Geneva wins surprising
offensive flurry with Wheaton North
Vikings still perfect in DKC; enhance sectional seed
WHEATON -- As a starting midfielder, Geneva junior Joe Carli certainly can appreciate a strong defense.
When the Vikings visited Wheaton North in a battle of DuKane Conference frontrunners Tuesday, the two teams’ recent stingy defensive history had the outcome pointing toward being decided by a lone goal – if not a scoreless tie.
What happened? The teams exchanged goals in the first 3:14 and combined for five goals.
“That was crazy. They scored right away (2:32), but we got it back and it was basically a 0-0 game again,” Carli said.
“Our defense has been really good. Evan (Horvath), Stu (Turnbull), Jack (Cannon) -- they’ve been locking them down.”
Somehow it seemed appropriate that Carli, who entered the game with one goal, scored the Vikings’ first two as they never trailed for a key 3-2 victory on two fronts.
The result keeps Geneva (10-3-2, 4-0-0) as one of two remaining undefeated teams in the DuKane along with St. Charles East (12-1-1, 3-0-0). The teams meet Oct. 10 in Geneva on Tri-Cities Night – two days after the Saints play host to Wheaton North (9-5-1, 2-1-1).
Carli, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Mtach, was among those excited that the Vikings also completed a 4-0-0 record among fellow Class 3A St. Charles East Sectional teams going into seeding. The IHSA will release the rankings at approximately 4 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 3).
“We were hanging on tough, but we did a good job defending, holding on to that 3-2 win,” Carli said.
“It’s huge. We get the (No. 1) sectional seeding hopefully, and also in conference we’re undefeated. There’s a lot of games still so hopefully we can keep it up and
keep it going.”
With 35:54 left, Carli scored again for a 2-1 Geneva lead. Especially with their defense, the Vikings appeared in control after senior Matthew Fuller scored with 29:05 left for a 3-1 lead.
The Falcons, however, closed again to within one when junior Graham Stephenson converted a penalty kick with 25:23 to play. They followed with three more shots on goal, including a 30-yard blast by senior Garrett Robinson that hit the crossbar but caromed straight out. No Falcons were around to pounce on the rebound.
“That was one of the most sweetest shots I’ve ever seen,” Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. “Unfortunately when you take a shot like that, everyone likes to take pictures, including the coach. If we had just followed that in, you’ve got a different game again.”
Geneva 18-7 led in shots (7-6 on goal) and 7-0 in corner kicks. The showdown was quite different than the recent past for both squads.
Over its past six games, Geneva was 5-0-1 with five shutouts and only one goal allowed and had won its last two contests by shutout.
Wheaton North was 5-1-1 in its previous seven games with just four goals allowed and was riding three-straight shutout victories.
The Vikings scored at least three goals for the first time since a 4-0 victory Sept. 10 over Wheaton Warrenville South, where Carli scored his first goal.
Was Tuesday Carli’s best game of the season?
“It’s definitely up there. I got the two goals, but everyone played great today,” Carli said. “If I have the chance, I do (shoot), but other than that I usually like to pass.”
“Everyone’s stepping up. We’ve got multiple guys with multiple goals this year,” Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. “If it’s not one of them, I’m glad someone else
(like Carli) stepped up.”
The Vikings stepped up collectively after the Falcons struck quickly. Junior Jarrett Baumgartner scored the Falcons’ team-high 15th goal this season off a quick passing combination from junior Erik Rozanski after Stephenson intercepted the ball.
“That’s what we’re all about. We just have to go from defense to attack pretty fast,” Rozanski said. “I think (the higher scoring) just reflects the intensity of the
game. We both wanted to go out there and win so I think the goals just came as a result.”
Carli’s goal just 42 seconds later came with a bit of controversy.
Geneva senior midfielder Ethan Hipp made a strong left sidelines throw-in from that was slipped through the crease by 6-foot-5 Turnbull toward the upper right corner of the net.
Standout Wheaton North senior goalie Ray Min, who already had made a great save on Turnbull in the opening 45 seconds, was there again to catch the ball with
his arms extended over his head.
The 5-10 Carli made a strong leap to meet the ball, and his header was ruled to have crossed the goal line. After a brief discussion among officials, the goal stood.
“I can jump pretty high, some would say. I don’t know,” said Carli when asked. “It was a close goal, because it was right on the line, but the ref called it in so I got it.”
Stassen said he thought Min was fouled on the header, which would have nullified the goal. Min said he thought the ball never completely crossed the goal line.
