Two quick goals spark Vikings to victory in season opener

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By Curt Herron

There's nothing like a couple of quick goals to remove some of the nervousness that comes with playing in the first match of a season.

That certainly proved to be the case for Geneva when it hit the road to take on Plainfield Central on Monday for its initial contest.

The Vikings were able to break the ice when they scored twice within a 37-second span during the opening six minutes of play.

Geneva dominated play after that with a strong possession game as it went on to claim a 5-0 nonconference victory over the Wildcats.

Senior Madeline Tennant scored a goal and assisted on three others to pace coach Megan Owens' Vikings (1-0), who owned a 3-0 halftime advantage.

Senior forwards Abbey Schroeder and Sammi Hill took assists from Tennant to score Geneva's goals during the opening minutes.

Freshman Amanda Lulek and sophomore Catherine Allon added goals during the final 10 minutes of play for the Vikings.

Click to hear coach Megan Owens interview

Another boost that Geneva got against the Wildcats (1-2) was a strong wind at its backs during the opening half of action.

Not surprisingly, that pushed most of the play on to one side of the field as the Vikings began to dominate the attack.

Hill started the barrage of shots toward freshman keeper Sarah Armstrong when she fired in a liner less than four minutes in.

The Vikings made the most of their next couple of scoring chances as the delivered a decisive one-two punch to take control.

With 5:14 gone in the match, Tennant sent a pass from the side to Schroeder, who knocked in a short shot for the initial score.

Then with 34:09 left in the first half, Hill took a pass from Tennant and got past defenders to connect from close range.

Less than three minutes later, Tennant got off her first good scoring try but the grounder was corralled by the Wildcat keeper.

Tennant collected the Vikings' third goal with 14:17 left before the break when she placed a short attempt into an open net.

Click to hear Madeline Tennant interview

Geneva had two more good scoring chances after that in the first half as Tennant and junior Ryan Konicek both had liners stopped.

The Wildcats also managed to collect their only shot on goal during the entire match with 2:30 left before the intermission.

Kelsey Graefen sent a grounder toward the net but junior keeper Victoria Fortney was easily able to secure the shot attempt.

Although Plainfield Central had a slightly diminished wind at its backs in the second half, the Vikings remained in control.

Hill set the tone for the final 40 minutes when she sent a short shot to Armstrong that was stopped during the first three minutes.

Geneva seemed content to play a possession game throughout most of the rest of the match, getting off few shots until the very end.

In fact, the Vikings only had about one good chance over the next 27 minutes, another shot attempt by Hill that was stopped.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats weren't able to get anything going offensively as the Viking midfielders and defenders did their jobs.

Joining Madeline Tennant in the midfield were her sister, senior Sarah, as well as sophomores Kristin Rodriguez and Kailey Rote.

The Vikings' starting defense featured seniors Stephanie Davison and Gina Peri, junior Demi Miller and sophomore Catherine Allon.

Geneva collected its fourth score when Lulek got free past defenders and knocked in a shot with 9:13 remaining in the match.

Allon then closed things out with a diving header with 4:21 left, following the third and final assist from Madeline Tennant.

Click to hear Catherine Allon interview

Six seniors were in Monday's starting lineup for the Vikings. The other senior on this year's squad in Emily Saunders.

Jen Konrad, Jenny Lienau, Alexa Loebel and Morgan Matson are juniors while Caitrin Griffin is the other sophomore on the team.

Geneva returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to West Chicago for a nonconference match against Wheaton Academy.

Click to read Plainfield Central story