Newcomer Diaz puts Geneva past Marmion
Sophomore scores brace in varsity debut, Vikings win 3-0
By Chris Walker
GENEVA -- Before Geneva and Marmion could even play each other for the first time since 2006, they had to make adjustments to the game, moving it to the turf surface at Geneva’s Burgess Field because Marmion’s natural surface field was unplayable because of the recent rains.
Apparently there’s no place quite like home for the Vikings and especially sophomore Christian Diaz, whose family relocated from nearby Batavia just a couple of years ago. He scored two goals in his varsity debut to help Geneva accomplish something that it only did four times a season ago -- win a game. The Vikings finished with a 3-0 advantage Tuesday night.
The Cadets are ranked no. 34 in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 state preseason ranking the Vikings are unranked.
“It was all very exciting,” Diaz said. “The seniors here have been playing together for a long time now, and we also have some sophomores and freshmen who have known each other for a while so the whole team has great chemistry. We’ve all played club and are excited to play this year to see what we can accomplish.”
The Vikings had some scoring threats early, constantly putting pressure on a Marmion squad that was facing personnel adversity with defender Tyler Laurich and midfielder C.J. Sowers sitting out this game. Both players are on the Chicagoland Soccer Watch List for the Class of 2020 and are expected to be back in action later this week. That's obviously positive news for a team that’s coming off a sectional championship season. Still, with them out of the lineup, the Cadets faced an even bigger challenge in trying to limit the Vikings.
“They’re big losses because there’s a lot of experience there, but it’s a long season and it was good to see our young guys,” Cadets coach Jimmy Romano said. “These first couple games are a learning experience, including for the coaching staff to see who can step up for the key players we lost last year. It’s going to be a season of learning and growing and hopefully we get it right at the end of the year.”
Marmion’s starting lineup featured five underclassmen: freshman Harley Karner and sophomores Adrian Ruiz, Matthew Silva, Gilberto Sixto and Nathan Sowers.
“We do have a solid foundation, but obviously not having those two guys (seniors Laurich and Sowers) on the field, who are such a big presence, makes a big difference,” Romano said. “But this was still good for us to see who we are as a team and kind of how we gel and mesh and kind of learn from that.”
The Cadets, coming off of a 14-7-2 season, also are getting accustomed to playing without Chicagoland Soccer all-stater James Serrano, their elite playmaker, who scored countless huge goals and accumulated 32 during his senior year and nearly took the Cadets to state.
“They know I want to win, and they want to win. My main thing tonight was can we be on the same page, can we work out the kinks and can we communicate,” Romano said. “And can we not get frustrated, especially the younger guys. The younger guys can get frustrated easily and even experienced guys can get frustrated at younger ones and things can blow up. I didn’t see that, which was good. I saw them working it out. Yeah, I saw some minor mistakes, but we didn’t blow up. There was no finger-pointing so that was good. That just means that we’ll continue to come together as a team and hopefully be better tomorrow.”
Marmion junior defender Joseph Lagman, who was named to the Chicagoland Soccer Watch List Class of 2021, knows what it’s like to be one of the new guys who steps into a key role. Now he’s one of the more experienced ones for the Cadets so he understands how the beginning of the season is a time of transition and figuring things out as one helps a team grow cohesively.
“The younger kids didn’t look that bad, and we’ve got a bunch of new players this year that got some minutes which was nice to see,” he said. “We have to work out some kinks and figure out how to play together, but I think we’ll eventually get there.”
But what happens if the losses start to accumulate? Getting shut out 3-0 to open a season might end crazy dreams of duplicating Naperville North’s perfect season a year ago, but those campaigns rarely occur anyway, and usually you hear about them rather than contribute to them. But if success doesn’t come your way over time, even if you’re playing well, how do you respond? How do you keep the morale of a freshman or sophomore or other newcomer even when things are going poorly?
“I remember what it was like to be the new guys, and the other guys helped me out,” he said. “So I know that’s one of the things I might need to do for them.”
