Young Geneva continues
to grow with win at Wheaton North
Vikings gain momentum for playoffs with 1-0 victory
By Jared Birchfield
WHEATON– Being a young and unseasoned team, Geneva has faced and overcome challenges this season. The Vikings, with a starting lineup that featured four freshman and three sophomores, checked off another box on its task list Tuesday – beating a quality opponent twice in one season.
Spoiling their hosts' Senior Night, Geneva downed DuKane Conference rival Wheaton North 1-0 at Jim Rexilius Field. The Vikings edged the Falcons 3-2 on their home pitch earlier in the month and now
Geneva sophomore forward Morgan Rudowicz scored the lone goal in the 27th minute.
The victory, the third in a row for the Vikings, was also a good warmup for the state tournament that starts next week according to Geneva coach Megan Owens.
“It was a nice win for us. It was our second time beating them then this season. That's always tough to do, they’re a very good team,” Owens said. “They bring a lot of speed, so it was a great test for us going into the playoffs and helped us fine-tune and make sure we're ready to go.
“I see a lot of positives. We are peaking at the right time,” she continued. “A lot of people counted us out this year, because we are young. But the team has stepped up, and they had beat some top-quality teams. So, we are ready (for the playoffs).”
Geneva (10-6-0, 8-5-0) controlled the first half with most of the action taking place on the host Falcons’ side of the pitch. The Vikings took 10 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes with nine of them missing the mark or being stopped by Wheaton North freshman goalkeeper Zoey Bohmer.
A Lilly Coats thrown-in started the scoring attack.
“Lilly threw it into to Juliana Drew, and she headed it,” said Rudowicz. “I took it out with my left foot, and I put it in the right corner of the goal.”.
Owens was pleased with her team’s offensive effort.
“We created a lot, which I'm happy with. We struggled to find the back of the net. We found the crossbar a couple of times,” the Geneva coach said. “But we were creating a lot of offensive opportunities against a very strong team so that's a positive for sure.”
Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly also gave the Vikings’ offense a good review.
“Geneva does a really nice job of moving off the ball collectively as a group up-top,” he said. “Number nine (Rilee Hasegawa) is really dangerous on the ball. They created some quality chances through the first 40 minutes play.
“That goal was one we could have done better on, but they probably have earned it by that point.”
Due to injuries, McEvilly had to juggle the lineup for the Falcons (7-6-2, 5-6-2).
“We are out all of our midfielders, so we took our center backs and moved them to midfield,” he said.
Rudowicz credited Wheaton North’s Bohmer and senior defender Sara Chojnacki with disrupting Geneva’s attacks.
“They had a really strong center back (Choinacki) so I think that they just blocked up all of our shots,” said the sophomore. “Their goalie got a lot of crosses to the right and center.”
Chojnacki, who usually plays as a wing back, teamed up in the center with junior Anna Roe for the night.
“We've moved her inside tonight, she usually plays out on the width, but she did a great job stepping forward and finding targets out of the back,” said McEvilly “Anna Roe organized things in the middle for us and did a fantastic job.”
Owens lauded her defense.
“It was a very good showing. (Wheaton North) has a ton of speed. Their forwards are very talented players, so I'm very happy with how we played across the board,” said the Geneva coach. “I think my defense did a tremendous job. Defense doesn't always get the credit they deserve, but they've been very solid for us all season.”
Geneva freshman keeper Jordan Forbes notched her fourth clean-sheet of the season.
The Vikings backline kept a sharp eye on Falcons senior forward Kayla Shebar.
“(Shebar) is definitely a standout for them so we were just trying to marker her tighter when she got the ball,” Owens said.
McEvilly will miss Shebar, who will play for Purdue Fort Wayne next season.
“She dangerous every time she gets her foot on the ball. She's about as quick and decisive a player as there is in the conference, and this is one of the best conferences, if not the best conference right now, in the state of Illinois,” said the North coach. “She's a pleasure to watch, and she pushes her teammates to pick up their speed of play also which is great for us as a group.”
