Vikings break the bank vs. Elgin in regular season finale

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By Jonathan Jones

Geneva literally kept its head in the game Tuesday at Elgin, and as the Maroons hosted their Senior Night, the Vikings dominated their way to a 7-1 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory.

There were a multitude of different scorers for the Vikings (6-7-3), and Geneva senior forward Sean McGrath led the way with three assists and a goal. Geneva sophomore Grant Bracken tallied a goal and assist, while senior keepers Steven Soderstrom and Nick Nowokunski pitched in two assists a piece.

“We’ve struggled to score goals this year,” said Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook. “We’ve focused on set pieces like throw-ins and free kicks to give us a good opportunity to score. We actually worked on the strategy all last week.”

Geneva did just that, attaining much success off set pieces against Elgin. Only six minutes into the game, McGrath watched his sideline toss bounce off the head of teammate senior defender Kevin Higgins.

Higgins’ flick perfectly fell into a one-on-one situation between Geneva sophomore forward Beck Nebergall and Elgin senior keeper Tony Benitez. Nebergall would punch in the first Viking goal.

With Tuesday’s win, Geneva gained confidence entering into next week’s Elk Grove sectional. The Vikings are the seventh seed and will play No. 11 Glenbard North, which according to Estabrook is always a tough playoff team.

The Vikings’ confidence landslide victory against the Maroons was also noteworthy because Elgin is seeded above Geneva as the sixth seed.

“Our assistant coach scouted Glenbard North (Tuesday), so we’ll see what he has to say,” Estabrook said. “It means a lot to beat a team like Elgin. With this win we can keep the momentum through the post season.”

Elgin retaliated at the 13-minute mark with junior midfielder Josue Chavez’s spectacular goal. Chavez intercepted a Geneva pass, raced past three Viking defenders including a quick juke to their keeper, and then poked his game-tying goal in.

Chavez’s goal, however, was all the Maroons could muster up.

After 11 seniors (including four division-I players) were lost to graduation from its 2010 regional championship team, Geneva struggled to find team chemistry to start the year. However, the 2011 campaign has progressed and so have the Vikings, who retain high expectations as the post season looms.

Before halftime, Geneva tacked on two more goals. Following a foul, McGrath drilled his kick from 40 yards out. Higgins elevated in the goalie box and got a head on the ball to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead at the 36th minute.

With 23 seconds left in the first half, Nowokunski drove his free kick from 45-yards out and McGrath buried a head shot of his own to give Geneva a 3-1 lead at halftime.

“We’ve had a lot of growth,” said Soderstrom, who recorded four saves in Tuesday’s affair. “The younger guys have come in and made an impact with us. This year has been up and down. Even though we lost a lot of key players, I think we play more of a team game now.

“Last year, we would pass it to our go-to guys to make a play. I think the team game could make a difference with us at regionals this year.”

Four of Geneva’s seven goals came on head shots and in the second half Elgin had no answer for the Vikings. Other Geneva scorers were sophomore forward Phelipe Graske (unassisted) and senior defender Ryan Muzzarelli (assisted by Nebergall).

And the offense wasn’t Geneva’s only weapon. The Vikings defense didn’t allow an opposing shot on goal in the second half until 15 seconds were left on the clock. Geneva outshot Elgin 9-1 in the second half and 13-4 for the game.

“I think we could be a very good playoff team,” McGrath said. “If we played like this against Peoria Notre Dame we would have been in a great place because they’re a top team in the state. We have to match our offense (from Tuesday) for the rest of the year. If we can play like this, we can beat a lot of teams.”

As Tuesday was their last regular season match up, the Vikings travel to Elk Grove for the regional playoff next Tuesday.