Geneva will test Streamwood's
mettle in U8 River battle
By Dave Owen
Coming off their first-ever championship of the Green Wave Invitational at St. Edward tournament, the Sabres (7-7) will put their four-game winning streak to the test against visiting Geneva at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The Vikings have supplemented their tough Upstate Eight Conference River Division slate with tough games against top-level foes like St. Charles East, Batavia, Wheaton North and Hinsdale Central (which beat Geneva 1-0 in double overtime Saturday). Suffice to say, the Vikings' 4-7-2 record is more than a bit deceiving.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “They always have a heck of a team. I know a few of their girls from coaching in the Strikers Fox Valley club.”
Streamwood star forward Tawny Carroll (18 goals this season) also plays for the Strikers club with several Geneva players. The pressure that Carroll and teammate Alondra Blanco put on opposing defenses will be key to the Sabres’ hopes Monday.
As for Geneva, three players have been standouts through a recent trifecta of challenges: key injuries, tough opposition and matches played in pouring rain.
“(Freshman) Carrie Ostergard has stepped up in goal after we lost Emma Harkleroad for the season with a broken collarbone,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “She’s made some great saves for us and has been solid in the net.
“Megan Fitz has been very solid for us in the midfield, and Quincy Swanson has done a great job of leading our underclassman on our defensive line.
“Overall we’ve done a much better job lately of playing together as a team,” Owens added. “We’ve been possessing well, switching fields well, and I’m especially impressed by the effort my girls put forth each and every game - even in the pouring rain.”
Opponents in the Vikings’ five-game winless streak are all legitimate sectional teams, if not state title contenders. Three losses in those five contests have been by one goal.
“We strive to have a very competitive schedule against the strongest teams in the area because we feel the experience we gain is invaluable,” Owens said, “and traditionally it pays off in the post-season.
“Losing 12 seniors last year and knowing we would be very young this year (we have 11 freshmen and sophomores), we still put together a very strong schedule in hopes of getting our younger players as much experience against state caliber teams as possible.”
Injuries to six players (some of whom are now returning to the lineup) have added to the challenge.
“I think we’ve played very well against top teams lately,” Owens said. “We are really coming together as a team and the strides we’ve made since the start of the season are remarkable. We took a very strong Hinsdale Central team to double overtime.
“Things are starting to click and we are returning some our injured players, so we’re excited to see what we can do in the postseason. I think some teams will overlook us because of our record, and we hope to take them by surprise.”
Streamwood hopes to continue its recent successes.
“Anytime we play them it’s always a good game,” said Polovin, whose team has won 6-of-its-last-8 games. “Maybe some of the confidence we have coming out of this weekend will trickle in and make it an even better game.
“They can’t take us lightly. Our record’s 7-7, but we don’t play a sub-.500 team (on our schedule).”
Streamwood has overcome its own injury woes.
“(Saturday) I had more girls injured than subs,” Polovin said. “We’re a young team (with three seniors), but we work hard in practice, they correct their mistakes during games and are a fun group. Now we just have to get healthy.”
mettle in U8 River battle
By Dave Owen
Coming off their first-ever championship of the Green Wave Invitational at St. Edward tournament, the Sabres (7-7) will put their four-game winning streak to the test against visiting Geneva at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The Vikings have supplemented their tough Upstate Eight Conference River Division slate with tough games against top-level foes like St. Charles East, Batavia, Wheaton North and Hinsdale Central (which beat Geneva 1-0 in double overtime Saturday). Suffice to say, the Vikings' 4-7-2 record is more than a bit deceiving.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “They always have a heck of a team. I know a few of their girls from coaching in the Strikers Fox Valley club.”
Streamwood star forward Tawny Carroll (18 goals this season) also plays for the Strikers club with several Geneva players. The pressure that Carroll and teammate Alondra Blanco put on opposing defenses will be key to the Sabres’ hopes Monday.
As for Geneva, three players have been standouts through a recent trifecta of challenges: key injuries, tough opposition and matches played in pouring rain.
“(Freshman) Carrie Ostergard has stepped up in goal after we lost Emma Harkleroad for the season with a broken collarbone,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “She’s made some great saves for us and has been solid in the net.
“Megan Fitz has been very solid for us in the midfield, and Quincy Swanson has done a great job of leading our underclassman on our defensive line.
“Overall we’ve done a much better job lately of playing together as a team,” Owens added. “We’ve been possessing well, switching fields well, and I’m especially impressed by the effort my girls put forth each and every game - even in the pouring rain.”
Opponents in the Vikings’ five-game winless streak are all legitimate sectional teams, if not state title contenders. Three losses in those five contests have been by one goal.
“We strive to have a very competitive schedule against the strongest teams in the area because we feel the experience we gain is invaluable,” Owens said, “and traditionally it pays off in the post-season.
“Losing 12 seniors last year and knowing we would be very young this year (we have 11 freshmen and sophomores), we still put together a very strong schedule in hopes of getting our younger players as much experience against state caliber teams as possible.”
Injuries to six players (some of whom are now returning to the lineup) have added to the challenge.
“I think we’ve played very well against top teams lately,” Owens said. “We are really coming together as a team and the strides we’ve made since the start of the season are remarkable. We took a very strong Hinsdale Central team to double overtime.
“Things are starting to click and we are returning some our injured players, so we’re excited to see what we can do in the postseason. I think some teams will overlook us because of our record, and we hope to take them by surprise.”
Streamwood hopes to continue its recent successes.
“Anytime we play them it’s always a good game,” said Polovin, whose team has won 6-of-its-last-8 games. “Maybe some of the confidence we have coming out of this weekend will trickle in and make it an even better game.
“They can’t take us lightly. Our record’s 7-7, but we don’t play a sub-.500 team (on our schedule).”
Streamwood has overcome its own injury woes.
“(Saturday) I had more girls injured than subs,” Polovin said. “We’re a young team (with three seniors), but we work hard in practice, they correct their mistakes during games and are a fun group. Now we just have to get healthy.”