Hill's OT goal sends Vikings to the Schaumburg sectional

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By Gary Larsen

Whatever happens in Tuesday’s Class 3A sectional semifinal or beyond, Geneva coach Megan Owens will always have what her squad gave her in Saturday’s come-from-behind, 2-1 overtime win against York.

“They played with so much heart, I couldn’t be prouder,” Owens said. “They’re a great team and it’s going to be heartbreaking whenever the season finally ends. I can’t speak highly enough of this group. They’re the best team, leadership-wise, and the best group of kids that I’ve coached in my eight years of coaching.”

“My senior class – they’re just outstanding kids.”

It was a Geneva senior that launched the Vikings into Tuesday’s Schaumburg sectional. With a defender on her hip, Sammi Hill dribbled in and fired far post, giving Geneva a Class 3A regional title on Saturday at Streamwood’s Millennium Field.

If only it came that easy. On the hottest day the spring has seen yet, fifth-seeded Geneva (16-5-3) and fourth-seeded York (17-5) battled back and forth all over the steamy artificial surface in Streamwood.

IHSA postseason rules require four overtime periods before a shootout to decide a winner, but Hill wasn’t having any of that. Her goal ended the game just five minutes into the first overtime.

“I didn’t want to go into however many overtimes there are,” Hill said. “We’ve been practicing shootouts all week, and we’re all pretty good at them, but we didn’t want it to come down to that. I knew I had to make something happen.”

Hill had a hand in both Geneva goals, setting the first after she was fouled and landed hard on the artificial turf. Once she finally got back up off the turf, Hill set up to take the free kick from just outside the top of the penalty area.

“I just saw the wall off to one side and goalie off on the other side,” Hill said. She got to it but then Catherine came sprinting in.”

York keeper Anna Bell Lansdowne made the initial stop but Geneva’s Catherine Allon swooped in to finish on the rebound, tying the game in the 64th minute.

“I know Sammi has a good shot and I just sprinted in there,” Allon said. “When I saw it fall out of her hands I just tapped it in.”

Geneva had the ball on York’s half for much of the game’s first 10 minutes. The Dukes finished first, however, when Christina Ordonez reached the end line and turned the corner on the left side, feeding sister Ellie Ordonez near the far post.

The Dukes’ 1-0 lead held for the next 54 minutes of play. In search of a tying goal, Geneva added a third forward in the second half and Owens essentially left the season to her seniors.

“You’ve only got so much time left, and you hold your destiny in your own hands,” Owens said. “You’re seniors, and if you want this to be your final game, it might be. If not, get it done on the field.”

Allon went in alone on Lansdowne in the 43rd minute but the freshman keeper charged off her line to make a sliding stop over the end line.

Hill blazed her way into the final third with an increased edge throughout the second half. The senior’s hustle created another scoring chance two minutes after Allon’s tying goal, when she busted up the right side and centered a pass to Madeline Tennant, who was turned away by Lansdowne.

The Vikings earned a pair of corner kicks shortly thereafter, before York’s attack gained prominence down the stretch to the end of regulation. Hill’s winning goal in the first overtime period came none too quickly for the girls in blue and white.

“Last year we went to four overtimes and penalty kicks, so we wanted to get a win off fast,” Allon said. “And it was really hot. Especially when Sammi got hurt, we all ran over to get water and we tried to stay cool during halftime. We were definitely tired but with all the effort we put into practice we’re definitely in shape.”

Geneva’s win on Saturday set up a Tuesday showdown against one of its local rivals in St. Charles North (19-1-1). The teams will play in a sectional semifinal game at Schaumburg high school at 4:00 p.m.

The Vikings ended the North Stars’ season in 2009, winning 1-0 in a sectional title game, so Tuesday’s semifinal figures to be a good one.

“I don’t know what happened in the game last year, but there was a lot of tension just because half of them know us, half of us know them. It’s definitely a rivalry between us,” Hill said.

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