Sloan leads Geneva's charge against Batavia

Shawn Sloan, a senior on the Geneva boys soccer team, is well on track to accomplishing the goal he set at the start of the season.

Sloan's goal was to net 30 or more goals by the end of the season. It's a little more than halfway through and he's done it 16 times.

He scored Nos. 15 and 16 in one of Geneva's biggest wins of the season Thursday, when the Vikings topped Western Sun Conference rival Batavia, 3-1.

This was Sloan's second consecutive 2-goal game, as he helped Geneva improve to a Tri-Cities Area best 12-2-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the conference.

Strange enough against Batavia, he struggled to put the ball in the net early. The Bulldogs (9-4-1, 3-1) struck first after Mitch Albrecht tallied the lone score for either team in the first half.

"We just didn't create a ton of chances," Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. "Batavia's goalkeeper, Adam Spencer, did a nice job."

Geneva finally started to score in the second half. Sloan scored on a Kendal Spurgin assist, followed by a goal from Brady Wahl. Sloan then scored again to seal the Vikings' win. They play again today against nonconference Wheaton North.

"I thought it was a great come-from-behind win," Estabrook said. "Batavia did a nice job holding on for a long time."

Editor's note: We apologize to fans of both soccer teams this story was not in Friday's Daily Herald.