Geneva scores 3 in 2nd half to break away from Rosary
Sometimes one half tells you everything you need to know about a soccer team’s performance. Saturday was not one of those days for Geneva’s squad in a nonconference match with Rosary.
Taken over 40 minutes, the Vikings struggled mightily and led thanks to Michaela Loebel prodding home a loose ball two minutes before halftime.
The Vikings sorted out some things at halftime, scored two minutes into the second half and eventually claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory.
“In the beginning, we didn’t come out as strong,” Geneva sophomore Michaela Loebel said. “But we had a good halftime speech and then we woke up a little bit in the second half. We had a pretty good second half.”
The key change was in the manner in which the Vikings (8-2-3) attacked. A more integrated attack had an immediate impact after halftime.
“We were forcing more through balls instead of passing more through the middle,” Loebel said. “In the second half, we tried to connect more with give-and-goes and overlaps.”
The key Geneva goal was scored by Catherine Allon just under two minutes into that second half when she took an Amanda Lulek left wing cross and headed into goal. In the moments before that goal and for considerable time afterward, the Vikings dominated possession and kept the ball in Rosary’s half of play.
Allon had a further shot over the crossbar, Ally Serra saw a shot saved, Allon had two efforts stopped in quick succession and Lulek shot into the side netting. Frequently, Rosary’s last line of defense — goalkeeper Lauren Frasca — was all that stood between the Vikings and extension of their lead.
“I think we came out and played really hard and gave up just that one goal just before halftime,” Rosary coach Kristy Kane said. “We were tired at the end of the second half. They’re a quick team and they pass well.”
When Geneva scored again, 2:28 remained and Loebel got the goal, taking the ball from a defender and scoring from just outside the six-yard box. The final goal came 58 seconds later when a Loebel shot was half-saved by Frasca. The ball continued to Allon, who scored.
The loss is only Rosary’s (9-2) second this season. A Class 2A team, Kane said the experience of playing not just a Class 3A team but a powerful program like Geneva would be good for her team as it moves forward.
“We have had so much success this year,” Kane said. “You’re not always going to get shutouts. It’s important to have games where you have to try to come back from a deficit. (Geneva’s) such a strong team that we couldn’t get it done today.”
Geneva is in a strong run of matches. Thursday, the Vikings tied Neuqua Valley 1-1 in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover. Tuesday, Geneva visits Upstate Eight River power St. Charles North.
“We have had a lot of tough competition this week,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “It’s a Saturday game and it’s a different field. Sometimes it’s hard to ask teenagers to get up and bring 100 percent to each and every game consistently. That’s hard to do.”