Defender Bella Walls believes the Geneva backline did a good job of sharing information to stop the Wheaton North threat.
“We've been working a lot on communicating in the back: who to mark; and when to shift,” she said. “We also worked on moving up to keep people offsides and that worked a couple of times in the second half.”
Added backline mate junior Morgan Slagle: “I think our main priority was looking at ways to pressure and cover together as a team. Pressure those through-balls so they can’t get through.”
Walls’ defensive effort, which including marking Shebar, earned the sophomore the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“I think (Walls) did a really good job of shutting down their dangerous number three (Shebar),” said Owens. “She just did a good job in neutralizing her speed, and she just really stepped up for us.”
McEvilly felt his team played well but fate was not on its side.
“I thought we did a great job ourselves of really organizing things throughout most of the game, attacking with numbers,” said the Wheaton North coach. “We haven't had the breaks lately, and we're limited in our numbers and our choices.”
Geneva’s edge in the middle of the field figured prominently in its success.
“I think we did a good job of controlling the midfield for long stretches. In the first half, it was a little hard with the rain to control everything, but we figured it out,” Owens said. “We matched their intensity. They were playing really hard, and they had a good game.”
Both teams wrap up regular season play Thursday with conference matches. Geneva hosts Lake Park, while Wheaton North travels to top-ranked St. Charles East.
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK: Jordan Forbes
D: Grace Belanger
D: Lilly Coats
D: Addyson Mitchell
D: Morgan Slagle
D: Bella Walls
M: Kelly Anderson
M: Juliana Drew
M: Evyn Schokora
F: Rilee Hasegawa
F: Olivia Rawls
Wheaton North
GK: Zoey Bohmer
D: Addison Henniger
D: Sara Cholnacki
D: Kare Wazenberg
D: Anna Roe
M: Abby Gosling
M: Ella Kocher
F: Kayla Shebar
F: Olivia Moreno
F: Macy Hutchinson
F: Maria Haworth
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Bella Walls, so., D, Geneva
Scoring summary
First half
G: Rudowicz (Drew) 27 minutes
Second half
No scoring
to grow with win at Wheaton North
Vikings gain momentum for playoffs with 1-0 victory
By Jared Birchfield
WHEATON– Being a young and unseasoned team, Geneva has faced and overcome challenges this season. The Vikings, with a starting lineup that featured four freshman and three sophomores, checked off another box on its task list Tuesday – beating a quality opponent twice in one season.
Spoiling their hosts' Senior Night, Geneva downed DuKane Conference rival Wheaton North 1-0 at Jim Rexilius Field. The Vikings edged the Falcons 3-2 on their home pitch earlier in the month and now
Geneva sophomore forward Morgan Rudowicz scored the lone goal in the 27th minute.
The victory, the third in a row for the Vikings, was also a good warmup for the state tournament that starts next week according to Geneva coach Megan Owens.
“It was a nice win for us. It was our second time beating them then this season. That's always tough to do, they’re a very good team,” Owens said. “They bring a lot of speed, so it was a great test for us going into the playoffs and helped us fine-tune and make sure we're ready to go.
“I see a lot of positives. We are peaking at the right time,” she continued. “A lot of people counted us out this year, because we are young. But the team has stepped up, and they had beat some top-quality teams. So, we are ready (for the playoffs).”
Geneva (10-6-0, 8-5-0) controlled the first half with most of the action taking place on the host Falcons’ side of the pitch. The Vikings took 10 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes with nine of them missing the mark or being stopped by Wheaton North freshman goalkeeper Zoey Bohmer.
A Lilly Coats thrown-in started the scoring attack.
“Lilly threw it into to Juliana Drew, and she headed it,” said Rudowicz. “I took it out with my left foot, and I put it in the right corner of the goal.”.
Owens was pleased with her team’s offensive effort.
“We created a lot, which I'm happy with. We struggled to find the back of the net. We found the crossbar a couple of times,” the Geneva coach said. “But we were creating a lot of offensive opportunities against a very strong team so that's a positive for sure.”
Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly also gave the Vikings’ offense a good review.
