Vikings settle for tie vs. DeKalb
By Steve Nemeth

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Saturday’s 1-1 non-conference road deadlock for Geneva was one of those good news / bad news situations.

The good news -- after trailing 1-0, the Vikings looked solid in earning the equalizer in order to avoid a loss for the third straight match.

The bad news -- while going 1-0-2 over the last three outings is a definite improvement over an 0-3 season start, it’s just not the kind of turnaround necessary to satisfy coach Ryan Estabrook, nor was escaping DeKalb with a tie.

“We started the season 0-3 and if someone asked me at that point if I’d feel better if we didn’t lose any of the next three, I’m assuming I would have said ‘yes.’ But here we are at 1-0-2 for the last three and I’m not happy,” Estabrook admitted. “We haven’t developed a soccer player’s mentality which is to get goals, no matter how ugly.

“Instead, we’re divers, gymnasts or figure skaters. We’re trying to score points with the judges for artistry. As I told the team, there are no style points for near goals,” Estabrook continued. “Stop trying to look good on the shot and just focus on finding the back of the net.”

Since style points don’t lead to goals, it didn’t matter that the Vikings were building a notable advantage in shots early in the first half. In one instance, it was DeKalb defender Andrew Stanton keeping one shot out of the net after it got past Barb goalie Matt Allen.

In fact, all of the Geneva attempts were completely pointless when DeKalb managed to get on the board first. The Barbs, who now stand 2-1-3, went ahead when Misha Ryzhov followed up a four-yarder near the left post on a deflection that came his way after a Trevor Freeland blast.

Fortunately for the Vikings, David Goodyear’s through ball was just what Matt Butz needed in order to give the visitors an equalizer 8:59 prior to halftime.

“I saw Matt making the run and I knew he could body up against his defender and put it in,” Goodyear noted. “It shifted momentum our and it was wonderful to get back even. Of course, we still need to keep the mindset on getting even more goals.”

For Butz, it was his third goal of the year to go along with a pair of assists to give him a team-high eight points.

“Their defenders were four across and I ran to a gap where David gave me a great chip pass. When their keeper didn’t come out much, I just finished to the corner,” Butz explained. “While it’s better to tie than to lose, we need to work that much harder to get wins.”

In order to that, Geneva can’t be satisfied simply with being more productive on offense. The Vikings dominated second half possession and finished the contest with a 16-3 advantage for overall attempts which also translated in a 9-2 edge for shots on frame.

Just over two minutes into the second half, Stanton had another goal line save for DeKalb. Geneva’s Phelipe Graske tested the Barb goalie twice with one Allan grabbing one high floater on his fingertips. In another instance, Beck Nebergall’s through ball almost became a one-on-one breakaway only to have Allan win the race to the ball.

The Vikings’ Grant Bracken had a header fly just wide of the far post with 16:30 remaining followed shortly by a Graske attempt that bounced off the top of the crossbar.

“We just can’t be content to keep possession and not get goals,” Estabrook insisted. “I’m not taking anything away from DeKalb, because they were well organized in back and that’s a credit to their coaching and their defenders. However, we’ve got to score more, period; or else we have to pitch a shutout. I just believe we’re not playing as well as we’re capable. Or at least we didn’t play as well as we should have today.”

Estabrook was hoping to see the Vikings produce an encore to their last outing, which was a 2-0 whitewash of Upstate Eight Conference River Division foe St. Charles North.

DeKalb head coach Brett McIntosh -- remembering last year’s hard-fought 1-0 loss at Geneva -- was a little more willing to accept this year’s stalemate.

“Considering we only saw the ball offensively for about 10 percent of the second half, we were able to preserve a positive outcome,” McIntosh said. “Andrew (Stanton) is our defensive quarterback and between his field vision and communication with his teammates, he eats up a lot of mistakes which is why I believe he’s one of the best in the state. Knowing what kind of offensive team Geneva can be, he did a great job leading our back line, but a tie still isn’t what we’re ultimately playing for.”