Batavia turns back Plainfield North
Lady Bulldogs remain perfect with 3-0 win
By Mike Garofola
BATAVIA -- These are important times for Batavia.
With the state seeding process on the horizon, and a date on the road at Chicagoland Soccer's sixth-ranked team Geneva in two days, the Lady Bulldogs set out to prove plenty when it welcomed Plainfield North to sunny Bulldog Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
"Today, we wanted to come out, put in a strong effort against an always first-class opponent, keep our record spotless, and just go forward from there," said Batavia manager Mark Gianfrancesco as his no. 9-rated club warmed up in advance of the noon kickoff.
"We're proud of our undefeated record, but we also know a win over North today, and hopefully another against Geneva really would set us up well for sectionals. But as we told the girls beforehand, it's all about taking one game at a time, and the focus should be on what's going on here today."
The Lady Bulldogs listened well to their manager's plea.
Behind a rampant attack, plenty of inspiration from its bench and a stingy defense, Batavia defeated the visiting Tigers 3-0 and moved to 11-0-0 on the season.
"This was a very good win for us," began Cameron Hindel, who along with teammate Keegan Maris was at the center of the Lady Bulldogs attack all throughout the day. The duo's work led to them sharing MVP of the Match honors from Chicagoland Soccer.
"We knew what the job at hand was for us. So all of us were mentally into this game today, and it showed, not only from our starting lineup, but every other player that was brought in to play."
"We knew that Plainfield North always has a quality team," added Maris, who will play next fall at Valparaiso University. "So it was important for us to go out and play well right from the start, and I think that's exactly what we did."
No. 25 Plainfield North arrived with a little different plan than its host. Several minor injuries plus the chance to get minutes for everyone on the bench in this nonconference contest proved far more valuable than anything else.
"I told Mark beforehand we had a few injuries, and it was important for us to get everyone playing time with an eye on the rest of our conference schedule, in addition to the state playoffs. With that said, we played hard for 80 minutes, but they were clearly the better team today," said Tigers manager Jane Crowe, whose club competed without four starters.
Each team returned the favor of a half chance or two during a fast-paced opening quarter hour of soccer. Both sides tried to manage a strong wind, which favored the visitors during the first period.
Plainfield North (9-4-0) enjoyed a little bit more of the play in the early exchanges. Molly Grant and Megan Breier created a corner before Jessica Christmas exchanged passes with Grant which resulted in the Tigers forward testing Batavia keeper Jenny Scara.
In the early going the home side had some trouble breaking down their opponent's backline. When it finally did occur, the Bulldogs found their form quickly in the persons of the aforementioned Hindel and Maris. Avery Davis, Mackenzie Foster, among others, ramped up the pressure leading up to the first goal of the game.
"All of those girls had strong outings today," began Gianfrancesco.
"We/they played with speed, used width really well, and our movement with and without the ball was encouraging, and fun to watch as well."
Hindel, who will continue her academic and soccer career at Illinois Wesleyan, beat three along the right side before she forced Plainfield North keeper Erin Kuyawa to stretch to save her angled shot. It fueled what was becoming a revved up Lady Bulldogs attack.
However, while the home side was just about get on its collective front foot, it had to keep a wary eye on several of the weapons the Tigers have on their roster.
When Plainfield North targeted the hard-running forward Grant up-top, it was also dangerous due to its wonderful central midfielder, Megan Breier, whose enterprising runs and carries into the Batavia end and marvelous distribution, caused several nervous moments for the home side.
"Obviously Batavia, with its undefeated record, was a tough opponent," began Breier, who will play next fall at Ohio Northern. "But we came in here with a lot of confidence that would take one from them (and) we got some good looks in close, and created some good chances
"But we also have some injuries we're dealing with. So everyone got to play, while getting some rest as well."
Hindel helped the Lady Bulldogs earn their first goal at 22 minutes when a terrific individual effort drew Kuyawa off her line to save. But when the ball spilled freely forward and an ever-opportunistic Foster drove home the first goal at the tail-end of her center-channel run.
Batavia nearly doubled its advantage moments later when a lovely ball over the top from Foster fell onto the foot of Hindel. If not for a fearless challenge off the line by Kuyawa, who stymied the onrushing Batavia senior, it would have been 2-0.
