Momentum, pride at stake for SCE-Geneva
By Steve Nemeth
Just because first place isn’t at stake in Tuesday’s 5 p.m. contest on Tri-City Night at St. Charles North, don’t think that the Geneva vs. St. Charles East match will lack intensity.
First and foremost, the pride of bragging rights is always a motivator, and don't forget about building momentum for the upcoming state playoffs.
Drawing fans from all four nations – East’s Saints, Geneva’s Vikings, Batavia’s Bulldogs and the host North Stars – the Tri-City mash-up guarantees there will be a passionate and knowledgeable fan base watching kids who have been competitors or teammates since their youth soccer days.
And like all communities that care, those soccer enthusiasts add a fundraising element to come to the aid of a neighbor.
Feature story: Tri-City Night proceeds to help SCE coach
Needless to say with St. Charles East’s roots that feature winning records and double-digit victories since 1981 and an unequalled eight state championships and Geneva's pair of third place state trophies and the regional plaques that are a virtual staple in coach Megan Owens' tenure, this history runs deep. It’s a “throw out the records whenever they meet” type of series.
The two met earlier in East’s 29th annual Augsburg-Drach Invitational, but that created little surprise with a 1-1 result. This was the second-straight year Geneva claimed the event’s crown, so give a plus mark to the Vikings (10-6-3, 3-1-1). Ranked with the honorable mention teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, Geneva looks to erase the sting of having a five-match (3-0-2) unbeaten string ended in a 2-0 home loss to Class AA powerhouse Burlington Central recently.
A year after sharing the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title with North, Geneva wants the win to hopefully share second instead of a lower spot in the very last set of UEC River Division standings. The four Tri-City Night teams will join the new DuKane Conference next school year, and the Upstate Eight will drop its divisions format in favor of a 10-team league.
“I don’t think our records reflect how good we are,” Geneva senior Kelly Konicek insisted as a response to those who believe the Vikings are underachieving.
The majority of the roster returned from posting the second-best record in school history with its least number of losses (21-2-1); and that 2017 showing culminated back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.
“We purposely strengthened the schedule for this year, so the expectations and comparisons to least year are a little unfair,” Owens said. “Perhaps the results have us underestimated, but the past few weeks we’ve been unable to have our best starting line-up available. This is a chance for our girls to prove themselves against another capable opponent.”
St. Charles East (10-5-5, 2-2-0), which started the week rated no. 22, are the epitome of resiliency. Initially they overcame the loss of all-state scoring sensation Chantel Carranza at the start of the 2018 campaign. Then Kathryn Hill, who had begun to fill the void, was sidelined for the rest of the year as well. Either a flu bug or nagging injuries have plagued the line-up, and yet, narrow losses to the likes of top-ranked St. Charles North, no. 3 Naperville North and no. 16 Batavia are evidence of a dangerous team.
Although both sides insist only this next game is their focus, even Owens acknowledged the possibility of a rematch 10 days later for the Class 3A Rolling Meadows Regional plaque, as did St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo.
“No one is jumping the gun, but the four teams from Tri-City Night comprise the one, three, four and five seeds in a 16-school sectional, so that’s a statement about the quality playing Tuesday,” DiNuzzo said. “And a third meeting is possible, but right now we’ve got two games and then need to get by Rolling Meadows.”
“Tri-City Night is special, a great atmosphere and preparation for regional play,” Geneva senior Lauren Albrecht said. “It’s exciting with fans from all four schools, so we need to avoid nerves, maintain our composure and execute. Last year was phenomenal, and we want to do just as well. But I also don’t think our record shows how well we’re playing.”
Albrecht, a midfielder signed by Division I Miami (OH), co-captains Geneva along with Kelly Konicek, a solid senior defender. Konicek heads to Purdue for academics while those planning to continue at the next level include: Mackenzie Bennett (Wis.-Oshkosh), Isabella Magpantay (Aurora), and Kristina Lockner (Hope College. Mich.). Soph goalie Katie Montgomery has six shutouts.
“We really have a lot of strong players in an all-around program, meaning we have success at the varsity and all the lower levels,” Konicek said. “For the most part, that enables the additions to be ready to play varsity, but at the beginning of the year, we hadn’t meshed to our full potential. We’ve definitely been working better in that regard, and this is the time of year we won’t be distracted from the task at hand.”
