Vikings fall in sectional following late goal by North Stars

By Darryl Mellema

At some point in the 2011 season, Geneva and St. Charles North will meet to resume a regular season series that has been dormant for half a decade.

If the last two meetings are any indication, you won't want to miss the action, and there will definitely be some hard-fought action on the field.

On Tuesday, the Vikings saw their superb 2010 season end with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the North Stars in the Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional semifinals.

It marked the second consecutive year that the Vikings and North Stars met in sectional play. Last year. Geneva was victorious 1-0 in the Conant Sectional semifinals.

"The towns are right by each other," Geneva senior Stephanie Davison said. "Some of us play on the same club teams.

"Then we beat them last year when we were the underdogs and they said they felt it was a bad game for them and they should have won. We felt this would be a true test."

Geneva took the lead in this contest, too. Sammi Hill dribbled to the top of the penalty area – then looked and passed to her left to an onrushing Abbey Schroeder, who scored after eight minutes of play.

"I saw the ball coming down," Hill said. "I came across and I saw the goalie coming out. So I took a touch away from her and that got it out of the box on the ground.

"I knew I couldn't shoot it from that angle. So I crossed it in and (Schroeder) was coming in, perfect timing – just like in practice."

While Hill's goal gave Geneva a lift, St. Charles North got itself back on track quickly and within 10 minutes, Leah DeMoss tied the match.

"They are a really good team," Davison said. "They are strong and you knew they would come back. You knew that was going to happen."

Geneva scoring opportunities were rare through the second half. But Hill did come close with a shot from the right wing with five minutes left. The shot rose and went over the crossbar.

"I definitely think we brought it to them," Geneva senior Stephanie Davison said. "We were with them every step of the way. We wanted this real bad and it really stinks that the score didn't show that."

By contrast, St. Charles North was the aggressor for most of the second half, though it was unable to break through until just 95 seconds remained in the match.

DeMoss scored the goal, her second of the match. While there was a minute-and-a-half still to go, the goal effectively sealed the victory for the North Stars.

"They have very quick forwards," Davison said. "We had to keep our depth and man-mark tight. We couldn't give them anything."

Geneva had to absorb some serious injuries through the season. One of those injured was Davison who missed a couple of weeks of action after she hurt her knee in the early-season St. Charles Invitational.

Despite having to make some unplanned personnel changes, Vikings coach Megan Owens kept her team focused and winning. Geneva finished 16-6-3 and won the final Western Sun Conference championship.

Next year, Geneva and Batavia shift to the Upstate Eight Conference, marking the first time all four Tri-Cities girls soccer teams will play in one conference.

"It would have been nice to have gone further in the playoffs," Davison said. "But it didn't happen."

Hill also mentioned her desires that the team had moved further into the postseason.

"We worked our hardest," Hill said. "I think we did well."

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