“You go up for the ball, fully extended, and you end up in your own goal on your back. You don’t do that naturally. We can’t keep on about it, but that’s the humanness of the beautiful game,” Stassen said.
“We’ll check the (game) tape. Not that that will change anything now, but we’ll feel better. Apparently contact on a goalkeeper is allowed in the IHSA, I guess.”
“From my perspective, it didn’t go in. I made sure the ball was away from the goal, right as I was shoved, but it happens,” Min said. “It was a tough night. Those throw-ins, it’s hard to defend those. You never know where those flicks are going to come.”
Hipp has yet to score this season, but his throw-ins are quite a weapon. He placed two others dangerously on goal in the first half, but no one touched them as Min grabbed them.
“That’s a lot of our goals, off set pieces like that. That’s how we beat Naperville North (2-1 Sept. 5),” Hipp said. “We’ve been practicing that, just me trying to hit Stu on his head. That one time it actually worked perfectly. It was just perfectly timed.”
Carli’s second goal came easier. Left unmarked in the crease, he headed home Shun Yonehara’s free kick from the 5-yard line between the goalie’s box and right sideline.
“Honestly I’m not very used to scoring at the center defensive position, but the corners Shun and Ethan play good balls, and I was right in front of the goal,” Carli
said.
Hipp contributed once again indirectly, so to speak. His hustle in the right corner created the free ball. The call was made after he may have been fouled during the
same exchange but play continued.
Sophomore Christian Diaz set up the Vikings’ third goal. After the Falcons’ defense misplayed Yonehara’s long ball, Diaz kept going and picked up the ball down the left wing before finding Fuller near the right post.
Then it was the Falcons’ turn to keep battling.
Wheaton North sophomore Ethan Martinez’s persistence in the box with his back to the goal led to the hand ball call and Stephenson’s penalty kick.
That made the Falcons think what might have been when Robinson’s wide-open blast off a pass from Max Riccelli missed being an equalizer by the narrowest of margins.
“That was close,” Carli said. “I thought it was going over but then it dipped down and hit the crossbar. It was close, but we got lucky.”
“That’s just what we do. If they score a goal on us, we’ve got to come back stronger. We put in a lot of work after that goal,” Rozanski said. “We just have to look at the things we did wrong, because I feel like we did a lot of things right. The intensity was good, but we just have to look at the little things.”
The Falcons overcame having three key players out because of illness, injury and a yellow card suspension and relying on two subs most of the match. With junior defender Crystian Powell out with illness, junior striker Gyan Patel started in his place.
“We didn’t step up, and we didn’t play our best. But we’ll bounce back. Just keep moving forward,” Stassen said.
Both teams came away knowing they could have performed better, but seeing that they can be successful whatever the circumstances or adversity come playoff time.
“We knew that it was a big win for both of those reasons, for seeding and for conference. We knew we had to come out here and play and do well,” Bhatta said.
“The first goal was bad defending. That was unfortunate. The hand ball. It is what it is. That’s a tight call. They’re bad goals to give up.
“We defended well after that (penalty kick), and I was happy with the response from the boys right after the first goal to get right back into it on the next kickoff.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
G -- Osten Lockner
D -- Jack Cannon
D -- Evan Horvath
D -- Braeden McPheron
D -- Stuart Turnbull
M -- Ethan Hipp
M -- Joe Carli
M -- Shun Yonehara
M -- Dominick Peri
F -- Christian Diaz
F -- Matthew Fuller
Wheaton North
G -- Ray Min
D – Gyan Patel
D -- Tyler Larson
D -- Tristan Mackay
D -- Kyle Schauer
M -- Graham Stephenson
M -- Garrett Robinson
M -- Erik Rozanski
F -- Ethan Martinez
F -- Max Riccelli
F -- Jarrett Baumgartner
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joe Carli, jr. M, Geneva
Scoring summary
G 1 2 – 3
WN 1 1 – 2
Scoring
First Half
Wheaton North: Jarrett Baumgartner (Erik Rozanski, Graham Stephenson) 2:32
Geneva: Joe Carli (Stuart Turnbull, Ethan Hipp) 3:14
Second Half
Geneva: Carli (Shun Yonehara) 44:06
Geneva: Matthew Fuller (Christian Diaz) 50:55
Wheaton North: Stephenson (PK) 54:37
Goalies
Geneva: Osten Lockner (3 saves)
WN: Ray Min (4 saves)
Shots (on goal): Geneva 18 (7), Wheaton North 7 (6)
Corner kicks: Geneva 7, Wheaton North 0
offensive flurry with Wheaton North
Vikings still perfect in DKC; enhance sectional seed
WHEATON -- As a starting midfielder, Geneva junior Joe Carli certainly can appreciate a strong defense.
