Geneva struggles in opener

There was wind and some rain and the opponent, Plainfield Central, was difficult in itself.

But it was some of the things that Geneva's girls soccer team did and did not do that were talking points for Vikings coach Megan Owens after her team's 2-0 season-opening loss at Burgess Field.

"It was our first game and you can tell it was our first game," Owens said. "We did not play well. I think we possessed the ball more than Plainfield did. We had it down in their half more. But we did not make the best of our opportunities."

The Vikings fell behind to a pair of first-half Brigid Henley goals. Play from neither team improved much in the second half and the final minutes showed a pair of teams still working to reach match fitness so early in the season.

"They had, what, three opportunities in the first half and they made two out of three?" Owens said. "They capitalized on it."

More than the goals, there were some subtle traits that Owens said she wants her team to lose quickly.

"We were back on our heels a lot," Owens said. "We were reacting instead of anticipating. There are just some things we have to work on. It was our first game outdoors and you could tell."

The win was Plainfield Central's first against Geneva.

"It's always pretty intimidating to come and play against Geneva," Plainfield Central coach Jen Tomczak said. "They always have good teams and strong players. I think our girls were nervous but excited to play."

Geneva (0-1) pressed some as the match progressed, but found getting clear-cut scoring chances difficult. An inability to come to terms with the day's weather conditions proved to be a problem.

"I'm not going to make excuses for them," Owens said. "There were certain things we did well. But marking up, we really struggled. There were two situations where we struggled to mark up, and they capitalized on them."

Plainfield Central (2-0) had just that little extra composure, perhaps because it had played a match already and perhaps because it played with the lead for most of the afternoon.

"We're still working on that second half mentality," Tomczak said. "It'll probably take six or seven games before we can play a good first half and then follow that with a good second half."