"Our work rate and effort got better as the game went on. Everytime someone came in, it didn't change how we played," said Hindel.
A proof in point was a near-miss by Shelby Key, who shortly after coming on rattled the bar with her well-meant strike.
Plainfield North's Breier hoped to catch Batavia's keeper Scara off her line with her 35-yard snap-shot, but the senior didn't flinch and saved the 28th minute attempt.
Batavia continued to build its attack on its way to its second goal of the afternoon -- a superb one-timer by Kelly Bleakley who finished a helper from Alex Piron near the spot.
"Alex really stepped up today to give us some great physical play, while jumping into our attack to add numbers and pace," said Gianfrancesco.
Just after the intermission, a zig-zag run from Plainfield North's Breier helped her trick her way in-close, but she went wide with her attempt. Victoria Thornton, a silky smooth junior whom Crowe deployed as a defensive midfielder, looked to join and inspire the Tigers attack. But the way the home side began to build its attack forced her to defend only.
Davis went close twice in a matter of moments to start a sequence in which Batavia would record six-consecutive shots on frame in six trips into the Tigers end.
Breier and Grant created a corner to end this streak by the Lady Bulldogs at 55 minutes, and if not for a pair of sharp tackles by Morgan Wahlen, Breier may have gotten free inside the Batavia box.
Batavia continued to push for another strike and did so in fine fashion in the 67th minute. Freshman Abby Zipse earned her first point during her initial appearance with the big club.
On the final goal of the day, Davis turned and carried away from pressure and then buried her shot past Kuyawa, who had no chance.
Thornton, Christmas and Grant nearly ended the Lady Bulldogs shutout streak of four-straight games when they combined to put a quality attempt at Scara, who saved with confidence at 78 minutes.
"Mark has a very good team, and you can see why they entered this game with no losses," began Crowe, whose club shares the Southwest Prairie Conference points lead with Minooka and Oswego East.
"There were a lot of positives to take from this game for us. We were able to rest some players, got everyone minutes, responded well each time Batavia scored, and played hard for 80 minutes despite chasing the game for most of the day.
"We were coming off of a strong effort in overtime earlier the week to beat Oswego East to go 4-0-0 in conference, and with five-straight conference games coming up, I feel like we're ready for the challenge ahead of us."
Batavia's Maris felt the same about her team's fortunes.
"I really liked our effort today," began Maris.
"We like that we're undefeated. It's exciting to be without any losses, and it really gives us something extra to play for each time out.
"I think today showed that we're all ready for what's ahead of us, and that everyone on our roster can be counted on when they are needed."
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK- Erin Kuyawa
D- Claudia Baginski
D- Sielle Bartz
D- Payton Strausberger
D- Makenna Woodill
M- Victoria Thornton
M- Jessica Christmas
M- Trinity Grimes
M- Megan Breier
M- Jenna Christmas
F- Molly Grant
Batavia
GK- Jenny Scara
D- Gracey DiBiase
D- Jenna Nichols
D- Alex Piron
D- Amy TenHaken
M- Morgan Wahlen
M- Cameron Hindel
M- Mackenzie Foster
M- Anna Rakos
F- Avery Davis
F- Keegan Maris
Chicago Soccer MVPs of the match: Cameron Hindel, sr., MF, Batavia
Keegan Maris, sr., F, Batavia
Lady Bulldogs remain perfect with 3-0 win
By Mike Garofola
BATAVIA -- These are important times for Batavia.
With the state seeding process on the horizon, and a date on the road at Chicagoland Soccer's sixth-ranked team Geneva in two days, the Lady Bulldogs set out to prove plenty when it welcomed Plainfield North to sunny Bulldog Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
"Today, we wanted to come out, put in a strong effort against an always first-class opponent, keep our record spotless, and just go forward from there," said Batavia manager Mark Gianfrancesco as his no. 9-rated club warmed up in advance of the noon kickoff.
"We're proud of our undefeated record, but we also know a win over North today, and hopefully another against Geneva really would set us up well for sectionals. But as we told the girls beforehand, it's all about taking one game at a time, and the focus should be on what's going on here today."
