Wheaton Warrenville South 2, Geneva 1
In playing its first game since March 25, Wheaton Warrenville South's girls soccer team looked like it was still on spring break in the first half against Geneva on Wednesday.
The Tigers did not even have a shot on goal in the first half.
"It looked like it early on, didn't it?" Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari asked after someone wondered if his team looked rusty. "We were making a lot of jokes early on about Maya Caribbean and everything else. We put that past us and thought about what was at hand here."
With their legs back under them in the second half, the Tigers rallied for a 2-1, nonconference win over Geneva. Sophomores Nicole LaPetina and Liz Ciesielski scored the decisive goals for the Tigers (2-1).
"We've been practicing really hard," Ciesielski said. "We all worked out over break and that really helped. Finally in the second half we got it together."
Geneva's Emily Hinchman, making the transition from defense to being more offensive-minded this season, gave the Vikings (3-2) a 1-0 lead with 27:26 left on a pretty shot to the far top corner.
"Emily still has a defensive mentality, but she's such a strong attacker," Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. "She's just trying to feel out what her role is for our team, and she looked very dangerous and very creative for us in spots. Of course, she had a great goal for us tonight. She's that kind of player and she'll be able to do that more consistently."
The lead was short-lived, however. After not having any serious offensive threats in the game, LaPetina managed to get the ball in a scramble in front of the Geneva net and punched it past Veronica Castro-Lopez to tie the game 1:31 after Geneva's goal.
"We were fortunate with the scramble in front a little bit, but we were at least assertive in getting to the ball first, which was something that we needed to work on," Callipari said.
Ciesielski's game-winner was set up when Taylor Nieling stole the ball in the midfield and fed a streaking Ciesielski in the middle of the field. It was the only time all night that the Tigers managed to get behind Geneva's defense, and she converted.
"It's a great timed ball," Callipari said. "The play wasn't even close to being offside. She was still a step behind, but her first touch was perfect, her run on goal was perfect, the ball was never too far off her foot and the goalie committed."
It was a reality check for a Geneva team that upset St. Charles East over the weekend.
"Beating St. Charles East should not be the highlight of our season," Estabrook said. "There is definitely a potential for a letdown after that. A lot of people were really high on us after seeing that great result that we had. I think we responded well at the start of the game. Once we scored, I think we let up and South picked up their intensity. That was the difference in the last 20 minutes of the game. They were clearly the aggressors and we didn't respond well to that."