Youth serves Geneva
1st win over SCN in 10 years
Vikings record 2-1 upset over no. 16 North Stars
By Jared Birchfield
GENEVA – One of the advantages of having a roster filled with younger players is they may not be as aware of an opponent that has dominated them in recent years and as a result, do not feel the added pressure of trying to reverse the trend.
Tuesday night at Burgess Field, Geneva, with 11 freshman and sophomore varsity players, beat St. Charles North, 2-1 in a DuKane Conference match. It was the first time since 2011 that the Vikings topped the North Stars.
“Obviously North is a very successful program and a powerhouse, but I think our youth helped us this year because they didn't know what to expect coming in against this team,” Vikings coach Megan Owens said. “I was very, very impressed by how we showed up to play today.”
“I know Geneva's got a lot of freshmen on their roster. They did a fine job stepping up” said St. Charles North coach Brian Harks. “They played really well, and they ended up with the win.”
North controlled much of the play in the first 40 minutes and kept most of the action on Geneva’s side of the pitch.
During a three-minute period in the middle of the first half, the North Stars took four shots on goal, all stopped by Vikings freshman goalkeeper Jordan Forbes. North’s best scoring opportunity of the period came in the 30th minute on senior Grace Barresi’s 40-yard free kick. But once again, Forbes stopped the shot. The freshman keeper made a total of six saves.
Geneva’s offense finally struck pay dirt with 1:30 left in the first half. North’s backline had severely limited the Vikings scoring attempts; the North Stars’ clean play gave Geneva only two free kicks.
But the Vikings burst into the lead when junior Kylie Brazill found the back of the net with a header on freshman Evyn Schokara’s corner kick, the first of the night for her squad.
“We've been practicing headers a lot, and we knew what we had to do already,” Brazill said. “We had our lineup that we practiced that over and over.”
Both coaches felt that defense played a big factor in the first half.
“I thought we did a nice job of controlling the middle of the field,” Harks said. “It took a little while to get going in the final third so obviously their backline played pretty well, and they stopped us from generating quality opportunities.”
“I think my defense did a very good job by holding them to outside shots or shots from a distance. I just think we came in and played hard,” Owens said. “We dug deep and left it all in the field. I think we just matched their speed and their physical play on the field.”
Owens felt starting the second half with a 1-0 lead boosted her squad’s morale.
“The fact that we were able to take a lead into halftime just gave my group confidence,” the coach said. “They're very young, and they haven't played a lot together - a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the field – and the lead gave them a real spark.”
The second half was even more of a defensive battle.
Geneva (3-1-0, 2-1-0) had an opportunity in the opening minutes of the period to expand the lead on their second and last corner kick of the evening. However, the defense batted the ball away.
St. Charles North (1-2-2, 1-1-1) was unable to capitalize on its first corner kick of the match at the 36:31 mark. Senior Talia Pellegrini connected with freshman Kayla Floyd’s offering but her header went wide to the right.
The North Stars were more successful on their second corner kick of the match 10 minutes later. This time senior Makenna Collins corralled Floyd’s kick from the far side and sent it into the back of the net for a 1-1 tie.
Geneva battled back. Schokara’s free kick from 30 yards bounced off the cross bar with 20 minutes left to play.
Vikings reserve Julianna Drew scored the game-winner with 6:09 left to play after freshman defender Lilly Coats’ free kick.
“I saw an opening when the defense stepped towards me, so I took a step outside and I just launched it over the goalies head,” Drew said.
“She came off the bench, and she provided a great spark for us,” said Owens about the sophomore backup. “She played very well for us in the midfield.”
Drew was glad for the opportunity to play North and optimistic about her squad’s future.
“A lot of my friends are on the Saint Charles team. It's good to see some familiar faces during this unusual year of COVID, and it was good to have a tough game,” she said. “Geneva brought it all there. We are really young team, and we have a few years to improve and get the team chemistry going.”
“I think we're very solid defensively today,” added Owens. “Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with the effort and intensity my kids played with. I think we play with confidence.”
Owens praised Coats’ backline play.
“She played a tough 80 minutes for us. She played lights out and was able to shut down some of North’s most dangerous attackers” she noted. “She did a great job of moving up the field and contributing to the attack.”
