Wildcats showing signs of progress in defeat to Geneva

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By Curt Herron

It's easy for a team to get down real quickly when it allows two goals near the start of a match.

And that's the position that Plainfield Central found itself in the early going of Monday's home match with Geneva.

Geneva scored twice within a 37-second span during the initial six minutes of the nonconference contest in Plainfield.

To make matters worse, the Vikings maintained control throughout the first 40 minutes, thanks in part to a strong wind at their back.

Even after the squads switched sides after the break, Geneva still made life rough for the Wildcats in the match.

The Vikings dominated in possession and the few chances that the Wildcats had were quickly shut down by a strong defensive effort.

Geneva led 3-0 at the break and scored a pair of goals late in the match to claim a 5-0 victory in its season opener.

Despite the defeat, Wildcat coach Ken Schoen was pleased by his squad's continued performance from their initial games last week.

He liked how his team responded after falling behind and with the efforts of players like Lauren Kulaga, Jessie Woodall and Jessica Kaminski.

Click to hear coach Ken Schoen interview

Abbey Schroeder and Sammi Hill both scored goals in the first six minutes for the Vikings, who started six seniors.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats started a combination of six freshmen or sophomores and just one senior, Amanda Jensen.

With just over 14 minutes left in the first half, Madeline Tarrant, who had three assists, scored to give Geneva a 3-0 lead.

Plainfield Central, which fell 6-0 to Prospect in its opener before claiming a 2-1 win over Morris, only had one shot on goal.

That came with 2:30 left in the first half when Kelsey Graefen sent a grounder to goalkeeper Victoria Fortney.

Although it was going into the wind throughout the second half, Geneva controlled the play and shut down the Wildcats offensively.

During the final 10 minutes of play, the Vikings also received goals from Amanda Lulek and Catherine Allon.

The Wildcats take some time off before returning to action next Thursday for their Southwest Prairie Conference opener at Minooka.

Click to read Geneva story