Geneva tops Waubonsie for 1st time in 4 years

After wasting several potential scoring opportunities during the first two-thirds of Saturday's boys soccer match, Geneva and Waubonsie Valley made the back of the net a firing range down the stretch.

All of the game's goals were scored over the final 17-plus minutes -- with Shawn Sloan recording the game-winner on a low left-footed blast with 5:44 remaining, giving the Vikings (6-5-2) a 2-1 nonconference victory over the Warriors (2-7-2).

"This is the first time in four years that we've beaten Waubonsie so from that standpoint it obviously was a nice result," said Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook. "They're a quality club. Their record might not be what they want it to be right now but they still have a lot of talented players out there.

"We felt pretty good about beating them today."

Geneva senior Adam Cornwell, who broke a scoreless tie with his ninth goal of the season in the 63rd minute, also played a key role on Sloan's tally.

The 6-foot-1 midfielder dribbled past a pair of Warrior defenders before delivering a picture-perfect feed to a wide-open Sloan for the game-winner.

"I had the ball and there was no one coming at me," said Cornwell. "So I just kept dribbling and I just kept waiting. I saw Shawn and he hit a great shot."

Cornwell's all-around play provided an emotional spark.

"Credit Adam Cornwell today," said Estabrook. "He put three in the net and only got credit for one (two would-be goals were called back due to offside calls). He put a lot of pressure on their backline and really showed what he can do when he's a dominant player out there.

"He was kind of unlucky not to get credited with a few more goals, but he showed why he can be one of the top players in the area with his performance today."

Waubonsie Valley received its offensive production from a likely source -- freshman midfielder Ryan Dotson. Dotson slammed home his own rebound from point-blank range to tie the score at 1-1 with 13:41 remaining.

"Ryan is basically the only one who has been scoring goals for us," said Warriors coach Angelo DiBernardo. "He's got six of seven (goals) now so basically you can say that he's our offense."

The Warriors nearly salvaged a tie when a header from hard-charging Greg Danielewicz caromed off the crossbar at the buzzer, giving the Vikings a much-needed victory.

"I think it's a great win for us," said Cornwell. "It has been a struggle all-around, but I think we pulled it together today."

"We're starting to figure out some of our mistakes that we made early on and realizing that in order to win games, you've got to play hard," said Estabrook. "The kids have really done that the last couple of games."