Geneva opens up against West Chicago
Vikings turn it on after halftime in 6-0 nonconference victory.
By Chris Walker
WEST CHICAGO -- Geneva’s pregame warmup wasn’t pretty, but the end result is what matters most. The Vikings overcame a sluggish start and overwhelmed West Chicago 6-0 in nonconference action Tuesday.
The game was originally supposed to be played on March 26 but was postponed due to inclement weather. While Tuesday wasn’t the most ideal night to play the beautiful game, with periods of rain and gusty winds throughout the evening, the girls soldiered on.
“It was nice to see us respond and score three goals in six or eight minutes at the start of the second half,” Vikings coach Megan Owens said. “We’re just working on consistency and focus.
“We’ve had a lot of success so far, but we know we have a lot coming up. I’m happy with effort overall with the wind and gross driving rain. Obviously, we’re still trying to build on each and every game, but we’ve seen a lot of positives.”
The Vikings (7-1-0), who moved up to no. 19 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were able to jump on top of the Wildcats 2-0 in the first half despite a lackluster start.
“I felt like we were really distracted, and we had a bad warmup,” Geneva senior Payton Dominguez said. “We did our shooting drill and struggled. The first half wasn’t good, but in the second half we started passing and connecting like we should.
The Wildcats (0-5-2) have only scored two goals this season so while the Vikings may not have been pleased with only a 2-0 lead midway through the game, for the hosts it had to feel insurmountable.
“It’s tough competing against these teams so we have to build each other up to compete again them,” West Chicago sophomore Natalie Fernandez said. “I think all the teams we’ve gone against are so compact so we’re working on that. We’re doing a lot to try to get where we need to be.”
After a few straight days of strong practices, West Chicago was hopeful to see better results on the field. While coach J. Cesar Garcia continues to see progress, it’s much more difficult for his young team to accept his positives when they continue to see a zero on their side of the scoreboard.
“You have to show up and play, and you’ve got to play consistent,” he said. “We had three good days of practice and possession and as soon as we hit the field today the light just went off, but it’s a learning process for us right now.
“We, the coaches, see this light, this big bright light for next year. At one point there were not seniors playing today. We only had one senior here today.”
Freshmen Brianna Carrasco, Elina Velasco, Arizbeth Zuniga all started for the Wildcats.
“It’s hard to compete against the scoreboard,” Gomez said. “The first two goals were mistakes and good teams will capitalize on those. It’s hard to come back from one goal right now because it demoralizes so fast.
“We’ll continue to work at it and hopefully at some point we’ll find the back of the net and find a team we can beat and build on that.”
While Gomez has been around so long that he’s seen a little bit of everything, he’s got a roster full of girls that includes many who are just getting their first taste of varsity experience. Throw in the fact that they were playing a rescheduled game, against a dominant opponent that is playing extremely well and on the night before a conference game and the deck was stacked against the Wildcats. Still, West Chicago pushes forward.
“There’s good progress that you can’t measure,” he said. “It’s hard to convince kids, but every day you have got to come back. We’re doing a good job. The kids don’t see it since the end result has to be the scoreboard.
“We have only scored two goals so they can see that something is not there. Hopefully at some point things will turn around, and it will become a habit for us but the other way around.”
Dominguez provided all the offense the Vikings would need in the 8th minute. Alana Rawls followed with a goal in the 19th minute as the Vikings built a quick 2-0 lead despite not playing up to their own standards.
“We were so unfocused,” Dominguez said. “We were so unfocused, distracted. We didn’t know what we were trying to aim for in the first half so that was not a good representation of us.”
The halftime conversation, which included Geneva coach Megan Owens as featured speaker, must have been a darn good one as the Vikings seemed to find their stride, burying three goals in about a four-minute stretch.
Dominguez, who was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, assisted on the first one to Morgan Rudowicz. Olivia Rawls scored the next two from Morgan Slagle and Rudowicz, and suddenly the Vikings were up 5-0 with 32 minutes still remaining to play.
“We really stepped up,” Dominguez said. “Rilee (Hasegawa) is really good in the midfield, and Caroline (Madden) is just a sophomore and has stepped up and (Olivia Rawls) too. Leyna (Yonehara) is a really good vocal leader in the back, and she’s really helping us as a team with who to mark and where to play and keeps it super calm in the back which is super nice to have.”
Rawls didn’t necessarily credit the halftime chit-chat from Owens for firing the Vikings up in the second half to play up to their capabilities, but there’s little doubt a message was conveyed and the Vikings acted upon it.
“Coach Owens brought us in at halftime and said “We’ve got to bring it,’” Rawls said. “We started off very slow, and we’ve been playing good together. Then we really brought it out early in the second half and got some goals in.”
Geneva senior Addyson Mitchell completed the scoring for the Vikings, poking in a unassisted shot with 13:51 remaining.
