Geneva builds 2-0 lead, settles for tie with Schaumburg

Rallies like the one Schaumburg put together on Thursday against Geneva are the kind that cause coaches to take great encouragement in a team's ability to find strength even after an abundance of time being dominated.

Seen from a Geneva perspective, situations like that - when a 2-0 lead becomes a 2-2 tie in the final 15 minutes of play, are enough to set coaches and teams running an inquest as to where the breakdowns occurred.

For the few neutrals at the opening match of the St. Charles East Invitational, the match provided an interesting contrast. Geneva (3-1-1) controlled much of the first half and seemed ready to consolidate a victory.

"We had a mental lapse," Geneva coach Megan Owens said. "For four or five minutes, we just fell apart. That shouldn't happen. That's not acceptable."

Geneva built its lead through solid team play. They led at halftime through an Amanda Lulek goal from a Gina Peri assist.

Peri also assisted on Geneva's second goal, midway through the second half, scored by Alexa Loebel.

"The girls decided they didn't want to lose," Schaumburg coach Greg Charvat said. "A tie is a tie but they didn't want to lose. It was unacceptable to take a 2-0 defeat so the girls battled really hard to put themselves in position to get back in the game. I'm proud of their effort."

Geneva walked off the field with a tie when it felt it should have had a win - and Owens mentioned that the result felt like a loss.

"It stings, and it should sting," she said. "You bust your butt for most of the match and then fall apart for 5."

Schaumburg (5-0-1) was on its heels for much of the match and rarely troubled Geneva's defenders.

"We were flat for a long time," Charvat said. "We had some energy up top that we didn't have earlier in the game. That made a difference."

Schaumburg's goals came 42 seconds apart. First Stephanie Pouse sent a right wing cross to Sarah Christy, who hit a left-to-right shot into the net.

That goal came with 12:12 to play. With 11:30 showing on the clock, Christy ran in on goal and scored to tie the contest.

"We've been waiting to finish," Charvat said. "We've had opportunities but we haven't been able to put the ball in the back of the net. Sarah Christy was huge for us. She's a finisher and it wasn't happening. But she kept working at it."

Geneva had one final chance to win the game when Sarah Tennant raced into the penalty area with 4 minutes left. Her effort at goal was deflected by a Schaumburg defender, hit the post, but went out for a corner kick.

Both teams are in action on Friday in competition not originally scheduled. Geneva plays at Naperville Central in the contest that was canceled on Thursday in the St. Charles East Invitational. Schaumburg will play the second half of its contest with Conant which was suspended Monday due to lightning.