Whoever is providing guidance to Diaz might want to write that recipe down, although from the sound of things amongst the Vikings, this year’s team seems to be one that will be fueled by chemistry and a hunger for success. Those things certainly paid wonderful dividends on Tuesday night.
“He’s only a sophomore and there he is with two goals,” Geneva senior Joshua Eiss said. “This is exactly who we are. Everyone is sharp and good, and once we got on the field we were ready to play.”
It took about 20 minutes for Geneva’s attack to pay off with a 1-0 lead when Eiss’ cross was inadvertently guided into the back of the net for an own goal. While it was far from the prettiest goal Eiss has scored in a Vikings uniform, they’re all pretty memorable. And this one was a game-winner, the first of the season and the result of selfless teamwork.
“Our team chemistry is so much stronger, especially with all our seniors who are all good leaders,” Eiss said. “We’ve all played together for a very long time, and we know how each other plays so we can dominate like that. It feels great to be out here with a whole new team, and I think we have a lot better team than last year. I think we’re going to be a much better team so just getting back on the field is exciting for me.”
Diaz’s first goal made it 2-0 with 11:26 remaining before halftime.
Junior midfielder Dominick Peri came away with a failed clear from the Marmion defense and sent it into the penalty box where Diaz redirected it with a header.
“You have to be ready for the second ball, and Dom (Peri) was ready for it,” Diaz said. “He took a touch and crossed it just like we’ve been practicing and coach has been showing us. I was in the middle, because I’m a nine, and went up for the ball and got it with my head. I tried to aim for the far post where the goalie wasn’t at, and he only got a little touch on it.”
Marmion tightened things up the rest of the first half and into the second half to keep the game competitive while still trailing 2-0. They only created a couple difficult scoring chances along the way, but at the very least continued to be on the cusp of really making things interesting.
It remained that way until Diaz connected again, this time with just 17:58 left in the game to pretty much seal the deal. The sophomore got a foot on senior Shun Yonehara’s corner kick.
“We were working on these all day (Monday) after school,” Diaz said. “We went over everything we should be doing today, and then we went out and did what we were supposed to do.”
Soaking up guidance and instructions from his elder teammates and coaching staff seems to come naturally for Diaz. While some kids can be defiant, only doing things one way -- their way -- Diaz seems to be a bright kid who is not only extremely talented, but willing to continue doing the hard work that has made him a varsity athlete. He seeks the knowledge of those around him who can make him better and ultimately makes the Vikings better.
He’s also getting bigger -- growing from 5-foot-4 as a freshman to the 5-foot-10 frame he owns today.
“My mom says I keep on growing,” he said. “It doesn’t change how I play my game. I know I have to just stay confident. I’ve been playing club at a high level for a while, so I’m used to playing the game.
“Coming on the varsity team after being on the freshman team doesn’t usually happen” he said. “I just came out and played my game. I felt confident. I think we all did, we just played our game.”
Prior to Tuesday the Geneva and Cadets hadn’t faced each other since the Vikings won 4-0 in 2006, which was the first of three consecutive 20-win, regional championship seasons, and the program’s last sectional title in 2007, under former Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook.
“We were looking for another game,” Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. “Marmion comes to our tournament in the summer, and they we’re looking for one more game too. So this worked out perfectly.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D Cristian Cardenas
D Joseph Lagman
D Drew Noecker
D Matthew Silva
MF Adrian Ruiz
MF Nathan Sowers
F Gilberto Sixto
F Ian Swindle
F Harley Karner
F James Lawinger
Geneva
GK Osten Lockner
D Jack Cannon
D Evan Horvath
D Braeden McPheron
D Stuart Turnbull
MF Joshua Eiss
MF Ethan Hipp
MF Ryan Leake
MF Joe Carli
MF Shun Yonehara
F Matthew Fuller
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Christian Diaz, so., F, Geneva
Scoring summary
Game summary
Geneva 3, Marmion 0
Marmion 0 0 – 0 (0-1-0)
Geneva 2 1 – 3 (1-0-0)
First half
Geneva – Joshua Eiss (u/a) 20:50
Geneva – Christian Diaz (Dominick Peri) 11:26
Second half
Geneva – Christian Diaz (Shun Yonehara) 17:58
Sophomore scores brace in varsity debut, Vikings win 3-0
By Chris Walker
GENEVA -- Before Geneva and Marmion could even play each other for the first time since 2006, they had to make adjustments to the game, moving it to the turf surface at Geneva’s Burgess Field because Marmion’s natural surface field was unplayable because of the recent rains.
