Host Geneva, SCN tie in DuKane battle
In last seconds, goal post denies no. 25 visitors' shot at victory
By Steve Nemeth
GENEVA --- Is a tie like a glass of water that is half-full or half-empty?
Perhaps it depends on who poured first or last.
When it came to Tuesday’s 1-1 deadlock between Geneva and visiting St. Charles North, even though the host Vikings gave up a late goal, the outlook was quite rosy according to coach Jason Bhatta.
“We're still undefeated (in the new DuKane Conference)," Bhatta said with a smile and sincerity.
Yes Geneva (1-6-2) began the year with six-straight losses, but the Vikings are unbeaten (1-0-2) in their last three outings including a second league draw.
St. Charles North is ranked no. 25 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 Poll. The North Stars certainly weren’t the underdog coming into the match and were fresh off winning two-of-three matches in the Thoroughbred Cup in Louisville, Ky. So how do they feel about being 7-4-0 and looking uphill in the DKC race at 0-1-1?
"Oddly enough, walking away from this I don't feel upset," St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. "We had chance after chance, kept knocking on the door to the last seconds. Take away three mistakes in the span of 15 seconds in the first half, and we dominated."
All of which is true because the North Stars nearly snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat. Trailing 1-0 at halftime and also in the homestretch of the match, North persevered to gain an equalizer and then elicited the last gasp from the stands with a shot ricocheting off the right post with a mere 4.8 seconds remaining.
The entire outing could be viewed a number of ways simply from another perspective.
The North Stars put 11 of their 16 first half attempts on goal, while Geneva had a single shot. Of course, that one attempt was a counter attack at 12:44 into the match and gave the hosts the lead.
Joey Carli’s through-ball enabled Colin Fromm to work his way toward the right corner. From there he launched a textbook cross to Jack Belloli, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, who parked a 10-yarder for his second goal of the year.
“Every practice coach says if you put in the extra effort (to score), you won’t feel pain or be tired, and that’s exactly what happened,” Belloli said. “Making that 50-yard run turned into a great reward.”
“I continually preach the need to make runs,” Bhatta said. “If you score, you’ll never be too tired to celebrate. Jack really took that to heart.”
The more notable approach for Geneva was adopting a bunker-mentality with five defenders from the start. As time wore on the second half, there were often seven Vikings directly in front of goalie Chris Morales.
Coming into Tuesday’s contest, the North Stars were averaging three goals per match. During the six-game skid that started the season, Geneva was allowing 2.83 goals, albeit against a brutal schedule.
Five of the Vikings’ losses came versus no. 8 Streamwood, no. 5 Wheaton Academy, no. 11 Benet, no. 1 Naperville North and honorable mention member Oswego.
“We were leaking a lot of goals, so we found a formation to not concede as many,” Bhatta explained. “We found that we could still get some good opportunities just by hitting counters. It’s enabled us to become much more competitive, and the big difference is we’re gaining some confidence.”
South Elgin’s nonconference visit Thursday is a chance for Geneva to extend its current unbeaten string to four straight.
“Sometimes the quality of the opportunity is more important that the quantity,” Belloli said. “On that counterattack I sprinted to where I saw some open space and got a good ball from Colin. Beating a defender there left me wide open for the pass. The keeper was near post and so all I really had to do was get a solid foot on it to re-direct.
“Since the beginning of the year we dealt with a real hard schedule despite having a lot of young guys. Now that experience has helped them so we’re a better team,” Belloli said.
After making 11 saves in the opening 40 minutes, Morales had only one in the second half which doesn’t seem too impressive at first glance. Although the numbers were not as numerous, there was no question St. Charles North remained the more aggressive team in the second half, but the Vikings also got better at counterattacking.
The North Stars advantage for overall attempts after halftime was only 6-5 and Geneva had a 3-2 edge for shots on goal. Unfortunately for Morales and the Vikings, one of those two ultimately got by.
"It's both a positive and a negative," Morales said of the draw. "Considering how hard we fought and were leading, it feels like it's on me. No matter how many saves you make or how often you dive, you just get back up, often on adrenaline alone."
Morales was attempting a defensive clear on Matt Beaulieu shot that was practically blocked by a Geneva defender. However, the rebound became a loose ball that was too good for Thomas Weber to pass up.
"When Matt shoots and it's not a goal, often there's a rebound," Weber noted. "I took a chance and just jumped on the rebound. The keeper was still leaning forward so I hit it before he could recover."
Weber’s first goal of the season came with 5:43 left in regulation and energized the North Stars even more. Beaulieu made a lengthy run and cut back toward the center before launching a shot that Morales comfortably saved.
North’s Parker Kolb blistered a cannon volley off the right post with a mere 4.8 seconds remaining. It was the kind of blast that elicited vocal reactions from the fans of both teams who were already on the edge of their seats if not standing.
“Obviously we dominated the play, and this would be one time it would be interesting to see the percentage of possession if it were kept,” Willson said. “You have to tip your cap to their goalie who made save after save.
