Waubonsie Valley loses to Geneva despite Patel's efforts

Geneva put on a soccer team clinic Saturday morning, while host Waubonsie Valley couldn't quite keep up with the visitors' strong overall play.

The Vikings controlled the midfield play, capitalized on scoring threats in each half, and even picked up a spectacular save by goalkeeper Ryan Ward to preserve a shutout in the 2-0 nonconference win.

The Warriors (4-7-1), meanwhile, got a great effort from junior Nik Patel both on offense and defense. But the talented sweeper/attacker could not do it alone against a solid 9-2-1 Vikings squad.

"The last few games we've done a great job of controlling the middle of the field and getting a lot of opportunities," Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. "Fortunately, we got a couple goals in today. One-nothing, 2-0 is always a scary score in soccer because a game can change on a dime."

Vikings junior Kevin Hilgart changed the game from 0-0 to 1-0 Geneva when he took a nice pass from Shawn Sloan and spun by a defender before unleashing a 20-yard rocket just inside the right post with 24:21 left in the opening half. Geneva had 4 shots on goal in the first half - the same total Waubonsie had for the entire game - but the score remained 1-0 until Kendal Spurgin closed out the scoring midway through the second half.

"Shawn set me up pretty good and I just struck it well," Hilgart said of this third tally this season. "Our midfield held it down well and we cut down their chances."

With Patel playing well at sweeper, the Vikings' chances were also minimized for much of the game. But looking for an added spark on offense, Waubonsie moved Patel up the field just over 10 minutes into the second half.

The switch did spark the Warriors attack; Patel had two tough shots in the second half, one a free kick that he struck perfectly and sent toward the net just under the crossbar. Only a leaping deflection by Ward was able to tip the ball and keep the Warriors off the board.

"They've got a nice group of kids that play together as a team," Warriors coach Angelo DiBernardo said of the Vikings. "For us Patel comes to play every game, regardless of the record and regardless of who we are playing. He shows a passion for the game."

With 13:19 left to play, Patel tried again to cut the Vikings lead in half, but this time Ward made a nice stop on a low blast.

"Angelo always puts nice players on the field so anytime you leave here with a win you feel pretty good," Estabrook said.