Vikings roll past Glenbard South to maintain lead in WSC

By Darryl Mellema

Somewhere in the middle of Monday's match between Geneva and Glenbard South, two things became apparent.

Geneva was going to easily defeat Glenbard South and the Vikings were going to do so stylishly.

Both those easy-to-make predictions came true. Geneva equaled its highest goal tally of the season with a 9-2 Western Sun Conference win over the Raiders in Glen Ellyn.

And if you take out some early flat play, the Vikings passed and passed all over Glenbard South's field – creating an abundance of opportunities.

"It took us a while to get started," Geneva senior Abbey Schroeder said. "We had prom this weekend, and I know that's not an excuse.

"But we wanted to prove a point because we tied Batavia and only beat Kaneland 2-1. Once we got started, we kept it going."

Schroeder scored twice for the Vikings, as did Madeline Tennant. Sammi Hill, Kristin Rodriguez, Morgan Matson and Victoria Fortney also scored for the Vikings.

A Glenbard South own goal completed the nine goals that entered the net for the visitors.

As the match progressed, the passing moves became stronger.

Many times, the ball would go wide to a player such as Amanda Lulek, who would work up the sideline, and then bring the ball back to either a central midfielder or to front-runners such as Hill or Tennant.

That pass-and-move style of play shredded Glenbard South's defense.

"Our team is really good at possession," Schroeder said. "We really pride ourselves on that. A lot of teams can't connect well, so we try to work on our possession game.

"A lot of times, when we score goals, the possession keeps getting better and better."

The Vikings (11-5-3, 4-0-1 WSC) remain in first place in the conference. After a non-conference game on Tuesday against St. Francis, Geneva closes the regular season with Western Sun games against Rochelle and Sycamore.

"They connected very well," Geneva coach Megan Owens said. "They played as a united 11 which was good to see. They moved up the field together. The midfielders really supported and we had a lot of great overlapping runs."

If there was a downside on Monday, it would be the two goals surrendered by the Vikings.

Kathleen James scored two minutes into the second half and Natalie Squillo tallied in the final minute of play.

The St. Francis contest, though a nonconference match, is a decent late-season test for the Vikings.

"We're just trying to have a strong week," Owens said.

Schroeder said that in order for success to be achieved, the Vikings will have to mirror the work ethic they showed on Monday.

"We'll have to bring the same intensity we did (Monday) and keep shooting," she said.

One of many bright spots on Monday was the increased playing time for defender Stephanie Davison, who went down with an injury in early April at the St. Charles East Invitational.

Initial worries that she had torn her Anterior Cruciate Ligament in her left knee proved unfounded. She did, however, sprain her knee and partially tear her Lateral Collateral Ligament.

"Luckily the tear did not go all the way through, so it's able to heal itself," Davison said. "And then this brace helps it balance and remain sturdy."

Against Glenbard South, Davison played close to 70 minutes in the stopper role at the top of Geneva's defensive diamond.

"I came out a little in the first half," Davison said. "It just feels good to be playing again."

Davison has slowly been building her playing time for the last two weeks.

She is as aggressive as ever going for headed balls and is getting stronger tackling. Gaining confidence in her ability to go into challenges has taken some time.

"I try to go full out, but I think I was hesitant with my leg," Davison said. "I am getting more confident in it.

"Even the trainers are saying that, by the end of this week, I'm going to try to work out of the brace. It's really frustrating to play in it."

She wasn't on the sidelines for long, but Davison's fitness suffered some.

"I didn't realize how out of shape you can get in two-and-a-half weeks," Davison said. "I came back and I was like 'oh my gosh, you're out or shape.' And with the brace, you have extra weight on the knee."

The other good news about Davison's injury is that it won't hinder her ability to play this fall for Regis University in Colorado.

And before that, she's looking forward to a greater role as the Vikings head to the postseason of her senior season.

"I don't feel I'm totally 100 percent back to where I used to be, but I think I'm getting there," Davison said.

"Each game, I'm getting more confident. Hopefully by playoffs, I'll be completely back."

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