Offensively, Geneva counts on a trio of juniors in Jenna Dominguez (20 goals/two assists), Sydney Gratz (9g/11a), and Stephanie Howe (6g/4a). Dominguez scored against the Saints earlier this year and boasts 13 goals in 18 matches played. Not that East needs more warning about Dominguez, who had the initial goal last year when the Vikings were 4-0 victors in the Augsburg-Drach and scored the overtime goal in a 1-0 sectional victory. Sandwiched between the wins was 2-1 victory on Tri-City Night.
Eight of St. Charles East’s 10 victories, plus two of five ties, add up to 10 shutouts for junior keeper Grace Griffin and her Saints backline mates. While yielding 0.85 goals-per-match, East is averaging 2.35 goals per match even with Chantel Carranza’s absence. Topping the Saints’ scoring list are Kayla Villa (12g/8a), Rose Stackhouse (11g/2a, St. Mary's, Ind.), and Alessa D’Argento (5g/3a).
“Our troubles lately have been because we’re missing that last pass or shot that produces a goal. So we can’t squander chances,” DiNuzzo admits. “This time of the year, you need 80 minutes of good soccer and for us that means continuing to do a good job defending.”
From her goalie vantage point, Griffin echoes that belief.
“Our success starts with solid defense and building up from there. I’m fortunate to play with two of the best center backs in the area in Hayley (Popiel) and Alondra (Carranza),” Griffin said. “Thanks to them I don’t feel much pressure. There’s an element of revenge involved. While the past is the past, we still remember that they’re the team that has knocked us out (of the playoffs) the previous two years.”
Chantel Carranza was signed early by Division II power Grand Valley State while three other Saints expect to play at the next level: Popiel (MIT), Madison Cady (Southern Indiana), and Isabella Albano (Loras). Displaying the academic excellence to go with her defensive tenacity, Popiel gave the best assessment of East and what’s ahead.
“The most noteworthy thing about us is our ability to bounce back. With ACL tears to two key players (Carranza and Hill), plus other minor injuries sometimes sidelining folks, we’ve always found a way to come together and succeed against adversity,” Popiel explained. “Yeah, some of our results have not been as we hoped, but we’ve had under- and upper-class players step up. We play to the best of our abilities and for each other, so we know we can compete with the top-ranked teams in the state.”
By Steve Nemeth
Just because first place isn’t at stake in Tuesday’s 5 p.m. contest on Tri-City Night at St. Charles North, don’t think that the Geneva vs. St. Charles East match will lack intensity.
First and foremost, the pride of bragging rights is always a motivator, and don't forget about building momentum for the upcoming state playoffs.
Drawing fans from all four nations – East’s Saints, Geneva’s Vikings, Batavia’s Bulldogs and the host North Stars – the Tri-City mash-up guarantees there will be a passionate and knowledgeable fan base watching kids who have been competitors or teammates since their youth soccer days.
And like all communities that care, those soccer enthusiasts add a fundraising element to come to the aid of a neighbor.
Feature story: Tri-City Night proceeds to help SCE coach
Needless to say with St. Charles East’s roots that feature winning records and double-digit victories since 1981 and an unequalled eight state championships and Geneva's pair of third place state trophies and the regional plaques that are a virtual staple in coach Megan Owens' tenure, this history runs deep. It’s a “throw out the records whenever they meet” type of series.
The two met earlier in East’s 29th annual Augsburg-Drach Invitational, but that created little surprise with a 1-1 result. This was the second-straight year Geneva claimed the event’s crown, so give a plus mark to the Vikings (10-6-3, 3-1-1). Ranked with the honorable mention teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, Geneva looks to erase the sting of having a five-match (3-0-2) unbeaten string ended in a 2-0 home loss to Class AA powerhouse Burlington Central recently.
A year after sharing the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title with North, Geneva wants the win to hopefully share second instead of a lower spot in the very last set of UEC River Division standings. The four Tri-City Night teams will join the new DuKane Conference next school year, and the Upstate Eight will drop its divisions format in favor of a 10-team league.
“I don’t think our records reflect how good we are,” Geneva senior Kelly Konicek insisted as a response to those who believe the Vikings are underachieving.
The majority of the roster returned from posting the second-best record in school history with its least number of losses (21-2-1); and that 2017 showing culminated back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.
“We purposely strengthened the schedule for this year, so the expectations and comparisons to least year are a little unfair,” Owens said. “Perhaps the results have us underestimated, but the past few weeks we’ve been unable to have our best starting line-up available. This is a chance for our girls to prove themselves against another capable opponent.”
