Vikings rally past Red Devils to collect third-straight win

 

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By Steve Nemeth

If Nick Nowokunski’s gut feeling is right, Geneva is in for a very successful second half of the season.

While it’s true that Thursday’s 2-1 nonconference win over Hinsdale Central boosted the Vikings to just over .500 for the year, Nowokunski cited a couple of “firsts” as reasons for optimism.

With the visiting Red Devils gaining a 1-0 lead just under 10 minutes prior to halftime, Nowokunski netted an equalizer and got his first goal for a home match.

Before the opening 40 minutes where up, Geneva also claimed a lead it would not relinquish.

“This is our first come-from-behind victory this year,” the senior tri-captain noted. “It felt great to get it started, but I could just tell after my goal we were gong to win.

"When we fell behind, we didn’t give up, and the way we picked up the level of our play is something I believe we can continue to do from here on out.”

In addition to improving to 5-4-0 on the season, the Vikings boast a three-match win streak for the first time this year.

However, adding to that string and improving on a 1-1-0 Upstate Eight Conference River Division ledger won’t be easy with Geneva having a Tuesday visit to a Top 10-rated St. Charles North unit.

After an 0-2-2 start, Hinsdale Central had started picking up steam with five wins over its last six matches, but now the 5-4-2 Red Devils hope to get back to winning with a Saturday home date against New Trier.

Both teams had some notable attempts prior to the scoring with Hinsdale Central keeper Will Meyer stretching for a one-hand tip over the crossbar on a Geneva blast 10 minutes into the match.

Midway through the half, Viking goalie Steven Soderstrom literally reached over a Red Devil player to catch a stellar cross into the goalie box.

Another rush by the visitors led to the opening strike as a cross was pinballed between a few players before Hinsdale’s Andrew Scott got control of the ball and parked an 11-yarder inside the right post with 9:27 still to be played before intermission.

Kevin Higgins found Beck Nebergall in position to help set up Nowokunski for the equalizer with 6:10 remaining.

“I was basically aiming for the tallest guy,” Nebergall said in regard to his chip assist.

“The ball deflected down to my feet and being six yards off, I just put power on it when I saw a spot without the keeper,” Nowokunski added.

Riding the momentum of that goal, the Vikings continued pushing the attack and it paid off again at 37:27.

In that instance, Nebergall’s through ball helped Sean McGrath dribble past and hop over an out-rushing Meyer for a four-yard finish. It was McGrath’s third goal of the season.

"When I saw Sean making his run I did my best to thread the ball into a gap between him and his defender. He had a nice touch on the ball, eluded the keeper and scored,” Nebergall said.

“For me getting two assists equals a goal, and tonight the two goals got us a win, so I’m happy.”

Despite his sophomore status, Nebergall has emerged as a solid point-producer with his two assists, now giving him a team-best 10 points. Two of his four goals are also match-winners.

While neither team managed a goal over the final 40 minutes, both teams created dangerous moments for the opposition defenders with the Red Devils pushing the tempo the most over the final five minutes.

“We came into this match with a couple specific goals,” Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. “No. 1, we wanted to play quicker without hurrying. No. 2, we did not want to let Hinsdale Central get into a rhythm. I thought we succeeded on both accounts.

“With them pushing the attack, I thought Steve (Soderstrom) was very sharp coming off his line. Kevin (Higgins) showed tonight that he has made the transition pretty well to being a center back.

"I know a lot has been said about the many quality seniors we lost to the point I hate the “R” word. With the players we have, we’re not trying to rebuild, we’re just building our team, period. There’s been no drop-off in expectations from our standpoint.”

On the opposite bench, Hinsdale coach Mike Wiggins hoped the setback would serve a particular purpose as a lesson on the need to adapt.

“It was an interesting match for us in that this is without question, the narrowest field we’ve played on," Wiggins said.

"Dimensionally, it was a challenge for us. We had to discuss tactics for long throws and the movement knowing that someone would be right on your back. At the same time, I give credit to Geneva, they were a step quicker at times and used the angle pass to their advantage.”

During one of the scrambles, Hinsdale’s R.J. Dralle got what the match referee viewed as an inadvertent foot to the face.

“Despite taking a cleat to the face, for R.J. to come back to play after that happened was an example of showing guts and heart,” Wiggins added.

“I just know there’s no fun in losing,” Dralle continued.

“I feel like we played hard and this match like some of our others, are designed to help prepare us for stronger efforts in the postseason, until then we’ll take them one game at a time, making sure the other team knows we’re fighters and we’ll battle to the end.”