Boys soccer: Geneva, St. Charles East play to a draw
Just moments after missing a genuine scoring opportunity, Christian Diaz gave a small little tap of his foot onto the goal post.
Whether it's competing in traffic around the net or sprinting for possession of a deep pass up the sideline, it isn't hard to see how animated and invested Diaz, Geneva's junior forward, is during a game.
His face sometimes says plenty.
"This kid works his tail off," Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said following a 2-2 tie against St. Charles East on Thursday. "There's no one with more energy out there. [He's] willing to put his body on the line, always on the ground [and] popping back up."
While his individual effort stands out up and down the pitch, Diaz prefers to keep the focus on the rest of his team.
"I like to look at [things] as a team. It's a team sport and working together. Our team [helps] me grow as a player," Diaz said.
St. Charles East took a promising 2-0 lead at the half on goals from Sebastian Carranza and Luka Avendano, but the Vikings were determined to bounce back. Diaz got the Vikings rolling nearly five minutes into the second half with a goal after Saints goalkeeper Jordan Rolon initially mishandled a save attempt in traffic.
About eight minutes later, Trent Giansanti scored the equalizer. Rolon kicked the ball out of the box toward Carranza but the ball careened off him, allowing Giansanti to put it home.
Both teams traded multiple excellent chances at goals in the final 20 minutes, but none were able to sneak through. Geneva's Ryan Leake boomed a shot off the crossbar and two minutes later, St. Charles East senior Gaetano D'Argento was unable to convert a golden penalty kick that missed just wide the post.
Diaz nearly headed in a crossing attempt with 10:15 remaining in the half, while Saints forward Sam Wade did the same minutes later.
" ... I think this game was a bit of a wake-up call for us," Diaz said. "After the [first] half, we noticed that we had the wind with us and we had to take advantage of it. We took advantage of it."
The Saints are balancing two freshman goalkeepers in the early part of the season. Tyler Benhart (two saves) started the first half while Rolon (two saves) came in the second.
"Rolon, that's his second 40 minutes," St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. " ... He played pretty good today."
After suffering a 4-1 loss against St. Charles North earlier in the week, Geneva was looking for a solid response.
"That's what I told them: All I'm looking for is a response from Tuesday," Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. "Tuesday, we didn't even go down in that game and we gave up. After they [North] tied the game at 1-1, energy just shut off. That wasn't acceptable that game, so it was good to see them bounce back."
"Even at 2-0, it helped that we had some chances early ... so credit to the boys to have a good response, not just from Tuesday but from going down 2-0 and [be] willing to fight it out."