Our guys showed a lot of heart in how they kept pounding on the door right to the finish. In the end, I’d say we’re a better team today for our effort.”
Sophomore defender Jack Cannon also took an optimistic view.
“Maybe not the outcome we wanted, but the big positive is how hard we worked and kept working,” he said. “If we keep getting the ball into the box and creating opportunities, it proves our teamwork is better. And just like this team never stops working, we’ll focus on improving everything, whether that’s passing, finishing chances or just outworking opponents.”
The North Stars have a week to fine tune before facing back-to-back DuKane challenges. North welcomes Lake Park on Sept. 18 and then two days later faces crosstown rival East as part of the Tri-Cities Night event.
As mentioned, Geneva hosts South Elgin in a nonconference event this Thursday. The Vikings' DuKane follow-up week begins with a Tuesday visit to St. Charles East followed by facing Batavia as part of the Tri-Cities event.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Bobby Curran
D Nicky Sommer
D John Kirby
D Xander Jao
D Joey Sommer
M Parker Kolb
M Gabe D’Amico
M Joshua Amaro
M Vito Lagioia
F Logan Michels
F Matt Beaulieu
Geneva
GK Chris Morales
D Josh Eiss
D Stuart Turnbull
D Mark Migliazzo
D Evan Horvath
D Jack Cannon
M Joey Carli
M Dominick Peri
M Jack Belloli
F Colin Fromm
F Joel Peruba
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack Belloli, sr., F/M, Geneva
Referees: Scott Lichtfuss (center), Chuck Raksinh, Rauel Farfan
Game summary
Geneva 1, St. Charles North 1
St. Charles North (7-4-0/DKC 0-1-1) 0 1 --- 1
Geneva (1-6-2/DKC 0-0-2) 1 0 --- 1
Scoring
First half
G --- Belloli 10-yarder right of center (Carli, Fromm assists), 12:44 gone
Second half
SCN -- Weber eight-yard putback off a block (Beaulieu assist), 74:17 gone
Shots
SCN 16 – 6 --- 22
G 1 – 5 --- 6
Shots on goal
SCN 11 – 2 --- 13
G 1 – 3 --- 4
Saves (GK)
SCN (Curran, 80 min) 0 – 3 --- 3
G (Morales 80min) 11 – 1 --- 12
Corner kicks
SCN 5 – 0 --- 5
G 0 – 0 --- 0
Offsides
SCN 0 – 1 --- 1
G 0 – 0 --- 0
In last seconds, goal post denies no. 25 visitors' shot at victory
By Steve Nemeth
GENEVA --- Is a tie like a glass of water that is half-full or half-empty?
Perhaps it depends on who poured first or last.
When it came to Tuesday’s 1-1 deadlock between Geneva and visiting St. Charles North, even though the host Vikings gave up a late goal, the outlook was quite rosy according to coach Jason Bhatta.
“We're still undefeated (in the new DuKane Conference)," Bhatta said with a smile and sincerity.
Yes Geneva (1-6-2) began the year with six-straight losses, but the Vikings are unbeaten (1-0-2) in their last three outings including a second league draw.
St. Charles North is ranked no. 25 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 Poll. The North Stars certainly weren’t the underdog coming into the match and were fresh off winning two-of-three matches in the Thoroughbred Cup in Louisville, Ky. So how do they feel about being 7-4-0 and looking uphill in the DKC race at 0-1-1?
"Oddly enough, walking away from this I don't feel upset," St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. "We had chance after chance, kept knocking on the door to the last seconds. Take away three mistakes in the span of 15 seconds in the first half, and we dominated."
All of which is true because the North Stars nearly snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat. Trailing 1-0 at halftime and also in the homestretch of the match, North persevered to gain an equalizer and then elicited the last gasp from the stands with a shot ricocheting off the right post with a mere 4.8 seconds remaining.
The entire outing could be viewed a number of ways simply from another perspective.
The North Stars put 11 of their 16 first half attempts on goal, while Geneva had a single shot. Of course, that one attempt was a counter attack at 12:44 into the match and gave the hosts the lead.
Joey Carli’s through-ball enabled Colin Fromm to work his way toward the right corner. From there he launched a textbook cross to Jack Belloli, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, who parked a 10-yarder for his second goal of the year.
“Every practice coach says if you put in the extra effort (to score), you won’t feel pain or be tired, and that’s exactly what happened,” Belloli said. “Making that 50-yard run turned into a great reward.”
“I continually preach the need to make runs,” Bhatta said. “If you score, you’ll never be too tired to celebrate. Jack really took that to heart.”
The more notable approach for Geneva was adopting a bunker-mentality with five defenders from the start. As time wore on the second half, there were often seven Vikings directly in front of goalie Chris Morales.
Coming into Tuesday’s contest, the North Stars were averaging three goals per match. During the six-game skid that started the season, Geneva was allowing 2.83 goals, albeit against a brutal schedule.
