Loebel goal lifts Geneva to OT win
Michaela Loebel didn’t think her 26-yard shot had a chance at scoring.
When the soccer ball did settle in the Wheaton North net, it gave Geneva a 2-1 overtime victory Friday night in Wheaton in Naperville Invitational group play.
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was going in, then I think the wind helped carry it,” the Vikings sophomore said. “I thought it was going over. When I kicked it I didn’t really think it was solid. But it felt good.”
A stiff wind blowing from over the north goal helped Geneva throughout the second half and into the sudden-death overtime period that Loebel ended in its fourth minute. After an evenly played first half, Geneva dominated play for the next 44 minutes, outshooting the Falcons 18-2.
“I think we used it very well,” Loebel said of the wind. “We didn’t overplay our balls and stuff. Some of their balls in the first half went a little over, but I think we just timed ours well.”
Despite all of Geneva’s pressure, it was Wheaton North that scored first, a Brittany Norris goal in the 66th minute from the top of the penalty area.
Geneva (9-2-4) just went back to pressuring Wheaton North junior goalkeeper Jessica Kiely, who made 8 saves and who did well to prevent more Geneva shots by coming off her line aggressively to cut off crosses and long balls blown into the box.
“She made a couple of nice saves tonight,” Falcons coach Tim McEvilly said of Kiely, “but a lot of it was just balls played through. They felt the wind and they were just playing balls, going. So she’s busy just coming off the line and she played really smart, intelligent stuff, coming out, getting those balls.”
In the 72nd minute Amanda Lulek won a ball that the Falcons (6-7) couldn’t clear and shot from 10 yards out, putting the ball where Kiely couldn’t reach it to send the game to overtime.
“We worked really hard in the second half, we really did, they just took it to them. And we knew if we kept shooting we’d eventually get one,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “We just had to keep up the intensity and we did a great job with that. They really played a solid game and we moved the ball a lot better.”
“The wind made a big difference,” McEvilly added. “The wind just gave them the last 15 minutes of the second half. They really got the energy and that coin toss came (before overtime) and they get the wind for the (first 10-minute overtime period). My kids played almost 100 minutes last night and they’re ready to go again. We were trying to be more defensive, just hoping to make it through that first 10 minutes.
“We pulled some more numbers back, but that ball kind of bounces back. And who’s going to save that ball? It’s another ball in the upper 90 from 30 yards out. You can tell your kids to press the ball all over the field, but when the kid is shooting from 35 yards out, it’s difficult to ask the defense to put constant pressure and the keeper to make a save like that.”
Geneva resumes tournament play at noon Saturday at Wheaton North when it meets Conant for a chance to advance to the championship bracket.
“Our momentum’s going, we’re on a good roll,” Owens said of her Vikings, undefeated in their last five matches. “We’ve played very, very solid games.”
Wheaton North, which lost to Conant in double overtime Thursday night, takes a break from the tournament but not from playing, meeting Whitney Young.