Spartans' fast start not enough against Geneva

By Darryl Mellema

For eight minutes on Tuesday, St. Francis looked nearly unstoppable. The Spartans tore into Geneva, gained possession and - when awarded a free kick just outside the Vikings penalty area, engineered a scramble that resulted in a goal.

Although their dominance held for a few minutes after that - and returned briefly in the second half - things were never quite that good again in the Spartans nonconference tilt against the Vikings and Geneva eventually rallied to win, 2-1.

"I don't know what happened," St. Francis freshman Kaity Bucaro. "We scored, we're up and everyone was up. But things happened and we fell back. I really don't know what to say."

After having a five-match winning streak ended on Saturday, St. Francis (8-7-1) has now lost back-to-back matches. The manner of the defeat was what frustrated Spartans coach Meghan Boler.

"Our girls have to play 80 minutes," she said. "Sometimes, I think they pick and choose and say 'I'll play now and I won't have to play later.' Or we're down a goal and they need to step up. I remind them that the other team's playing for 80 minutes and so do they."

In the moments immediately after Matichak's goal, the Spartans remained dominant but were unable to take advantage. Geneva sorted itself out and equalized within five minutes through Amanda Lulek. The Vikings won when Sammi Hill beat the offside trap and scored one minute into the second half.

"There were chunks where we did great and had good ball movement," Boler said. "But then we'd get under pressure and we'd freak out and play like they don't know what to do. Most of the time, they have plenty of time to play it outside or to shoot or to do what they want to do."

And in those early minutes, the Spartans were clearly the superior team.

"That whole run to the goal, I was thinking 'this is good, we're starting off strong.'" Boler said.

With two weeks to play in the regular season, Boler said she is looking for consistency from her squad. At times on Tuesday, the Spartans looked like the team that defeated Libertyville and which pushed Maine South at the Pepsi Showdown. At other times, they looked like a team that has seven freshmen on the roster playing Geneva, a team that typically starts seven seniors.

"It's been a roller coaster," Boler said. "Sometimes we play really, really well. Other times, it's just OK. I just really, really hate losing - and I know the team does too."
One of the facets of play that disappeared at times on Tuesday was St. Francis' tidy passing game. While Geneva's play certainly had something to do with that fact, the
Spartans never got the ball flowing freely offensively.

"One of our strengths is finding each other," Boler said. "When that doesn't happen, things tend to fall apart."

The loss only partially masked the way in which the Spartans have improved this spring. After a 1-3-1 start, St. Francis has matured into a solid team.

"We've gotten so much stronger as a team," Bucaro said. "That's great with us. The weather conditions were bad; we have to admit that. But still, I think we tried our best and the result just wasn't on our side."

There is much to be played for in the final matches of the season. The Spartans are 3-1 in the Suburban Christian Conference and all four matches before the end of the regular season are conference contests.

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