Girls soccer: St. Charles North capitalizes in DuKane showdown vs. Geneva
The best offensive strategy when facing an opponent that is stingy in giving up goals is to take advantage of all potential scoring opportunities.
St. Charles North and Geneva were both in that situation when the squads squared off at Burgess Field Tuesday night. Going into the DuKane Conference contest, the North Stars had yielded only four goals in nine matches this season while the Vikings had given up five in 10 contests.
North (6-2-1, 4-0) capitalized on two of the few scoring chances it had to get past Geneva, 2-1.
"The execution from our offense was fantastic. We know that in a really tough game like this one, you don't get many opportunities and we made the most of them," said North Stars coach Brian Harks.
"It was a frustrating game for us. I felt like we dominated run of play and we outshot them, but they capitalized on two mistakes. That's what good teams do," Geneva coach Megan Owens said. "I think it just comes down to mental focus. We'll learn from it and move on."
Laney Stark scored the North Stars' first goal at the 20:51 mark of the first half. The junior forward won a race with Vikings goalkeeper Jordan Forbes to a loose ball at the right corner of the penalty box. Stark corralled the ball and after dribbling for a couple of yards, booted it into the back of the net.
With 3:40 left before intermission, Bella Najera scored her 12th goal of the season on a free kick. Her 35-yard shot from the left side of the field flew over a wall of Geneva defenders and hit the left corner of the net.
"I was looking at where the defenders were and if I could play a ball in because we had a really good attacker in the air in Kayla Floyd," Najera said. "I saw that she was pretty well marked. I looked at the keeper and saw that there was a wide-open spot to the left, so I took a shot, and it went in."
"We definitely outshot them. We just struggled to put the ball on frame," said Owens. "A disappointing outcome but fixable."
Geneva (9-2-0, 1-1) got back one goal in the 73rd minute. Leyna Yonehara got past North's back line and sent the ball home from 10 yards out.
Harks lauded his back line for its play.
"I think the defense played really well as one unit tonight. I think they show a lot of trust in one another. They trusted that their teammates would have their backs," the North coach said. "That is why they were able to hold a team like Geneva, with so many offensive weapons that are very fast and skilled, to one goal."