Vikings score late to edge Fenwick in Pepsi Showdown

By Curt Herron

Geneva headed into Tuesday's Pepsi Showdown match at Burgess Field against Fenwick needing a victory for a couple of obvious reasons.

First of all, if the Vikings have hopes of advancing in the tournament, the Friars figured to be perhaps their toughest test in pool play.

But perhaps more importantly, Geneva needed to bounce back from a rough week during which they dropped all three matches that it played.

The Vikings lost to Christian Brothers and Chaminade on their St. Louis road trip over the weekend after losing to Streamwood earlier in the week.

For a squad expected to be among the better teams in the Chicago area this season, an 0-3 week, even against some good competition, is disappointing.

However, the Friars did their best to try to continue the Vikings' recent frustrations and kept the hosts off the scoreboard for over 73 minutes.

But just as things looked like they might be headed toward penalty kicks following a scoreless draw in regulation play, Geneva's luck changed.

Following several earlier close calls, the Vikings finally found the net with 6:49 left when Brady Wahl scored off of an assist from Seamus Kaminski.

That was good enough to give Geneva a 1-0 win over a Fenwick squad which had won four of its first five matches with its lone defeat coming in PKs.

Although it certainly wasn't the prettiest victory that he's had as a coach, Vikings boss Ryan Estabrook was more than happy to accept it.

While Estabrook would have obviously liked to see a few earlier scores, he was pleased by several other aspects of the Vikings' performance.

Among those were the play of keeper Pat Niedbala, who stopped everything that came his way to post a shutout in his first varsity start.

He also liked the second half work of outside backs Brian Ruane and Andrew Walton, center back Robbie Johnson and holding midfielder Kevin Higgins.

Another positive for the Vikings was the play of Steven Soderstrom, who made the shift from keeper to field player by moving to a forward spot.

Having the ability to utilize the talented junior in either position figures to be another positive sign for the Vikings as the season progresses.

Click to hear coach Ryan Estabrook interview

The final 30 minutes of Tuesday's match featured a steady dose of pressure from the Vikings (2-3-1) directed toward Friars keeper John Planek.

That stretch began when Higgins fired in a liner that Planek deflected and fell on before Craig Hancock could knock the loose ball into the net.

A few minutes after that, Soderstrom managed to get a touch on a through ball, but the attempt was hauled in by the Fenwick keeper.

Just prior to the midpoint of the final half, Soderstrom had a liner deflected by a defender and Wahl lined a corner kick that went to Planek.

Fenwick (4-2) had one good second half threat a short time later, but Walton cleared one attempt and Niedbala grabbed a subsequent shot.

Things nearly clicked for the Vikings with about 10 minutes remaining when Wahl deflected a shot off of the crossbar on a free kick.

Wahl followed up on that near-miss by sending in a corner that Planek came out of the net to try to stop, but the ball was briefly loose.

After Kyle Hurley had a short attempt blocked by a defender, Soderstrom's rebound effort from close range was denied by the Friar keeper.

Another close call came about two minutes later when Soderstrom sent a pass forward to Wahl, who was just wide of the net on a header.

With time running down, Geneva finally connected with just under seven minutes to play after Kaminski set up Wahl for the match-winner.

Click to hear Brady Wahl interview

While the Vikings' offense provided plenty of thrills during the final 40 minutes of play, their defense managed to keep Fenwick at bay.

That was noteworthy since the Friars had enjoyed some success on offense in the opening half and challenged Niedbala with some regularity.

Thanks to the efforts of Higgins, Johnson, Ruane and Walton during the second half, the Viking keeper faced very few serious challenges.

Click to hear Brian Ruane interview

Michael Henriksen started the scoring threats for the Vikings just over five minutes into the match when he sent a try that went just wide.

A few minutes later, Niedbala deflected an attempt from David Tracy and then got a hand on a subsequent short shot try from Jack Alberts.

Shortly after Joshua Poythress sent a liner off the post about 11 minutes in, Hancock lined a corner kick that was hauled in by Planek.

The Vikings had two more good chances in the final 14 minutes of the first half, beginning with Poythress's short try to the Friar keeper.

Then with just over five minutes left before the break, Kaminski sent a pass toward Wahl, who was denied on his attempt from close range.

Geneva continues Pepsi Showdown play Thursday evening at Lincoln-Way East before meeting Lane Tech on Saturday morning at Lyons Township.