Apparently there’s no place quite like home for the Vikings and especially sophomore Christian Diaz, whose family relocated from nearby Batavia just a couple of years ago. He scored two goals in his varsity debut to help Geneva accomplish something that it only did four times a season ago -- win a game. The Vikings finished with a 3-0 advantage Tuesday night.
The Cadets are ranked no. 34 in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 state preseason ranking the Vikings are unranked.
“It was all very exciting,” Diaz said. “The seniors here have been playing together for a long time now, and we also have some sophomores and freshmen who have known each other for a while so the whole team has great chemistry. We’ve all played club and are excited to play this year to see what we can accomplish.”
The Vikings had some scoring threats early, constantly putting pressure on a Marmion squad that was facing personnel adversity with defender Tyler Laurich and midfielder C.J. Sowers sitting out this game. Both players are on the Chicagoland Soccer Watch List for the Class of 2020 and are expected to be back in action later this week. That's obviously positive news for a team that’s coming off a sectional championship season. Still, with them out of the lineup, the Cadets faced an even bigger challenge in trying to limit the Vikings.
“They’re big losses because there’s a lot of experience there, but it’s a long season and it was good to see our young guys,” Cadets coach Jimmy Romano said. “These first couple games are a learning experience, including for the coaching staff to see who can step up for the key players we lost last year. It’s going to be a season of learning and growing and hopefully we get it right at the end of the year.”
Marmion’s starting lineup featured five underclassmen: freshman Harley Karner and sophomores Adrian Ruiz, Matthew Silva, Gilberto Sixto and Nathan Sowers.
“We do have a solid foundation, but obviously not having those two guys (seniors Laurich and Sowers) on the field, who are such a big presence, makes a big difference,” Romano said. “But this was still good for us to see who we are as a team and kind of how we gel and mesh and kind of learn from that.”
The Cadets, coming off of a 14-7-2 season, also are getting accustomed to playing without Chicagoland Soccer all-stater James Serrano, their elite playmaker, who scored countless huge goals and accumulated 32 during his senior year and nearly took the Cadets to state.
“They know I want to win, and they want to win. My main thing tonight was can we be on the same page, can we work out the kinks and can we communicate,” Romano said. “And can we not get frustrated, especially the younger guys. The younger guys can get frustrated easily and even experienced guys can get frustrated at younger ones and things can blow up. I didn’t see that, which was good. I saw them working it out. Yeah, I saw some minor mistakes, but we didn’t blow up. There was no finger-pointing so that was good. That just means that we’ll continue to come together as a team and hopefully be better tomorrow.”
Marmion junior defender Joseph Lagman, who was named to the Chicagoland Soccer Watch List Class of 2021, knows what it’s like to be one of the new guys who steps into a key role. Now he’s one of the more experienced ones for the Cadets so he understands how the beginning of the season is a time of transition and figuring things out as one helps a team grow cohesively.
“The younger kids didn’t look that bad, and we’ve got a bunch of new players this year that got some minutes which was nice to see,” he said. “We have to work out some kinks and figure out how to play together, but I think we’ll eventually get there.”
But what happens if the losses start to accumulate? Getting shut out 3-0 to open a season might end crazy dreams of duplicating Naperville North’s perfect season a year ago, but those campaigns rarely occur anyway, and usually you hear about them rather than contribute to them. But if success doesn’t come your way over time, even if you’re playing well, how do you respond? How do you keep the morale of a freshman or sophomore or other newcomer even when things are going poorly?
“I remember what it was like to be the new guys, and the other guys helped me out,” he said. “So I know that’s one of the things I might need to do for them.”
Whoever is providing guidance to Diaz might want to write that recipe down, although from the sound of things amongst the Vikings, this year’s team seems to be one that will be fueled by chemistry and a hunger for success. Those things certainly paid wonderful dividends on Tuesday night.
