Boys soccer: Red-hot York upends Geneva
York picked the perfect time to play it's best soccer.
As a result the seventh-seeded Dukes have an opportunity to capture their first sectional title in nearly 20 years.
Scoring on a trio of set pieces, York (16-6-1) won for the 10th time in its last 11 matches, defeating No. 3 Geneva 3-0 in a St. Charles East Class 3A sectional semifinal Tuesday.
The Dukes advance to Saturday's 11 a.m. final against No. 1 West Chicago. The program last brought home a sectional championship in 2000.
"It feels great," said senior forward Joe Meade. "We really came together as a team at the end of the season. Everyone is feeling good and confident."
Meade scored a pair of goals, both off corner kicks from Kol Rollins. He volleyed a goal in less than eight minutes into the match and later capped off York's scoring output with a header nearly midway through the second half.
"That's pretty rare for us," Meade said of the set-piece goals. "We are a smaller team so we don't use our heads much. I guess we were taking advantage of our runs and finding open space. It worked out today."
Meade also sent a perfect direct kick into the box five minutes after halftime, with central defender Kalvin Glodz moving up to head it into the back of the net to increase the margin to 2-0.
In addition Glodz helped spearhead a strong defensive effort in front of goalie James Sampson, who made 3 saves to secure the shutout. The Dukes held the Vikings to a single shot in the second half.
"We were a little shaky (defensively) at the end of the first half," Glodz said, "but at halftime we regrouped. I was able to come up and score and after that, I think the game opened up for us. We were able to hold them to just one chance at the end. I'm pleased with the back line and overall I'm just really proud of the guys.
"The regional title was, like, our first in 10 years so that was really special for us. Our school is behind us, they know something special is here. We've beat the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, hopefully we can get the one (seed) too."
York will take a seven-match winning streak into Saturday.
"We knew we had the players," York coach Lukasz Majewski said. "It's a senior-heavy group and they've played together for quite some time. We added a few newcomers and just had to blend in. Probably about 15 games ago, or 10 games ago, we figured things out. We found a formation and the pieces to fit the formation and have been rolling since."
Geneva ends the fall with a mark of 13-5-4 after winning just four matches a year ago. The Vikings' best chance to score came with 15 minutes left in the first half as a shot by Ethan Hipp was cleared off the back line by Glodz.
"It was a big turnaround and I'm proud of the boys," Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. "The seniors left a legacy for this program. They brought that competitive nature to this team.
"This was disappointing in a sense. We created opportunities but we just couldn't get one. If you would have told me we would give up three set-piece goals, I wouldn't have believed it. That's how we usually score. But I was proud of their fight."