When the Vikings visited Wheaton North in a battle of DuKane Conference frontrunners Tuesday, the two teams’ recent stingy defensive history had the outcome pointing toward being decided by a lone goal – if not a scoreless tie.
What happened? The teams exchanged goals in the first 3:14 and combined for five goals.
“That was crazy. They scored right away (2:32), but we got it back and it was basically a 0-0 game again,” Carli said.
“Our defense has been really good. Evan (Horvath), Stu (Turnbull), Jack (Cannon) -- they’ve been locking them down.”
Somehow it seemed appropriate that Carli, who entered the game with one goal, scored the Vikings’ first two as they never trailed for a key 3-2 victory on two fronts.
The result keeps Geneva (10-3-2, 4-0-0) as one of two remaining undefeated teams in the DuKane along with St. Charles East (12-1-1, 3-0-0). The teams meet Oct. 10 in Geneva on Tri-Cities Night – two days after the Saints play host to Wheaton North (9-5-1, 2-1-1).
Carli, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Mtach, was among those excited that the Vikings also completed a 4-0-0 record among fellow Class 3A St. Charles East Sectional teams going into seeding. The IHSA will release the rankings at approximately 4 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 3).
“We were hanging on tough, but we did a good job defending, holding on to that 3-2 win,” Carli said.
“It’s huge. We get the (No. 1) sectional seeding hopefully, and also in conference we’re undefeated. There’s a lot of games still so hopefully we can keep it up and
keep it going.”
With 35:54 left, Carli scored again for a 2-1 Geneva lead. Especially with their defense, the Vikings appeared in control after senior Matthew Fuller scored with 29:05 left for a 3-1 lead.
The Falcons, however, closed again to within one when junior Graham Stephenson converted a penalty kick with 25:23 to play. They followed with three more shots on goal, including a 30-yard blast by senior Garrett Robinson that hit the crossbar but caromed straight out. No Falcons were around to pounce on the rebound.
“That was one of the most sweetest shots I’ve ever seen,” Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. “Unfortunately when you take a shot like that, everyone likes to take pictures, including the coach. If we had just followed that in, you’ve got a different game again.”
Geneva 18-7 led in shots (7-6 on goal) and 7-0 in corner kicks. The showdown was quite different than the recent past for both squads.
Over its past six games, Geneva was 5-0-1 with five shutouts and only one goal allowed and had won its last two contests by shutout.
Wheaton North was 5-1-1 in its previous seven games with just four goals allowed and was riding three-straight shutout victories.
The Vikings scored at least three goals for the first time since a 4-0 victory Sept. 10 over Wheaton Warrenville South, where Carli scored his first goal.
Was Tuesday Carli’s best game of the season?
“It’s definitely up there. I got the two goals, but everyone played great today,” Carli said. “If I have the chance, I do (shoot), but other than that I usually like to pass.”
“Everyone’s stepping up. We’ve got multiple guys with multiple goals this year,” Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. “If it’s not one of them, I’m glad someone else
(like Carli) stepped up.”
The Vikings stepped up collectively after the Falcons struck quickly. Junior Jarrett Baumgartner scored the Falcons’ team-high 15th goal this season off a quick passing combination from junior Erik Rozanski after Stephenson intercepted the ball.
“That’s what we’re all about. We just have to go from defense to attack pretty fast,” Rozanski said. “I think (the higher scoring) just reflects the intensity of the
game. We both wanted to go out there and win so I think the goals just came as a result.”
Carli’s goal just 42 seconds later came with a bit of controversy.
Geneva senior midfielder Ethan Hipp made a strong left sidelines throw-in from that was slipped through the crease by 6-foot-5 Turnbull toward the upper right corner of the net.
Standout Wheaton North senior goalie Ray Min, who already had made a great save on Turnbull in the opening 45 seconds, was there again to catch the ball with
his arms extended over his head.
The 5-10 Carli made a strong leap to meet the ball, and his header was ruled to have crossed the goal line. After a brief discussion among officials, the goal stood.
“I can jump pretty high, some would say. I don’t know,” said Carli when asked. “It was a close goal, because it was right on the line, but the ref called it in so I got it.”
Stassen said he thought Min was fouled on the header, which would have nullified the goal. Min said he thought the ball never completely crossed the goal line.