“He’s only a sophomore and there he is with two goals,” Geneva senior Joshua Eiss said. “This is exactly who we are. Everyone is sharp and good, and once we got on the field we were ready to play.”
It took about 20 minutes for Geneva’s attack to pay off with a 1-0 lead when Eiss’ cross was inadvertently guided into the back of the net for an own goal. While it was far from the prettiest goal Eiss has scored in a Vikings uniform, they’re all pretty memorable. And this one was a game-winner, the first of the season and the result of selfless teamwork.
“Our team chemistry is so much stronger, especially with all our seniors who are all good leaders,” Eiss said. “We’ve all played together for a very long time, and we know how each other plays so we can dominate like that. It feels great to be out here with a whole new team, and I think we have a lot better team than last year. I think we’re going to be a much better team so just getting back on the field is exciting for me.”
Diaz’s first goal made it 2-0 with 11:26 remaining before halftime.
Junior midfielder Dominick Peri came away with a failed clear from the Marmion defense and sent it into the penalty box where Diaz redirected it with a header.
“You have to be ready for the second ball, and Dom (Peri) was ready for it,” Diaz said. “He took a touch and crossed it just like we’ve been practicing and coach has been showing us. I was in the middle, because I’m a nine, and went up for the ball and got it with my head. I tried to aim for the far post where the goalie wasn’t at, and he only got a little touch on it.”
Marmion tightened things up the rest of the first half and into the second half to keep the game competitive while still trailing 2-0. They only created a couple difficult scoring chances along the way, but at the very least continued to be on the cusp of really making things interesting.
It remained that way until Diaz connected again, this time with just 17:58 left in the game to pretty much seal the deal. The sophomore got a foot on senior Shun Yonehara’s corner kick.
“We were working on these all day (Monday) after school,” Diaz said. “We went over everything we should be doing today, and then we went out and did what we were supposed to do.”
Soaking up guidance and instructions from his elder teammates and coaching staff seems to come naturally for Diaz. While some kids can be defiant, only doing things one way -- their way -- Diaz seems to be a bright kid who is not only extremely talented, but willing to continue doing the hard work that has made him a varsity athlete. He seeks the knowledge of those around him who can make him better and ultimately makes the Vikings better.
He’s also getting bigger -- growing from 5-foot-4 as a freshman to the 5-foot-10 frame he owns today.
“My mom says I keep on growing,” he said. “It doesn’t change how I play my game. I know I have to just stay confident. I’ve been playing club at a high level for a while, so I’m used to playing the game.
“Coming on the varsity team after being on the freshman team doesn’t usually happen” he said. “I just came out and played my game. I felt confident. I think we all did, we just played our game.”
Prior to Tuesday the Geneva and Cadets hadn’t faced each other since the Vikings won 4-0 in 2006, which was the first of three consecutive 20-win, regional championship seasons, and the program’s last sectional title in 2007, under former Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook.
“We were looking for another game,” Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. “Marmion comes to our tournament in the summer, and they we’re looking for one more game too. So this worked out perfectly.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D Cristian Cardenas
D Joseph Lagman
D Drew Noecker
D Matthew Silva
MF Adrian Ruiz
MF Nathan Sowers
F Gilberto Sixto
F Ian Swindle
F Harley Karner
F James Lawinger
Geneva
GK Osten Lockner
D Jack Cannon
D Evan Horvath
D Braeden McPheron
D Stuart Turnbull
MF Joshua Eiss
MF Ethan Hipp
MF Ryan Leake
MF Joe Carli
MF Shun Yonehara
F Matthew Fuller
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Christian Diaz, so., F, Geneva
Scoring summary
Game summary
Geneva 3, Marmion 0
Marmion 0 0 – 0 (0-1-0)
Geneva 2 1 – 3 (1-0-0)
First half
Geneva – Joshua Eiss (u/a) 20:50
Geneva – Christian Diaz (Dominick Peri) 11:26
Second half
Geneva – Christian Diaz (Shun Yonehara) 17:58