One of those days for the Vikings in loss to Lane

By Mike Garofola

At some point, after a coach watches his team send shot after shot off the crossbar, he just has to laugh.

"I can tell you this: today we tested the integrity of the bar, and I am here to say that it is a well-made and manufactured crossbar," Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook joked on Saturday.

Geneva dominated Lane Tech of Chicago Saturday morning at soggy Lyons Township for nearly 100 minutes - but the former Public League champs claimed a 2-1 victory after outscoring the Vikings 4-2 in a shootout to end pool play competition at the Pepsi Showdown.

Despite the loss, the Vikings (3-4-1) are safely through the championship bracket and will now face Morton this Thursday, after the No. 1 tournament seed forced its way into the quarterfinals with a tie-breaker decision over both Plainfield Central and Lake Zurich, who also went 2-1 in their respective divisions.

"We knew before the match that we were already through and into the quarterfinals, so despite the loss I still liked the the way we came out and played with determination and a lot of energy, with our next round of play already decided," said head coach Ryan Estabrook.

The Vikings' may have been kept off the score sheet for 70-plus minutes, but it was not for lack of trying.

Estabrook’s club pushed Lane Tech to the limit on countless occasions, narrowly missing the back of the net three or four times in some sequences, thanks in part to a Lane backline which gave a brave effort. Lane Tech keeper Steven Murguia was downright brilliant, and an unforgiving crossbar turned many a Vikings’ shot around and over, and out of harms way.

Nearly all of the Vikings from the midfield on up had a hand in one glorious scoring chance after another during this rain soaked contest, including Seamus Kaminski and Brady Wahl, who would eventually combine to strike the equalizer at 74 minutes.

To that point, the duo watched each other and several teammates miss finishing on several quality opportunities.

"It's kind of hard to believe that we didn't score more than just the one we put to get even," said Kaminski, who figures he and his mates will likely have a session or two ahead of them on finding the back of the net.

The Lane Tech backline -- resilient, if not a bit lucky on this day -- defended more than it would have liked to against a vibrant Vikings attack which did not let an occasional driving rain slow it down. Geneva built and went forward from midway through the first-half up until the aforementioned goal from Kaminski.

"We were a little shorthanded here and there because of ACT testing and all, but I am very proud of the way we held together while being put under so much pressure from Geneva, and with the way we stayed composed, especially along the back," said Lane head coach Andrew Ricks, who is anxiously awaiting the birth of his first child some time this week.

Geneva was in top form, despite its inability to solve Lane keeper Murguia, and reached warp speed around 20 minutes, after its first serious chance taken by Wahl sailed over the woodwork from in close.

Afterward, several of Wahl's mates had a go from inside the area, including Joshua Poythress, who hit the post. Kevin Higgins and Tyler Filipiak fired within 60 seconds of each other, and Kaminski was sent through at 29 minutes only to see Murguia race off his line to record a fine kick-save on the senior striker.

"Obviously, we could have put a few of those in, including myself, but (their) keeper made some good saves, and we really played at a high level for most of the match, and that's something which was a real positive," offered Kaminski.

The Vikings' completed the last 10 minutes of play before intermission with perhaps their best soccer of the season thus far, according to Estabrook, with a superb effort that saw plenty of quick touches, and with a thrilling style that fans had to enjoy watching despite the rain.

During the final moments before the break, Kaminski would crush the woodwork from 10 yards, before the Vikings engaged in a wonderful build-up between Carlos Gonzalez, Craig Hancock and Wahl, ending with Wahl seeing his well-aimed drive pushed over the bar by Murguia.

"We played with a lot of energy and speed today, and although we struggled to finish, and ultimately lost, there were still a lot of good things we did today that we can take with us from here on out," said Wahl.

Lane Tech stunned the Vikings when it appeared they would finally pry open Murguia in another assault on the Indians' keeper. Indians defender Benjamin Galvez came forward and jumped into the play to finish at the back post against keeper Steven Soderstrom, who had no chance to stop the first goal of the game.

Much to the credit of Geneva, it did not self-destruct after Galvez's shocking score out of nowhere, and it wasn't long before it revved up its attack one more time in search of the equalizer.

It came 14 minutes after the Galvez goal.

Fighting off a defender draped all over him, Kaminski ran onto a marvelous ball from Wahl and slotted it under and through Murguia near the spot.

"Kind of funny to think so many of us hit the post so hard all day, and my shot nutmegs the keeper," Kaminski said.

Both sides lost that little something extra during a pair of 10-minute sudden-death sessions, and an almost anti-climatic shoot-out would follow to decide the winner later on.

Each club would be perfect in the first two rounds, with Robbie Johnson and Wahl converting easily to help Geneva stay even. Brian Ruane was stopped, however, and Poythress would spray wide as the Indians made all four of their attempts to come away with the victory.

"Last week when we were in St. Louis, we began to play quicker with and without the ball,” Estabrook said. “Today we moved to another level in our play, and hopefully, we will continue to do so because we have the players to do so, as we all saw today.”

"We held up well for 80-plus minutes today, but we still have a way to go, as witnessed by our finishing skills. The loss still stings a little bit when you consider how much we dominated play."