Bella Walls, another Geneva defender agreed the backline did a good job of bottling up North’s attacks.
“I think a lot of it was staying on our marks and putting hard pressure on them, so they didn't have a lot of chances to get good shots,” said Walls. “When they did get a good shot, our goalie Jordan (Forbes) was able to stop it.”
The sophomore believes the backline is working well as a unit.
“We started off this season, and there wasn't a lot of defense, so we had to pull some people back from forward to play defense,” Walls continued. “I think we've been working hard together and as more of a unit and talking. It's been going really well.”
St. Charles North had more than its share of fine defense as well.
“I thought our defense played pretty well other than two shots in that one corner. They did a good job limiting their chances,” Harks said. “And Grace (Barresi) did a great job leading the backline tonight.”
While Brazill is savoring the win, she knows Geneva will have to start focusing on Thursday when they face another big rival – second-ranked and undefeated St. Charles East in an away DuKane Conference clash. The Fighting Saints have only allowed one goal-against this season.
“It was amazing. I think we've got to celebrate tonight,” Brazill said. “I think then we've got then to tucker down for the next game. It's going to be really hard.”
St. Charles North will regroup against visiting league foe Lake Park on Thursday.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Kara Claussner
D: Grace Barresi
D: Sophia Hein
D: Abigail Vichich
D: Bella Miteff
M: Makenna Collins
M: Martina Nava
M: Talia Pellegrini
F: Rian Spaulding
F: Madison Rossi
F: Bella Najera
Geneva
GK: Jordan Forbes
D: Morgan Slagle
D: Bella Walls
D: Lilly Coats
D: Grace Belanger
M: Kya Trejo
M: Kelly Anderson
M: Evyn Schokora
F: Olivia Rawls
F: Rilee Hasegawa
F: Morgan Rudowicz
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lilly Coats, fr. D, Geneva
Scoring summary
First half
Geneva – Brazill (Schokora) 39 minutes
Second half
SCN – Collins (Floyd) 55 minutes
Geneva – Drew (Coats) 74 minutes
1st win over SCN in 10 years
Vikings record 2-1 upset over no. 16 North Stars
By Jared Birchfield
GENEVA – One of the advantages of having a roster filled with younger players is they may not be as aware of an opponent that has dominated them in recent years and as a result, do not feel the added pressure of trying to reverse the trend.
Tuesday night at Burgess Field, Geneva, with 11 freshman and sophomore varsity players, beat St. Charles North, 2-1 in a DuKane Conference match. It was the first time since 2011 that the Vikings topped the North Stars.
“Obviously North is a very successful program and a powerhouse, but I think our youth helped us this year because they didn't know what to expect coming in against this team,” Vikings coach Megan Owens said. “I was very, very impressed by how we showed up to play today.”
“I know Geneva's got a lot of freshmen on their roster. They did a fine job stepping up” said St. Charles North coach Brian Harks. “They played really well, and they ended up with the win.”
North controlled much of the play in the first 40 minutes and kept most of the action on Geneva’s side of the pitch.
During a three-minute period in the middle of the first half, the North Stars took four shots on goal, all stopped by Vikings freshman goalkeeper Jordan Forbes. North’s best scoring opportunity of the period came in the 30th minute on senior Grace Barresi’s 40-yard free kick. But once again, Forbes stopped the shot. The freshman keeper made a total of six saves.
Geneva’s offense finally struck pay dirt with 1:30 left in the first half. North’s backline had severely limited the Vikings scoring attempts; the North Stars’ clean play gave Geneva only two free kicks.
But the Vikings burst into the lead when junior Kylie Brazill found the back of the net with a header on freshman Evyn Schokara’s corner kick, the first of the night for her squad.
“We've been practicing headers a lot, and we knew what we had to do already,” Brazill said. “We had our lineup that we practiced that over and over.”
Both coaches felt that defense played a big factor in the first half.
“I thought we did a nice job of controlling the middle of the field,” Harks said. “It took a little while to get going in the final third so obviously their backline played pretty well, and they stopped us from generating quality opportunities.”
