Vikings play well in all areas in win over Raiders

By Curt Herron

CLICK HERE FOR GENEVA'S TEAM PAGE

 

NOTE: MATCH PHOTOS WILL APPEAR SHORTLY

In a season where things haven't turned out as anticipated, Geneva has been looking for a day where it could turn around its fortunes.

And following shutout losses in their last two contests, Vikings boss Ryan Estabrook wasn't confident that it would happen on Thursday.

But from the outset of the nonconference match at Glenbard South, it became apparent that Geneva was about to do something significant.

The Vikings not only went on the attack quickly, but broke their scoreless drought early on against the Raiders to set a positive tone.

And although it took awhile for the visitors to add to their lead, they controlled the midfield and thus had plenty of scoring chances.

They finally broke through for two more goals during the final half and their defense completed an efficient effort with a clean sheet.

The end result was a 3-0 victory in Glen Ellyn that was noteworthy in several ways for a Viking squad that entered with a 2-6-2 record.

It marked the squad's first victory away from Burgess Field, as well as their initial win over a team that wasn't a Tri-Cities rival.

Keeper Joe Mozden and defenders Alex Zefron, Nick Konicek, Brian Pacilio and Sam Urban teamed to collect the Vikings' second shutout.

Their three-goal effort was the second-best of the season, behind the four goals scored against Batavia in the last previous victory.

Grant Bracken, Joshua Poythress and Beck Nebergall all scored while Kyle Muzzarelli and Nebergall chipped in with assists for Geneva.

"I think in recent years we've been taking wins for granted and they've few and far between this year so this win is something that we're definitely going to cherish," Estabrook said. "I can't say enough about everything that the boys did out there on both sides of the ball.

"It's easy to cash it in at this point of the year and say that maybe we'll play since it really doesn't matter any more. But I have to give our guys credit for saying that this is not how they want to be remembered and that we're still going to do something great this year.

"We've got a classy bunch of boys this season, and probably one of the nicest groups that I've had the chance to work with. So it's nice for them to get a result like this tonight and hopefully we'll be able to continue to build off of this."

The Raiders (6-5-3) had scored multiple goals in eight of their last nine matches, during which time they had posted a 5-1-3 record.

But other than a few threatening opportunities before the break, the Vikings did a good job of putting shutting down South's attack.

So as Raider fans dejectedly headed to the booster club's barbeque at the north side of the field, Geneva savored a satisfying win.

"Prior to the season I thought that we'd have a really strong team this year and we still think that we play well at times," Estabrook said. "So this win just shows what we're capable of doing on a night where we're stringing things together well.

"We were worried that we might rue some of the chances that we didn't score on in the first half, but fortunately, when you keep a shutout, you only need one goal to win anyway.

"Whenever we've watched video from a game, we've done better in the next one as far as keeping organized in the back. Brian did a nice job of keeping us organized back there and Sam started for the first time in his career and he was tenacious."

The Vikings set the tone early on with a series of good chances, beginning with David Goodyear being denied on consecutive attempts.

After Ryan Hoffman sent a liner to Mozden, Matt Butz was thwarted by keeper Kyle Kocinski and chipped one over the top of the frame.

Things finally clicked for Geneva in the tenth minute when Nebergall found Bracken, who hit a short try to put his team up for good.

From then until the half's midpoint, the Raiders had a shot from Hoffman and two more from Moo Htaw while Nebergall was also denied.

Thomas Gkotse was stopped on one of his few attempts a bit later and Bracken responded with a corner kick which was deflected away.

In the half's final 10 minutes, Bracken had a try and a corner kick halted by the keeper and Butz saw a shot stopped by a defender.

"Our other two wins came against rivals, so we felt that we needed an away win against someone else," Bracken said. "Everyone put out their best and we played as a team and we've struggled with that lately. So this is a step in the right direction.

"We looked a lot different today. The coaches have been preaching to us to just bring our best and try our hardest and to bring intensity into every game. Last year we got better as the season went on and I expect that again from this year's team.

"We have a lot of new players this season and it finally looks like we're getting it together. We have a lot of people who will pick us up, we're also a very close team that likes to joke around and we know that we'll all be there for each other."

The switch of sides resulted in more good scoring chances for the Vikings during the final 40 minutes, but goals remained elusive.

Nebergall started things off with a shot that bounced off the crossbar and Zefron saw a try hit a defender before being hauled in.

Shortly after Konicek was denied on a liner, Poythress fired a shot that hit a defender and then found the net in the 57th minute.

Geneva's defense demonstrated its second-half effort by not allowing a good chance until the 70th minute, a free kick from Gkotse.

The Vikings wrapped up their win with a goal in the 78th minute when Muzzarelli sent a cross to Nebergall, who scored on a header.

When the final whistle blew, the visitors had their second shutout, with the other back on September 4 against St. Charles North.

"We've been on a bit of a losing streak so we really needed a win," Zefron said. "The season hasn't been like we wanted it to be but I think that we're getting on the right path now. This win feels like something that's going to turn things around.

"We played good defense all around and it's definitely encouraging when we have the ball in their half for the most part. Brian definitely controls the back, "Wild Man" Sam is a Ninja and goes crazy after balls and Nick is literally a wall for us.

"Everyone is friendly with one another and we have a lot of fun and games. We just have great chemistry on this team."

Geneva plays this evening at 6 p.m. in a home match against Glenwood and then it entertains Elgin next Thursday for senior night.