West Chicago travels to Elgin for an Upstate Eight game on Wednesday.
Geneva takes on Providence on Thursday in the final group round of the Plainfield Classic. The Vikings will play in the tourney’s semis on Saturday with hopes for a title-game berth.
Then the super-competitive Naperville Invitational begins with an opener against no. 4 Naperville Central on April 21.
After having no tournaments last spring and no season in 2020, these tournament are basically a brand new experience for high school soccer players save for the handful of seniors who were fortunate to play varsity as freshmen.
“Hopefully we make it to the semifinals or finals of the Plainfield tournament this weekend, and the Naperville tournament is always super intense. And now they’re getting more out of conference play,” Owens said. “This year it’s been great to get outside the conference. Last year was so hard. Every game was so competitive so it’s nice this year to play everybody once and have that opportunity to play different schools and schools that they have club teammates on and stuff.
“And the tournaments are fun. I think that was the big thing we missed. I know the girls are happy to have tournaments back and to be able to do some team bonding and stuff.”
While not a tournament, the annual Tri-Cities Night returns for the first time since 2019 and it’s coming back to Geneva on April 26 for the first time since 2016.
“The only kids who have experienced it are seniors,” Owens said. “There’s so much that they missed out on.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK: Jordan Forbes
D: Kendall Forbes
D: Mia Mosciano
D: Grace Belanger
D: Genevieve Moncrieff
D: Isabella Walls
MF: Payton Dominguez
F: Rilee Hasegawa
F: Kaidence Horner
F: Leyna Yonehara
F: Morgan Rudowicz
West Chicago
GK: Arianna Hernandez
D: Ingrid Solis
D: Nicole Murphy
D: Lizbeth Orozco
MF: Leslie Garnica
MF: Brianna Carrasco
MF: Elina Velasco
F: Arizbeth Zuniga
F: Jenna Zeitoun
F: Daisy Gomez
F: Sydney Ostap
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Payton Dominguez, sr., MF, Geneva
Scoring summary
First half
Geneva: Payton Dominguez (Kaidence Horner), 8th minute
Geneva: Alana Rawls (unassisted), 19th minute
Second half
Geneva: Morgan Rudowicz (Payton Dominguez), 45th minute
Geneva: Olivia Rawls (Morgan Slagle), 46th minute
Geneva: Oliva Rawls (Morgan Rudowicz), 48th minute
Geneva: Addyson Mitchell (unassisted), 67th minute
Vikings turn it on after halftime in 6-0 nonconference victory.
By Chris Walker
WEST CHICAGO -- Geneva’s pregame warmup wasn’t pretty, but the end result is what matters most. The Vikings overcame a sluggish start and overwhelmed West Chicago 6-0 in nonconference action Tuesday.
The game was originally supposed to be played on March 26 but was postponed due to inclement weather. While Tuesday wasn’t the most ideal night to play the beautiful game, with periods of rain and gusty winds throughout the evening, the girls soldiered on.
“It was nice to see us respond and score three goals in six or eight minutes at the start of the second half,” Vikings coach Megan Owens said. “We’re just working on consistency and focus.
“We’ve had a lot of success so far, but we know we have a lot coming up. I’m happy with effort overall with the wind and gross driving rain. Obviously, we’re still trying to build on each and every game, but we’ve seen a lot of positives.”
The Vikings (7-1-0), who moved up to no. 19 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were able to jump on top of the Wildcats 2-0 in the first half despite a lackluster start.
“I felt like we were really distracted, and we had a bad warmup,” Geneva senior Payton Dominguez said. “We did our shooting drill and struggled. The first half wasn’t good, but in the second half we started passing and connecting like we should.
The Wildcats (0-5-2) have only scored two goals this season so while the Vikings may not have been pleased with only a 2-0 lead midway through the game, for the hosts it had to feel insurmountable.
“It’s tough competing against these teams so we have to build each other up to compete again them,” West Chicago sophomore Natalie Fernandez said. “I think all the teams we’ve gone against are so compact so we’re working on that. We’re doing a lot to try to get where we need to be.”
After a few straight days of strong practices, West Chicago was hopeful to see better results on the field. While coach J. Cesar Garcia continues to see progress, it’s much more difficult for his young team to accept his positives when they continue to see a zero on their side of the scoreboard.
“You have to show up and play, and you’ve got to play consistent,” he said. “We had three good days of practice and possession and as soon as we hit the field today the light just went off, but it’s a learning process for us right now.
“We, the coaches, see this light, this big bright light for next year. At one point there were not seniors playing today. We only had one senior here today.”
Freshmen Brianna Carrasco, Elina Velasco, Arizbeth Zuniga all started for the Wildcats.
“It’s hard to compete against the scoreboard,” Gomez said. “The first two goals were mistakes and good teams will capitalize on those. It’s hard to come back from one goal right now because it demoralizes so fast.
