St. Charles N. ousts Geneva
At the start of Tuesday’s Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional semifinal with Geneva, St. Charles North’s Kenzie Rose sported a clean, white headband on her forehead.
By the end of the match, that headband was more gray than white, and the smudge that she put on that cloth in the ninth minute of play should be autographed by all the North Stars. That mark came as Rose rose to meet Kelly Manski’s left wing corner kick. Rose headed the ball into the net, which certainly set the underdogs on their way to an eventual 2-0 victory.
“We’ve been working on them in practices a lot,” Rose said. “It’s my time to shine. I’m there for a reason. I got my head on it and I got it in again and I am so proud of myself and for Kelly getting it in perfectly.”
The goal was Rose’s second headed goal in as many matches. She also scored with her head in Saturday’s regional title victory over St. Charles East.
“I go for headers pretty much 100 percent of the time and I pretty much get them,” Rose said. “It’s one thing that’s my strength. My coaches have told me that.”
As they had in their match with St. Charles East, the North Stars (16-5-2) were the dominant team through the first half and especially in the opening 20 minutes. That period of ascendance was punctuated by a second goal, at nearly the midpoint of the half. This time Lauren Koehl scored when she moved quickly forward into a gap in Geneva’s defense and scored.
“We changed up our formation a little bit and it really gave us a spark,” St. Charles North’s Alex Gage said. “In the first 40 minutes, we were able to put goals in and it was great to see. Everyone’s fitting into their positions and talking and communicating.”
Geneva (15-5-4) was limited to a strong Amanda Lulek cross 6 minutes into the match and a Kailey Rote shot over the crossbar in the opening half. Against that, St. Charles North made a clear statement of intent to win the match in those first 40 minutes, coming off a four-goal first half performance in its win over St. Charles East.
“We’ve been talking about mental focus,” St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal said. “We know they’re a great team and if they get a goal early, how are we going to respond? If we get a goal early, how are we going to respond? Fortunately, these past couple of games, we’ve been able to come out and get one early.”
The Vikings, who tied St. Charles North 1-1 in the regular season, came out stronger at the start of the second half.
“It’s obviously tough to swallow, but at this level, you’ve got to show up for 80 minutes,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “That’s what you’ve got to do to beat the best teams in the state.”
Three times in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, Geneva had the ball dangerously in St. Charles North’s penalty area. The first two chances came from Lulek corner kicks, and the second of these, seven minutes into the half, created chaos though without a firm shot on goal. Catherine Allon headed on top of the net from a Lulek cross one minute later.
“We had a great second half,” Owens said. “You can’t wait until the second half. We played rattled in the first half. I don’t know why. It’s unfortunate but they were the better team today.”
Geneva graduates five seniors — all starters in Tuesday’s match: Kristin Rodriguez, Allon, Caitrin Griffin, Marissa Schroyer and Kailey Rote.
“Four of my seniors, I’ve had for three or four years so it’s obviously hard to say good-bye,” Owens said. “You develop quite a relationship. I want them to look back at their high school careers for all the fun and good times they had.”
Having survived that onslaught, St. Charles North regained balance. The Vikings again surged for a goal with eight minutes left, but the North Stars again kept their shutout intact and advanced to Friday’s sectional title match. The second semifinal takes place Wednesday when the host Saxons face Mid-Suburban League foe Conant. Friday’s title match starts at 6 p.m.