“Geneva does a really nice job of moving off the ball collectively as a group up-top,” he said. “Number nine (Rilee Hasegawa) is really dangerous on the ball. They created some quality chances through the first 40 minutes play.
“That goal was one we could have done better on, but they probably have earned it by that point.”
Due to injuries, McEvilly had to juggle the lineup for the Falcons (7-6-2, 5-6-2).
“We are out all of our midfielders, so we took our center backs and moved them to midfield,” he said.
Rudowicz credited Wheaton North’s Bohmer and senior defender Sara Chojnacki with disrupting Geneva’s attacks.
“They had a really strong center back (Choinacki) so I think that they just blocked up all of our shots,” said the sophomore. “Their goalie got a lot of crosses to the right and center.”
Chojnacki, who usually plays as a wing back, teamed up in the center with junior Anna Roe for the night.
“We've moved her inside tonight, she usually plays out on the width, but she did a great job stepping forward and finding targets out of the back,” said McEvilly “Anna Roe organized things in the middle for us and did a fantastic job.”
Owens lauded her defense.
“It was a very good showing. (Wheaton North) has a ton of speed. Their forwards are very talented players, so I'm very happy with how we played across the board,” said the Geneva coach. “I think my defense did a tremendous job. Defense doesn't always get the credit they deserve, but they've been very solid for us all season.”
Geneva freshman keeper Jordan Forbes notched her fourth clean-sheet of the season.
The Vikings backline kept a sharp eye on Falcons senior forward Kayla Shebar.
“(Shebar) is definitely a standout for them so we were just trying to marker her tighter when she got the ball,” Owens said.
McEvilly will miss Shebar, who will play for Purdue Fort Wayne next season.
“She dangerous every time she gets her foot on the ball. She's about as quick and decisive a player as there is in the conference, and this is one of the best conferences, if not the best conference right now, in the state of Illinois,” said the North coach. “She's a pleasure to watch, and she pushes her teammates to pick up their speed of play also which is great for us as a group.”
Defender Bella Walls believes the Geneva backline did a good job of sharing information to stop the Wheaton North threat.
“We've been working a lot on communicating in the back: who to mark; and when to shift,” she said. “We also worked on moving up to keep people offsides and that worked a couple of times in the second half.”
Added backline mate junior Morgan Slagle: “I think our main priority was looking at ways to pressure and cover together as a team. Pressure those through-balls so they can’t get through.”
Walls’ defensive effort, which including marking Shebar, earned the sophomore the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“I think (Walls) did a really good job of shutting down their dangerous number three (Shebar),” said Owens. “She just did a good job in neutralizing her speed, and she just really stepped up for us.”
McEvilly felt his team played well but fate was not on its side.
“I thought we did a great job ourselves of really organizing things throughout most of the game, attacking with numbers,” said the Wheaton North coach. “We haven't had the breaks lately, and we're limited in our numbers and our choices.”
Geneva’s edge in the middle of the field figured prominently in its success.
“I think we did a good job of controlling the midfield for long stretches. In the first half, it was a little hard with the rain to control everything, but we figured it out,” Owens said. “We matched their intensity. They were playing really hard, and they had a good game.”
Both teams wrap up regular season play Thursday with conference matches. Geneva hosts Lake Park, while Wheaton North travels to top-ranked St. Charles East.
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK: Jordan Forbes
D: Grace Belanger
D: Lilly Coats
D: Addyson Mitchell
D: Morgan Slagle
D: Bella Walls
M: Kelly Anderson
M: Juliana Drew
M: Evyn Schokora
F: Rilee Hasegawa
F: Olivia Rawls
Wheaton North
GK: Zoey Bohmer
D: Addison Henniger
D: Sara Cholnacki
D: Kare Wazenberg
D: Anna Roe
M: Abby Gosling
M: Ella Kocher
F: Kayla Shebar
F: Olivia Moreno
F: Macy Hutchinson
F: Maria Haworth
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Bella Walls, so., D, Geneva
Scoring summary
First half
G: Rudowicz (Drew) 27 minutes
Second half
No scoring