Late rush dooms Genoa-Kingston
Rockford Christian pours in 3 goals in final minutes for 4-1 win
By Len Eisele
GENOA -- The Big Northern conference matchup between the Genoa-Kingston and Rockford Christian on Tuesday had the feel of a game that was going into overtime -- until the final nine minutes.
Both teams played evenly until the Royal Lions erupted for three goals in the final nine minutes to put the Cogs away 4-1.
The momentum swung towards the visitors when they took the lead in the 71st minute. Midfielder Conner Curry took a pass from forward Ben Wood and rifled it into the side of the net from 12 yards to put the visitors in the lead.
“It was really nice,” Curry said. “It was really close the whole game. It was nice to get a team win, playing back and forth to get a team goal. It was a completely new tempo.”
After that goal, the floodgates opened for the Royal Lions. Wood smashed a penalty kick three minutes later to put the Lions up two goals with just over five minutes left in the game.
“I would say it was just teamwork and regrouping after a one-to-one tie,” Wood said. “We really got out there as a team and worked together. It feels really good. That’s all I have to say.”
Wood finished with two goals and two assists.
Senior midfielder Jaxon Armstrong put the final icing on the cake for Rockford Christian with some fancy footwork through the middle of the field. After slicing through the Genoa-Kingston defense, Armstrong knocked in a shot from 15 yards to put his team up 4-1.
The Royal Lions (5-1-0, 4-1-0) opened up the scoring in the 16th minute with a long arcing shot from 18 yards by Wood.
Genoa-Kingston (4-5-1, 2-3-0) answered back with a give-and-go from top scorers Eagan Reams and Junior Leon in the 32nd minute. Leon passed to Reams, who sent it right back past the defense to Leon who put the ball in the net from 15 yards.
“I thought we were going to get all the momentum and all their momentum dropped down,” Leon said. “But it didn’t go our way, so I guess we just move on.”
Reams came into the game averaging over three goals a game.
“I was trying to set up my teammates, because I knew they’d be coming for me,” he said. “I should’ve finished one in the first half, but the goalie made a nice kick save. I hope we get them again in the (Big Northern Conference) tournament coming up.”
Rockford Christian goalkeeper Jamison Graber made two spectacular saves on Reams’ header attempts in the first half.
The first one came with Reams’ back to the goal. He flicked the ball backwards, but Graber picked it out of the air.
The second header attempt came on a breakaway for Reams at the top of the box. A charging Graber got just enough of his fingertips on the ball to deflect it and catch it in midair.
“It’s definitely heartbreaking,” Reams said. “We’ve been practicing. We’re definitely tired, but we think we should have put the ball in the back of the net more times than just the one goal we scored. It’s okay. We’ll learn from this.”
The Cogs had chances to score throughout the game. In the second half they missed wide on five shot attempts.
“We were pressuring them and had so much possession in that second half and then you can’t get it in, I think we just ran out of gas to tell you the truth,” Cogs coach Randy Tate said. “I didn’t sub a whole lot. I think we had a hard time getting back, and they got a shot of energy.”
The Cogs dominated possession after the Royal Lions lost senior starting defender Sam Hauff to an ankle sprain in the 45th minute. He was assisted off the field, unable to put any pressure on the leg.
“Leading into it, one of our best players, Sam Hauff, goes down with an ankle injury, and I figure we’re going to pack it in and play for overtime at this point,” Royal Lions coach Eron Harvey said. “And then these guys lifted it to another level.
“This, for us, was a playoff game, because we wanted to finish in the top three (of the conference). We figured it was going to come down to us or Genoa-Kingston who was going to take that second or third spot. They picked up their game. They really wanted this one.”
The Royal Lions also had their chances to score earlier. A Noah Reese goal was called off for an offside on a rebound halfway into the first half.
On that play, Genoa-Kingston goalkeeper Javier Pizano knocked away a long shot attempt, but couldn’t corral the ball before Reese slammed it into the net. But the Royal Lions forward was in an offside position, coming back to get the ball with no defenders in front of him.
The game could have Big Northern Conference Tournament implications for the teams. There is a chance they could meet again in the first round.
Starting lineups
Rockford Christian
GK Jamison Graber
D Tyler Barefield
D Sam Hauff
D Isaac Love
D Chayton Voung
MF Niko Rosado
MF Jaxon Armstrong
MF Conner Curry
MF Noah Reese
F Ben Wood
F Gabe Wiebe
Genoa-Kingston
GK Javier Pizano
FB Angel Tapia
FB Marco Beltran
FB Ben Younker
FB Alan Rangel
MF Juan Campos
MF Leonardo Rocha
MF Diego Espinoza
F Eagan Reams
F Junior Leon
F Alejo Pacheco
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ben Wood, sr., F, Rockford Christian
Scoring summary
First half
Rockford Christian - Wood (Curry) 22nd minute
Genoa-Kingston - Leon (Reams) 32nd minute
Second half
Rockford Christian - Curry (Wood) 71st minute
Rockford Christian - Wood (PK) 74th minute
Rockford Christian - Armstrong (Rosado, Wood) 77th minute
Rockford Christian pours in 3 goals in final minutes for 4-1 win
By Len Eisele
GENOA -- The Big Northern conference matchup between the Genoa-Kingston and Rockford Christian on Tuesday had the feel of a game that was going into overtime -- until the final nine minutes.
