Ben Murphy’s 2 goals, 2 assists in second half help Geneva advance to sectional finals

ST. CHARLES – The sectional semifinal game between top-seeded Geneva and fourth-seeded Glenbard West was a tale of two halves.

The first half was, per Geneva coach Jason Bhatta, “kind of boring,” with neither team finding the back of the net as the match entered halftime a scoreless tie.

The second half, however, was anything but boring.

Geneva, with the winds to its back, would find the back of the net four times in the first eight minutes of the second half to catapult it to a 4-3 victory over Glenbard West and advance to the sectional finals.

“We knew we were going to be OK in the second half,” Bhatta said. “Unfortunately, we made it a little more crazy than it should have been, but these games are intense. It gets sloppy, a little nervy, and I’m just happy that we walked out with a win.”

After playing into the blustering winds in the first half, the Vikings (13-4-4) spent zero time using the tailwind to their advantage to drive down the field. Just 80 seconds into the half after a tussle to get the ball, junior Ben Murphy boomed the ball into the net to break the scoreless tie.

Three minutes later, Murphy found the back of the net again, this time after a throw-in from Chase Marquardt found his foot.

The junior said after knowing that the tailwind would give them an advantage in the second half, he knew he had to come out angry to give them the lead.

“Those first 10 minutes of the second half, we were just feeling it,” Murphy said. “We knew we were dominating after playing into the wind and still having most of the chances in that half. I was just ready to go, and once they got in, they just kept going.”

Murphy had a chance to get a hat trick just seconds after his second score, finding himself in a two-on-two in the box. Instead, the Vikings’ leading assister on the season gave the ball off to Marquardt, who easily found the back of the net to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead after 4:52 of play. He would add one more assist just three minutes later after finding Caleb Kelly in the box.

“Murphy just keeps performing and producing goals and assists for us, and he’s peaking at the right time,” Bhatta said. “He’s so creative, and the fact he can create something just by himself, it makes him so dangerous.”

The Vikings will go on to face sixth-seeded Conant in the sectional final at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Cougars upsetted second-seeded Bartlett 4-1 in their sectional semifinal.

Despite the loss to end their season, Glenbard West (15-9-3) didn’t go out quietly. After losing its goalie in the regional final against St. Charles North on a taunting call, senior defender Tobi Montilla stepped in as the emergency goalie for the Hilltoppers to try and keep them in the game.

“He had some goalkeeping experience from back in the day, and he had a couple of good saves for us,” Hilltoppers coach Phil Wicyk said. “For a senior to step up in a big-game situation like that and be that rock for us in the back when we needed it, it shows a lot of character from him.”

The Hilltoppers had goals from sophomores Alex Ginder (48th minute) and Sam Nieto (51st minute) to cut the lead to 4-2. Senior Spencer Melms added another score with three minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough to salvage their season.

Even with the loss of their seniors, Wicyk says that the future is bright for the program.

“The seniors laid a foundation and groundwork for everybody in front of them,” Wicyk said. “We’ve got 11 returning players and six or seven returning starters next season, which is awesome. The future looks bright, and I’m proud of our team battling back. It was just those five minutes of kryptonite.”