Geneva's OT goal tops Falcons in Wheaton
By Gary Larsen

 

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After his side lost 2-1 in overtime to Geneva on Friday, Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly addressed the notion that his Falcons lost to a good Vikings’ team, with the wind at its back.

"They're a good team when they don't have the wind at their back," he said.

The Vikings got a goal from Michaela Loebel, four minutes into a first overtime period, when she hit a shot from 26 yards out that found a reward for a fine, team-wide stretch of attacking pressure.

Her side trailed Wheaton North 1-0 on a Brittany Norris goal at 66 minutes, but Geneva coach Megan Owens just urged her Vikings to stay the course with a defiant soccer ball at their feet.

"(Owens) just said that we really needed to focus on our momentum, use it, and finish," Loebel said. "Because we had all the pressure but just couldn't get one in. We just had to keep the pressure up and eventually we'd get one in."

The win in its opening game of this year’s Naperville Invitational sends Geneva (9-2-4) into a game on Saturday against Conant (11-1), for the right to advance in the formidable, 24-team tournament.

"We're on a good roll and we've played some solid games,” Owens said.” We tied Neuqua, tied Naperville Central, tied St. Charles North, beat some teams and we have some momentum. Conant's a great team so hopefully that momentum will help us tomorrow because I know we'll have some tired legs."

Wheaton North (6-7) had the wind at its back in the first half but neither team’s goalkeeper saw much action. The Falcons’ Lexi Pelafas charged net in pursuit of a Tiffany Traxinger corner kick but couldn’t quite get to it at 7 minutes, Geneva went just wide on a shot or two, and North’s Brittany Norris nearly timed a through-ball perfectly late in the half, only to be called offside.

For long stretches of the second half, Geneva striker  Amanda Lulek seemed like a one-woman gang in the final third, helping to spearhead a cohesive attack that kept North under pressure for most of the half.

"Amanda Lulek put great pressure on up top," Owens said. "She created and took it to them. She was such a threat they were worried about her, which allowed Michaela (Loebel) to step up and score that goal. Amanda went all out and ran down every ball. She worked real hard. It was a great win for them to see all the hard work pay off."

Wheaton North goalkeeper Jessica Kiely twice left her line aggressively to gather through-balls that resulted in Geneva’s Catherine Allon and Lulek spilling over her as she slid on to make the saves. Kiely made a diving stop of a Kristin Rodriguez shot at 53 minutes, and Lulek sent a shot over the bar on the ensuing corner kick from 6 yards out.

Both Loebel and Rodriguez fired on Kiely through the 58th minute, before Wheaton North turned the tables on the Vikings at 66 minutes when Norris found a shot from 18 yards out and finished on it.

Norris’ goal was only the ninth goal scored against Geneva in 15 games, one night after the Falcons scored twice against a Conant team that had previously only given up seven goals in 11 games.

"We've played the last few years and lost 1-0 or 2-1 to the top teams, and most of them were 1-0 because we couldn't score," McEvilly said. "Now, we can score against anybody, and that's the difference. We can feel positive because we know that when we get scored on, it's not over.

“The results aren't going our way right now but as long as the girls can see that we're there, and we can beat anybody, that's all I need. I feel very positive about where we're at. And I think we're still getting better."

Lulek knotted the game six minutes after Norris’ goal when she located a loose ball inside the penalty area and stretched the back netting from 10 yards out.

Geneva kept the pressure on and Loebel twice nearly gave her side the lead in the game’s final minutes when she sent a head shot just wide and toe-poked an Allon flick just wide of the far post at 79 minutes.

The Vikings won the coin flip heading into overtime and quickly earned a pair of corner kicks before Loebel found a shot from long-range and sent it to the upper ninety.

"Honestly, I didn't think it was going in," Loebel said. "The wind helped carry it and it kind of worked out. I thought it was going over. When I kicked it, I didn't really think I hit it solid. But it felt good.

"I think we used the wind very well. We didn't overplay our balls. Some of theirs in the first half went a little over but I thought we timed ours well. Going into overtime for them had to be hard, too, because the wind was an annoying factor."

Owens was pleased with her side’s patience and resolve in the win.

"We worked really hard in the second half. They just took it to them and we knew if we kept shooting, we'd eventually get one," she said. "We just had to keep up our intensity and they did a great job with that. They really played a solid game, moved the ball, and the wind does play a factor. We struggled with it in the first half but defensively, we had a great first half.

"Our defense stepped up. We struggled defensively against (St. Charles) North, and they did a great job of double-teaming and communicating tonight," Owens said. "Tory Herbst stepped up big, Caitrin Griffin, Annie Waldoch, and Molly Stanfa stepped it up tonight.”

McEvilly was pleased with the way his girls fought through overtime games on consecutive nights, heading into a third game in three days against Whitney Young to wrap up play in this year’s Pepsi Showdown.

"Geneva has played top-flight competition and had good results," McEvilly said. "They can play with anybody, and the wind made a big difference. The last fifteen minutes of the second half they really had the energy and then they win the coin toss and get the wind again. My kids played a hundred minutes last night and they were ready to go again tonight. We were trying to be more defensive and hoping to make it through that first ten-minute overtime, but who's going to save (Loebel’s)  ball? It's another ball played in the upper ninety from thirty yards out."