Boys soccer: Nelson-Combs connection too much for Dixon in regional semifinal loss to Geneseo

GENESEO – Geneseo set the tone right away in its Class 2A Geneseo Regional semifinal matchup against Dixon on Tuesday evening, as Connor Nelson scored his first of three goals in the first minute. From there, the Maple Leafs never relented, rolling past the Dukes 5-1.

Nelson opened the scoring 49 seconds into the game. He broke away from the defense for a 1-on-1 with the goalie and took a feed from Brayden Combs before burying the ball in the back right of the net.

Nelson struck again in the 19th minute on a similar breakaway and feed from Combs, bouncing the ball off his chest, corralling it, and then launching it off his right foot into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 Geneseo lead. That was the score at halftime.

“It got momentum going, for sure. We react really well off momentum, so having another goal fall short after was nice,” Nelson said of scoring in the first minute. “Even though we let off the pace a little, we have people to keep us responsible and push us to our potential, so we were able to kind of get back with it.”

Dixon goalkeeper Rex Blackburn made six saves in the first half as Geneseo attempted 10 shots on goal. The Dukes were held without a shot on goal in the first half.

In the first few minutes of the second half, the Maple Leafs went up 3-0, as Combs got in on the scoring action himself. Receiving a Nelson pass over the middle, Combs dribbled to his right and sank a shot in the right corner of the net.

“Playing together has been something we’ve done for the past three years now, so we have a pretty good connection when it comes to playing together,” Combs said of himself and Nelson. “We can see where each other’s gonna be, so I think us having that kind mindset with each other, kind of knowing where each other’s gonna be in advance, it’s good chemistry for us, so it works.”

“Brayden and I play every game together up top with very minimal rest, so we’ve gotten really good chemistry finding each other recently. We’ve been pushing to find each other more up top,” Nelson said. “For us, assists feel just as good as goals. So any time we get an assist, it’s amazing, Working together, it’s awesome.”

With 31:57 remaining in the second half, Dixon finally lit up the scoreboard. A well-placed pass from Kristian Prather in the right corner to Landon Juckel near the right post trimmed the deficit to 3-1.

But the two-score deficit would be short-lived.

In the 69th minute, Combs approached the goal box from the right, took the ball back off his own deflection, and buried it in the back left of the net for a 4-1 lead.

About a minute later, Nelson took a pass from Combs on another breakaway, and fired it up the middle for a 5-1 lead.

Geneseo out-shot Dixon 16-4 for the game. All of the Dukes shots on goal came in the second half.

“First two goals were on counters, we didn’t defend that really well. The second goal was really pretty. Not much you can do there,” Dixon coach Josh Brigl said. “First goal out of position, and then in the end, they came out with a lot of pace and pressure in the second half. Did well to get the third goal. We rallied back, had some chances, drew within two, and then it just wasn’t sustainable.”