Both teams played evenly until the Royal Lions erupted for three goals in the final nine minutes to put the Cogs away 4-1.
The momentum swung towards the visitors when they took the lead in the 71st minute. Midfielder Conner Curry took a pass from forward Ben Wood and rifled it into the side of the net from 12 yards to put the visitors in the lead.
“It was really nice,” Curry said. “It was really close the whole game. It was nice to get a team win, playing back and forth to get a team goal. It was a completely new tempo.”
After that goal, the floodgates opened for the Royal Lions. Wood smashed a penalty kick three minutes later to put the Lions up two goals with just over five minutes left in the game.
“I would say it was just teamwork and regrouping after a one-to-one tie,” Wood said. “We really got out there as a team and worked together. It feels really good. That’s all I have to say.”
Wood finished with two goals and two assists.
Senior midfielder Jaxon Armstrong put the final icing on the cake for Rockford Christian with some fancy footwork through the middle of the field. After slicing through the Genoa-Kingston defense, Armstrong knocked in a shot from 15 yards to put his team up 4-1.
The Royal Lions (5-1-0, 4-1-0) opened up the scoring in the 16th minute with a long arcing shot from 18 yards by Wood.
Genoa-Kingston (4-5-1, 2-3-0) answered back with a give-and-go from top scorers Eagan Reams and Junior Leon in the 32nd minute. Leon passed to Reams, who sent it right back past the defense to Leon who put the ball in the net from 15 yards.
“I thought we were going to get all the momentum and all their momentum dropped down,” Leon said. “But it didn’t go our way, so I guess we just move on.”
Reams came into the game averaging over three goals a game.
“I was trying to set up my teammates, because I knew they’d be coming for me,” he said. “I should’ve finished one in the first half, but the goalie made a nice kick save. I hope we get them again in the (Big Northern Conference) tournament coming up.”
Rockford Christian goalkeeper Jamison Graber made two spectacular saves on Reams’ header attempts in the first half.
The first one came with Reams’ back to the goal. He flicked the ball backwards, but Graber picked it out of the air.
The second header attempt came on a breakaway for Reams at the top of the box. A charging Graber got just enough of his fingertips on the ball to deflect it and catch it in midair.
“It’s definitely heartbreaking,” Reams said. “We’ve been practicing. We’re definitely tired, but we think we should have put the ball in the back of the net more times than just the one goal we scored. It’s okay. We’ll learn from this.”
The Cogs had chances to score throughout the game. In the second half they missed wide on five shot attempts.
“We were pressuring them and had so much possession in that second half and then you can’t get it in, I think we just ran out of gas to tell you the truth,” Cogs coach Randy Tate said. “I didn’t sub a whole lot. I think we had a hard time getting back, and they got a shot of energy.”
The Cogs dominated possession after the Royal Lions lost senior starting defender Sam Hauff to an ankle sprain in the 45th minute. He was assisted off the field, unable to put any pressure on the leg.
“Leading into it, one of our best players, Sam Hauff, goes down with an ankle injury, and I figure we’re going to pack it in and play for overtime at this point,” Royal Lions coach Eron Harvey said. “And then these guys lifted it to another level.
“This, for us, was a playoff game, because we wanted to finish in the top three (of the conference). We figured it was going to come down to us or Genoa-Kingston who was going to take that second or third spot. They picked up their game. They really wanted this one.”
The Royal Lions also had their chances to score earlier. A Noah Reese goal was called off for an offside on a rebound halfway into the first half.
On that play, Genoa-Kingston goalkeeper Javier Pizano knocked away a long shot attempt, but couldn’t corral the ball before Reese slammed it into the net. But the Royal Lions forward was in an offside position, coming back to get the ball with no defenders in front of him.
The game could have Big Northern Conference Tournament implications for the teams. There is a chance they could meet again in the first round.
Starting lineups
Rockford Christian
GK Jamison Graber
D Tyler Barefield
D Sam Hauff
D Isaac Love
D Chayton Voung
MF Niko Rosado
MF Jaxon Armstrong
MF Conner Curry
MF Noah Reese
F Ben Wood
F Gabe Wiebe
Genoa-Kingston
GK Javier Pizano
FB Angel Tapia
FB Marco Beltran
FB Ben Younker
FB Alan Rangel
MF Juan Campos
MF Leonardo Rocha
MF Diego Espinoza
F Eagan Reams
F Junior Leon
F Alejo Pacheco
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ben Wood, sr., F, Rockford Christian
Scoring summary
First half
Rockford Christian - Wood (Curry) 22nd minute
Genoa-Kingston - Leon (Reams) 32nd minute
Second half
Rockford Christian - Curry (Wood) 71st minute
Rockford Christian - Wood (PK) 74th minute
Rockford Christian - Armstrong (Rosado, Wood) 77th minute