St. Charles East (10-5-5, 2-2-0), which started the week rated no. 22, are the epitome of resiliency. Initially they overcame the loss of all-state scoring sensation Chantel Carranza at the start of the 2018 campaign. Then Kathryn Hill, who had begun to fill the void, was sidelined for the rest of the year as well. Either a flu bug or nagging injuries have plagued the line-up, and yet, narrow losses to the likes of top-ranked St. Charles North, no. 3 Naperville North and no. 16 Batavia are evidence of a dangerous team.
Although both sides insist only this next game is their focus, even Owens acknowledged the possibility of a rematch 10 days later for the Class 3A Rolling Meadows Regional plaque, as did St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo.
“No one is jumping the gun, but the four teams from Tri-City Night comprise the one, three, four and five seeds in a 16-school sectional, so that’s a statement about the quality playing Tuesday,” DiNuzzo said. “And a third meeting is possible, but right now we’ve got two games and then need to get by Rolling Meadows.”
“Tri-City Night is special, a great atmosphere and preparation for regional play,” Geneva senior Lauren Albrecht said. “It’s exciting with fans from all four schools, so we need to avoid nerves, maintain our composure and execute. Last year was phenomenal, and we want to do just as well. But I also don’t think our record shows how well we’re playing.”
Albrecht, a midfielder signed by Division I Miami (OH), co-captains Geneva along with Kelly Konicek, a solid senior defender. Konicek heads to Purdue for academics while those planning to continue at the next level include: Mackenzie Bennett (Wis.-Oshkosh), Isabella Magpantay (Aurora), and Kristina Lockner (Hope College. Mich.). Soph goalie Katie Montgomery has six shutouts.
“We really have a lot of strong players in an all-around program, meaning we have success at the varsity and all the lower levels,” Konicek said. “For the most part, that enables the additions to be ready to play varsity, but at the beginning of the year, we hadn’t meshed to our full potential. We’ve definitely been working better in that regard, and this is the time of year we won’t be distracted from the task at hand.”
Offensively, Geneva counts on a trio of juniors in Jenna Dominguez (20 goals/two assists), Sydney Gratz (9g/11a), and Stephanie Howe (6g/4a). Dominguez scored against the Saints earlier this year and boasts 13 goals in 18 matches played. Not that East needs more warning about Dominguez, who had the initial goal last year when the Vikings were 4-0 victors in the Augsburg-Drach and scored the overtime goal in a 1-0 sectional victory. Sandwiched between the wins was 2-1 victory on Tri-City Night.
Eight of St. Charles East’s 10 victories, plus two of five ties, add up to 10 shutouts for junior keeper Grace Griffin and her Saints backline mates. While yielding 0.85 goals-per-match, East is averaging 2.35 goals per match even with Chantel Carranza’s absence. Topping the Saints’ scoring list are Kayla Villa (12g/8a), Rose Stackhouse (11g/2a, St. Mary's, Ind.), and Alessa D’Argento (5g/3a).
“Our troubles lately have been because we’re missing that last pass or shot that produces a goal. So we can’t squander chances,” DiNuzzo admits. “This time of the year, you need 80 minutes of good soccer and for us that means continuing to do a good job defending.”
From her goalie vantage point, Griffin echoes that belief.
“Our success starts with solid defense and building up from there. I’m fortunate to play with two of the best center backs in the area in Hayley (Popiel) and Alondra (Carranza),” Griffin said. “Thanks to them I don’t feel much pressure. There’s an element of revenge involved. While the past is the past, we still remember that they’re the team that has knocked us out (of the playoffs) the previous two years.”
Chantel Carranza was signed early by Division II power Grand Valley State while three other Saints expect to play at the next level: Popiel (MIT), Madison Cady (Southern Indiana), and Isabella Albano (Loras). Displaying the academic excellence to go with her defensive tenacity, Popiel gave the best assessment of East and what’s ahead.
“The most noteworthy thing about us is our ability to bounce back. With ACL tears to two key players (Carranza and Hill), plus other minor injuries sometimes sidelining folks, we’ve always found a way to come together and succeed against adversity,” Popiel explained. “Yeah, some of our results have not been as we hoped, but we’ve had under- and upper-class players step up. We play to the best of our abilities and for each other, so we know we can compete with the top-ranked teams in the state.”