp into pushing a ball wide. He made another excellent denial of Leake in the 59th minute.
“It has been really fun to get back and play and everybody has put in more than 100 percent out there,” Finnegan said.
His experience is going to come. Right now, Finnegan is just appreciating the game and developing the subtleties of the varsity position and trying to learn on the fly.
“I think I am pretty aggressive,” Finnegan said. “There are lots of things I have to work on, like getting off the line and stuff.
“I am looking forward to the next game.”
The Warriors are young, but they flashed confidence and freedom in their patterns and sharp execution.
Senior midfielder Rian Bautista showed some terrific potential as a free kick specialist.
He served several balls that just eluded the final touch of a teammate. Junior forward Robert Platt also demonstrated a quickness and presence of mind.
Defensively, senior Solomon Pitts anchored the back with his speed and athleticism, using his range and reach to break up the Geneva passing lanes and play with spirit and confidence.
Sophomore midfielder Joshua Mariotti also demonstrated tremendous potential.
“Every chance we step on the field is a chance to learn,” Snouffer said. “That’s really the frame of mind we’re asking of the kids, to step out every game and learn something new, about ourselves and the way we want to play.
“A lot of the time you learn through adversity. That’s why we tried to schedule some big nonconference games, so that we could learn a few things and then adjust and improve and get ready for the next one.”
Geneva has already proven it is going to be a major factor in the highly competitive DuKane Conference.
Freshman keeper Hayden Vostal showed terrific touch and anticipation abilities on his own part. He had five saves.
Defenders Grant Havertine, Evan Horvath and Jack Cannon are an athletic and imposing bunch on their own terms.
Early season ties tend to always be neither here nor there, a somewhat amorphous or abstract end.
This pandemic year is different. Every game has its own meaning, with underlying importance and symbolic value.
“We have to fight every game, and we can’t let go,” Leake said.
Thinking of his own response, Diaz amplified his own words.
“It feels amazing being back, especially as a team, and now we are all together,” he said.
“We are working towards our goal, what we are looking for and keeping our eyes on.
“We are looking toward an amazing season.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK: Hayden Vostal
D: Evan Horwath
D: Grant Havertine
D: Bennett Nippert
D: Jack Cannon
MF: Caleb Humphrey
MF: Dominik Peri
MF: Gabe Boivin
F: Christian Diaz
F: Ryan Leake
F: Christian Diaz
Wheaton Academy
GK: Declan Finnegan
D: Solomon Pitts
D: Xander Anaya
D: Jude Barton
D: Rian Bautista
MF: Kyle Holwerda
MF: Andrew Ramirez
MF: Evan Eckert
F: Robert Platt
F: Joshua Mariotti
F: Haetham Nasr
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Ryan Leake, jr., F, Geneva; Declan Finnegan, soph., GK, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Geneva—Ryan Leake (Evan Horvath), 19th minute
WA—Haetham Nasr (Jude Barton), 20th minute
Second half
No scoring