Five of the Vikings’ losses came versus no. 8 Streamwood, no. 5 Wheaton Academy, no. 11 Benet, no. 1 Naperville North and honorable mention member Oswego.
“We were leaking a lot of goals, so we found a formation to not concede as many,” Bhatta explained. “We found that we could still get some good opportunities just by hitting counters. It’s enabled us to become much more competitive, and the big difference is we’re gaining some confidence.”
South Elgin’s nonconference visit Thursday is a chance for Geneva to extend its current unbeaten string to four straight.
“Sometimes the quality of the opportunity is more important that the quantity,” Belloli said. “On that counterattack I sprinted to where I saw some open space and got a good ball from Colin. Beating a defender there left me wide open for the pass. The keeper was near post and so all I really had to do was get a solid foot on it to re-direct.
“Since the beginning of the year we dealt with a real hard schedule despite having a lot of young guys. Now that experience has helped them so we’re a better team,” Belloli said.
After making 11 saves in the opening 40 minutes, Morales had only one in the second half which doesn’t seem too impressive at first glance. Although the numbers were not as numerous, there was no question St. Charles North remained the more aggressive team in the second half, but the Vikings also got better at counterattacking.
The North Stars advantage for overall attempts after halftime was only 6-5 and Geneva had a 3-2 edge for shots on goal. Unfortunately for Morales and the Vikings, one of those two ultimately got by.
"It's both a positive and a negative," Morales said of the draw. "Considering how hard we fought and were leading, it feels like it's on me. No matter how many saves you make or how often you dive, you just get back up, often on adrenaline alone."
Morales was attempting a defensive clear on Matt Beaulieu shot that was practically blocked by a Geneva defender. However, the rebound became a loose ball that was too good for Thomas Weber to pass up.
"When Matt shoots and it's not a goal, often there's a rebound," Weber noted. "I took a chance and just jumped on the rebound. The keeper was still leaning forward so I hit it before he could recover."
Weber’s first goal of the season came with 5:43 left in regulation and energized the North Stars even more. Beaulieu made a lengthy run and cut back toward the center before launching a shot that Morales comfortably saved.
North’s Parker Kolb blistered a cannon volley off the right post with a mere 4.8 seconds remaining. It was the kind of blast that elicited vocal reactions from the fans of both teams who were already on the edge of their seats if not standing.
“Obviously we dominated the play, and this would be one time it would be interesting to see the percentage of possession if it were kept,” Willson said. “You have to tip your cap to their goalie who made save after save.
Our guys showed a lot of heart in how they kept pounding on the door right to the finish. In the end, I’d say we’re a better team today for our effort.”
Sophomore defender Jack Cannon also took an optimistic view.
“Maybe not the outcome we wanted, but the big positive is how hard we worked and kept working,” he said. “If we keep getting the ball into the box and creating opportunities, it proves our teamwork is better. And just like this team never stops working, we’ll focus on improving everything, whether that’s passing, finishing chances or just outworking opponents.”
The North Stars have a week to fine tune before facing back-to-back DuKane challenges. North welcomes Lake Park on Sept. 18 and then two days later faces crosstown rival East as part of the Tri-Cities Night event.
As mentioned, Geneva hosts South Elgin in a nonconference event this Thursday. The Vikings' DuKane follow-up week begins with a Tuesday visit to St. Charles East followed by facing Batavia as part of the Tri-Cities event.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Bobby Curran
D Nicky Sommer
D John Kirby
D Xander Jao
D Joey Sommer
M Parker Kolb
M Gabe D’Amico
M Joshua Amaro
M Vito Lagioia
F Logan Michels
F Matt Beaulieu
Geneva
GK Chris Morales
D Josh Eiss
D Stuart Turnbull
D Mark Migliazzo
D Evan Horvath
D Jack Cannon
M Joey Carli
M Dominick Peri
M Jack Belloli
F Colin Fromm
F Joel Peruba
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack Belloli, sr., F/M, Geneva
Referees: Scott Lichtfuss (center), Chuck Raksinh, Rauel Farfan
Game summary
Geneva 1, St. Charles North 1
St. Charles North (7-4-0/DKC 0-1-1) 0 1 --- 1
Geneva (1-6-2/DKC 0-0-2) 1 0 --- 1
Scoring
First half
G --- Belloli 10-yarder right of center (Carli, Fromm assists), 12:44 gone
Second half
SCN -- Weber eight-yard putback off a block (Beaulieu assist), 74:17 gone
Shots
SCN 16 – 6 --- 22
G 1 – 5 --- 6
Shots on goal
SCN 11 – 2 --- 13
G 1 – 3 --- 4
Saves (GK)
SCN (Curran, 80 min) 0 – 3 --- 3
G (Morales 80min) 11 – 1 --- 12
Corner kicks
SCN 5 – 0 --- 5
G 0 – 0 --- 0
Offsides
SCN 0 – 1 --- 1
G 0 – 0 --- 0