“I think my defense did a very good job by holding them to outside shots or shots from a distance. I just think we came in and played hard,” Owens said. “We dug deep and left it all in the field. I think we just matched their speed and their physical play on the field.”
Owens felt starting the second half with a 1-0 lead boosted her squad’s morale.
“The fact that we were able to take a lead into halftime just gave my group confidence,” the coach said. “They're very young, and they haven't played a lot together - a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the field – and the lead gave them a real spark.”
The second half was even more of a defensive battle.
Geneva (3-1-0, 2-1-0) had an opportunity in the opening minutes of the period to expand the lead on their second and last corner kick of the evening. However, the defense batted the ball away.
St. Charles North (1-2-2, 1-1-1) was unable to capitalize on its first corner kick of the match at the 36:31 mark. Senior Talia Pellegrini connected with freshman Kayla Floyd’s offering but her header went wide to the right.
The North Stars were more successful on their second corner kick of the match 10 minutes later. This time senior Makenna Collins corralled Floyd’s kick from the far side and sent it into the back of the net for a 1-1 tie.
Geneva battled back. Schokara’s free kick from 30 yards bounced off the cross bar with 20 minutes left to play.
Vikings reserve Julianna Drew scored the game-winner with 6:09 left to play after freshman defender Lilly Coats’ free kick.
“I saw an opening when the defense stepped towards me, so I took a step outside and I just launched it over the goalies head,” Drew said.
“She came off the bench, and she provided a great spark for us,” said Owens about the sophomore backup. “She played very well for us in the midfield.”
Drew was glad for the opportunity to play North and optimistic about her squad’s future.
“A lot of my friends are on the Saint Charles team. It's good to see some familiar faces during this unusual year of COVID, and it was good to have a tough game,” she said. “Geneva brought it all there. We are really young team, and we have a few years to improve and get the team chemistry going.”
“I think we're very solid defensively today,” added Owens. “Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with the effort and intensity my kids played with. I think we play with confidence.”
Owens praised Coats’ backline play.
“She played a tough 80 minutes for us. She played lights out and was able to shut down some of North’s most dangerous attackers” she noted. “She did a great job of moving up the field and contributing to the attack.”
Bella Walls, another Geneva defender agreed the backline did a good job of bottling up North’s attacks.
“I think a lot of it was staying on our marks and putting hard pressure on them, so they didn't have a lot of chances to get good shots,” said Walls. “When they did get a good shot, our goalie Jordan (Forbes) was able to stop it.”
The sophomore believes the backline is working well as a unit.
“We started off this season, and there wasn't a lot of defense, so we had to pull some people back from forward to play defense,” Walls continued. “I think we've been working hard together and as more of a unit and talking. It's been going really well.”
St. Charles North had more than its share of fine defense as well.
“I thought our defense played pretty well other than two shots in that one corner. They did a good job limiting their chances,” Harks said. “And Grace (Barresi) did a great job leading the backline tonight.”
While Brazill is savoring the win, she knows Geneva will have to start focusing on Thursday when they face another big rival – second-ranked and undefeated St. Charles East in an away DuKane Conference clash. The Fighting Saints have only allowed one goal-against this season.
“It was amazing. I think we've got to celebrate tonight,” Brazill said. “I think then we've got then to tucker down for the next game. It's going to be really hard.”
St. Charles North will regroup against visiting league foe Lake Park on Thursday.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Kara Claussner
D: Grace Barresi
D: Sophia Hein
D: Abigail Vichich
D: Bella Miteff
M: Makenna Collins
M: Martina Nava
M: Talia Pellegrini
F: Rian Spaulding
F: Madison Rossi
F: Bella Najera
Geneva
GK: Jordan Forbes
D: Morgan Slagle
D: Bella Walls
D: Lilly Coats
D: Grace Belanger
M: Kya Trejo
M: Kelly Anderson
M: Evyn Schokora
F: Olivia Rawls
F: Rilee Hasegawa
F: Morgan Rudowicz
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lilly Coats, fr. D, Geneva
Scoring summary
First half
Geneva – Brazill (Schokora) 39 minutes
Second half
SCN – Collins (Floyd) 55 minutes
Geneva – Drew (Coats) 74 minutes