“You go up for the ball, fully extended, and you end up in your own goal on your back. You don’t do that naturally. We can’t keep on about it, but that’s the humanness of the beautiful game,” Stassen said.
“We’ll check the (game) tape. Not that that will change anything now, but we’ll feel better. Apparently contact on a goalkeeper is allowed in the IHSA, I guess.”
“From my perspective, it didn’t go in. I made sure the ball was away from the goal, right as I was shoved, but it happens,” Min said. “It was a tough night. Those throw-ins, it’s hard to defend those. You never know where those flicks are going to come.”
Hipp has yet to score this season, but his throw-ins are quite a weapon. He placed two others dangerously on goal in the first half, but no one touched them as Min grabbed them.
“That’s a lot of our goals, off set pieces like that. That’s how we beat Naperville North (2-1 Sept. 5),” Hipp said. “We’ve been practicing that, just me trying to hit Stu on his head. That one time it actually worked perfectly. It was just perfectly timed.”
Carli’s second goal came easier. Left unmarked in the crease, he headed home Shun Yonehara’s free kick from the 5-yard line between the goalie’s box and right sideline.
“Honestly I’m not very used to scoring at the center defensive position, but the corners Shun and Ethan play good balls, and I was right in front of the goal,” Carli
said.
Hipp contributed once again indirectly, so to speak. His hustle in the right corner created the free ball. The call was made after he may have been fouled during the
same exchange but play continued.
Sophomore Christian Diaz set up the Vikings’ third goal. After the Falcons’ defense misplayed Yonehara’s long ball, Diaz kept going and picked up the ball down the left wing before finding Fuller near the right post.
Then it was the Falcons’ turn to keep battling.
Wheaton North sophomore Ethan Martinez’s persistence in the box with his back to the goal led to the hand ball call and Stephenson’s penalty kick.
That made the Falcons think what might have been when Robinson’s wide-open blast off a pass from Max Riccelli missed being an equalizer by the narrowest of margins.
“That was close,” Carli said. “I thought it was going over but then it dipped down and hit the crossbar. It was close, but we got lucky.”
“That’s just what we do. If they score a goal on us, we’ve got to come back stronger. We put in a lot of work after that goal,” Rozanski said. “We just have to look at the things we did wrong, because I feel like we did a lot of things right. The intensity was good, but we just have to look at the little things.”
The Falcons overcame having three key players out because of illness, injury and a yellow card suspension and relying on two subs most of the match. With junior defender Crystian Powell out with illness, junior striker Gyan Patel started in his place.
“We didn’t step up, and we didn’t play our best. But we’ll bounce back. Just keep moving forward,” Stassen said.
Both teams came away knowing they could have performed better, but seeing that they can be successful whatever the circumstances or adversity come playoff time.
“We knew that it was a big win for both of those reasons, for seeding and for conference. We knew we had to come out here and play and do well,” Bhatta said.
“The first goal was bad defending. That was unfortunate. The hand ball. It is what it is. That’s a tight call. They’re bad goals to give up.
“We defended well after that (penalty kick), and I was happy with the response from the boys right after the first goal to get right back into it on the next kickoff.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
G -- Osten Lockner
D -- Jack Cannon
D -- Evan Horvath
D -- Braeden McPheron
D -- Stuart Turnbull
M -- Ethan Hipp
M -- Joe Carli
M -- Shun Yonehara
M -- Dominick Peri
F -- Christian Diaz
F -- Matthew Fuller
Wheaton North
G -- Ray Min
D – Gyan Patel
D -- Tyler Larson
D -- Tristan Mackay
D -- Kyle Schauer
M -- Graham Stephenson
M -- Garrett Robinson
M -- Erik Rozanski
F -- Ethan Martinez
F -- Max Riccelli
F -- Jarrett Baumgartner
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joe Carli, jr. M, Geneva
Scoring summary
G 1 2 – 3
WN 1 1 – 2
Scoring
First Half
Wheaton North: Jarrett Baumgartner (Erik Rozanski, Graham Stephenson) 2:32
Geneva: Joe Carli (Stuart Turnbull, Ethan Hipp) 3:14
Second Half
Geneva: Carli (Shun Yonehara) 44:06
Geneva: Matthew Fuller (Christian Diaz) 50:55
Wheaton North: Stephenson (PK) 54:37
Goalies
Geneva: Osten Lockner (3 saves)
WN: Ray Min (4 saves)
Shots (on goal): Geneva 18 (7), Wheaton North 7 (6)
Corner kicks: Geneva 7, Wheaton North 0