Geneva wins regional title on three great strikes
Hancock's first-ever varsity goal punctuates 3-0 win over York

 

By Gary Larsen

Geneva came into the year knowing it had a quality side, but the Vikings may not have known as much as they thought they did.

A 1-0 loss to Morton on Sept. 16 put Geneva’s record at 3-6-1, leaving the Vikings to do some soul searching.

“We had some serious talks,” Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. “Back in 2007 we started off the year 3-5-2 and went on a 16-game winning streak.

“I see a lot of similarities with these guys. We’ve got a lot of great senior players out here with a lot of varsity experience, and they came to the realization that teams weren’t going to lay down for us.”

The Vikings have gone 10-3 since that loss to Morton, and on Friday night they stood in front of their fans on Lake Park’s field in Roselle and hoisted a Class 3A regional title plaque over their heads.

In regional wins over Rolling Meadows and York, Geneva (13-9-1) earned an 8-1 scoring edge, capped by Friday’s 3-0 win over York.
 
Second-half goals from Brady Wahl, Seamus Kaminski, and Craig Hancock spearheaded the win in a hard-fought, momentum-shifting contest from start to finish.

There was no clear difference between the two sides before halftime. A scoreless first half featured a head shot sent off the crossbar by Kaminski, a free kick off the crossbar from Wahl, and good scoring chances that York also couldn’t manage to convert.

“It was a pretty even match and the difference comes down to who can finish and who can’t,” Estabrook said. “I knew York had a good squad.”

The Dukes’ David Selvaggi was dangerous throughout, and the Vikings were happy to keep him out of net for the night.

“He got really high up towards the midfield, found himself the ball and it worked out well for him. He created some dangerous chances,” Hancock said. “But overall I think our defense kind of figured him out.”

Geneva came out hard in the second half, pressuring well until Wahl blistered a ball to the upper ninety from 30 yards out in the 52nd minute. Geneva had a lead, but York immediately answered the bell.

“We got on our heels and they were able to get some possession after that goal,” Estabrook said. “We need to work on that going into the next game. But there were all kinds of momentum shifts out there, and we committed way too many fouls and gave them too many free kicks. They’re dangerous on any one of those, so fortunately they weren’t able to convert.”

Geneva’s Steven Soderstrom was a dynamo in net, leaping, diving, and swatting shots over the crossbar during a wicked stretch of attacking pressure from York in the second half.

“He’s as consistent as ever,” Hancock said of Soderstrom. “He always makes the good saves when you really need him.”

Soderstrom and a Vikings back line led by Robbie Johnson helped earn the team’s eighth shutout of the season, which included a pair of goal-line clears from Andrew Walton and Josh Poythress.

Geneva made it 2-1 when Kaminski called for a serve and Hancock gave it to him at 72 minutes. Kaminski finished from eight yards out.

“I definitely saw him running in there, and Seamus always gets to those balls in the air so I said ‘why not?’” Hancock said. “I just sent it in and let him go for it, and he did.”

What came next for Hancock was a milestone in his three-year varsity career. With four minutes left in regulation, the Geneva senior teed up a shot from long range and buzzed the post with it. When it tore into the back netting, Hancock had the first goal of his varsity career.

“I had it planned all along," Hancock joked. "I just built it up. I didn't score on purpose for three years, until I was a senior. I wanted to wait until a regional final."

“He’s been at midfield for three years, creating a bunch of assists, but he thought he was jinxed for life,” Estabrook said. “He’s had so many chances in other games and then he pulls one of those out in a regional final.”

Friday’s win sends Geneva to a sectional semifinal at Schaumburg on Tuesday, where the Vikings will take on the winner of Saturday’s regional final between Leyden and St. Charles East.

At this point in the season, the Vikings appear ready to take on anyone.

After the Morton loss, Geneva ticked off five consecutive wins over the likes of St. Charles North, Waubonsie Valley, Metea Valley, and Batavia, before the Vikings hit another roadblock.

“The Larkin game (a 4-2 loss on Oct. 4) was a bad one for us, and after that game we realized we had to pick it up,” Hancock said. “Every game since then, we’ve really got this whole intensity, unity, focus thing going on and it’s really helping.

“We always say ‘what’s the most important game of the year?’, and it’s always ‘this game’. Every game is the most important and we always try to go in and give it our all.”

A rematch with Upstate Eight River Division champion St. Charles East wouldn’t surprise Estabrook.

“I’ve been at Geneva for seven years now and it seems like we’ve played a St. Charles team every year in the playoffs,” Estabrook said. “Last year we played East, a couple years before that we played North, so it will be quite the adventure if it happens again. Those rivalry games are always tough in the playoffs.”