“We’ll continue to work at it and hopefully at some point we’ll find the back of the net and find a team we can beat and build on that.”
While Gomez has been around so long that he’s seen a little bit of everything, he’s got a roster full of girls that includes many who are just getting their first taste of varsity experience. Throw in the fact that they were playing a rescheduled game, against a dominant opponent that is playing extremely well and on the night before a conference game and the deck was stacked against the Wildcats. Still, West Chicago pushes forward.
“There’s good progress that you can’t measure,” he said. “It’s hard to convince kids, but every day you have got to come back. We’re doing a good job. The kids don’t see it since the end result has to be the scoreboard.
“We have only scored two goals so they can see that something is not there. Hopefully at some point things will turn around, and it will become a habit for us but the other way around.”
Dominguez provided all the offense the Vikings would need in the 8th minute. Alana Rawls followed with a goal in the 19th minute as the Vikings built a quick 2-0 lead despite not playing up to their own standards.
“We were so unfocused,” Dominguez said. “We were so unfocused, distracted. We didn’t know what we were trying to aim for in the first half so that was not a good representation of us.”
The halftime conversation, which included Geneva coach Megan Owens as featured speaker, must have been a darn good one as the Vikings seemed to find their stride, burying three goals in about a four-minute stretch.
Dominguez, who was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, assisted on the first one to Morgan Rudowicz. Olivia Rawls scored the next two from Morgan Slagle and Rudowicz, and suddenly the Vikings were up 5-0 with 32 minutes still remaining to play.
“We really stepped up,” Dominguez said. “Rilee (Hasegawa) is really good in the midfield, and Caroline (Madden) is just a sophomore and has stepped up and (Olivia Rawls) too. Leyna (Yonehara) is a really good vocal leader in the back, and she’s really helping us as a team with who to mark and where to play and keeps it super calm in the back which is super nice to have.”
Rawls didn’t necessarily credit the halftime chit-chat from Owens for firing the Vikings up in the second half to play up to their capabilities, but there’s little doubt a message was conveyed and the Vikings acted upon it.
“Coach Owens brought us in at halftime and said “We’ve got to bring it,’” Rawls said. “We started off very slow, and we’ve been playing good together. Then we really brought it out early in the second half and got some goals in.”
Geneva senior Addyson Mitchell completed the scoring for the Vikings, poking in a unassisted shot with 13:51 remaining.
West Chicago travels to Elgin for an Upstate Eight game on Wednesday.
Geneva takes on Providence on Thursday in the final group round of the Plainfield Classic. The Vikings will play in the tourney’s semis on Saturday with hopes for a title-game berth.
Then the super-competitive Naperville Invitational begins with an opener against no. 4 Naperville Central on April 21.
After having no tournaments last spring and no season in 2020, these tournament are basically a brand new experience for high school soccer players save for the handful of seniors who were fortunate to play varsity as freshmen.
“Hopefully we make it to the semifinals or finals of the Plainfield tournament this weekend, and the Naperville tournament is always super intense. And now they’re getting more out of conference play,” Owens said. “This year it’s been great to get outside the conference. Last year was so hard. Every game was so competitive so it’s nice this year to play everybody once and have that opportunity to play different schools and schools that they have club teammates on and stuff.
“And the tournaments are fun. I think that was the big thing we missed. I know the girls are happy to have tournaments back and to be able to do some team bonding and stuff.”
While not a tournament, the annual Tri-Cities Night returns for the first time since 2019 and it’s coming back to Geneva on April 26 for the first time since 2016.
“The only kids who have experienced it are seniors,” Owens said. “There’s so much that they missed out on.”
Starting lineups
Geneva
GK: Jordan Forbes
D: Kendall Forbes
D: Mia Mosciano
D: Grace Belanger
D: Genevieve Moncrieff
D: Isabella Walls
MF: Payton Dominguez
F: Rilee Hasegawa
F: Kaidence Horner
F: Leyna Yonehara
F: Morgan Rudowicz
West Chicago
GK: Arianna Hernandez
D: Ingrid Solis
D: Nicole Murphy
D: Lizbeth Orozco
MF: Leslie Garnica
MF: Brianna Carrasco
MF: Elina Velasco
F: Arizbeth Zuniga
F: Jenna Zeitoun
F: Daisy Gomez
F: Sydney Ostap
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Payton Dominguez, sr., MF, Geneva
Scoring summary
First half
Geneva: Payton Dominguez (Kaidence Horner), 8th minute
Geneva: Alana Rawls (unassisted), 19th minute
Second half
Geneva: Morgan Rudowicz (Payton Dominguez), 45th minute
Geneva: Olivia Rawls (Morgan Slagle), 46th minute
Geneva: Oliva Rawls (Morgan Rudowicz), 48th minute
Geneva: Addyson Mitchell (unassisted), 67th minute