The Lady Bulldogs listened well to their manager's plea.
Behind a rampant attack, plenty of inspiration from its bench and a stingy defense, Batavia defeated the visiting Tigers 3-0 and moved to 11-0-0 on the season.
"This was a very good win for us," began Cameron Hindel, who along with teammate Keegan Maris was at the center of the Lady Bulldogs attack all throughout the day. The duo's work led to them sharing MVP of the Match honors from Chicagoland Soccer.
"We knew what the job at hand was for us. So all of us were mentally into this game today, and it showed, not only from our starting lineup, but every other player that was brought in to play."
"We knew that Plainfield North always has a quality team," added Maris, who will play next fall at Valparaiso University. "So it was important for us to go out and play well right from the start, and I think that's exactly what we did."
No. 25 Plainfield North arrived with a little different plan than its host. Several minor injuries plus the chance to get minutes for everyone on the bench in this nonconference contest proved far more valuable than anything else.
"I told Mark beforehand we had a few injuries, and it was important for us to get everyone playing time with an eye on the rest of our conference schedule, in addition to the state playoffs. With that said, we played hard for 80 minutes, but they were clearly the better team today," said Tigers manager Jane Crowe, whose club competed without four starters.
Each team returned the favor of a half chance or two during a fast-paced opening quarter hour of soccer. Both sides tried to manage a strong wind, which favored the visitors during the first period.
Plainfield North (9-4-0) enjoyed a little bit more of the play in the early exchanges. Molly Grant and Megan Breier created a corner before Jessica Christmas exchanged passes with Grant which resulted in the Tigers forward testing Batavia keeper Jenny Scara.
In the early going the home side had some trouble breaking down their opponent's backline. When it finally did occur, the Bulldogs found their form quickly in the persons of the aforementioned Hindel and Maris. Avery Davis, Mackenzie Foster, among others, ramped up the pressure leading up to the first goal of the game.
"All of those girls had strong outings today," began Gianfrancesco.
"We/they played with speed, used width really well, and our movement with and without the ball was encouraging, and fun to watch as well."
Hindel, who will continue her academic and soccer career at Illinois Wesleyan, beat three along the right side before she forced Plainfield North keeper Erin Kuyawa to stretch to save her angled shot. It fueled what was becoming a revved up Lady Bulldogs attack.
However, while the home side was just about get on its collective front foot, it had to keep a wary eye on several of the weapons the Tigers have on their roster.
When Plainfield North targeted the hard-running forward Grant up-top, it was also dangerous due to its wonderful central midfielder, Megan Breier, whose enterprising runs and carries into the Batavia end and marvelous distribution, caused several nervous moments for the home side.
"Obviously Batavia, with its undefeated record, was a tough opponent," began Breier, who will play next fall at Ohio Northern. "But we came in here with a lot of confidence that would take one from them (and) we got some good looks in close, and created some good chances
"But we also have some injuries we're dealing with. So everyone got to play, while getting some rest as well."
Hindel helped the Lady Bulldogs earn their first goal at 22 minutes when a terrific individual effort drew Kuyawa off her line to save. But when the ball spilled freely forward and an ever-opportunistic Foster drove home the first goal at the tail-end of her center-channel run.
Batavia nearly doubled its advantage moments later when a lovely ball over the top from Foster fell onto the foot of Hindel. If not for a fearless challenge off the line by Kuyawa, who stymied the onrushing Batavia senior, it would have been 2-0.
"Our work rate and effort got better as the game went on. Everytime someone came in, it didn't change how we played," said Hindel.
A proof in point was a near-miss by Shelby Key, who shortly after coming on rattled the bar with her well-meant strike.
Plainfield North's Breier hoped to catch Batavia's keeper Scara off her line with her 35-yard snap-shot, but the senior didn't flinch and saved the 28th minute attempt.
Batavia continued to build its attack on its way to its second goal of the afternoon -- a superb one-timer by Kelly Bleakley who finished a helper from Alex Piron near the spot.
"Alex really stepped up today to give us some great physical play, while jumping into our attack to add numbers and pace," said Gianfrancesco.
Just after the intermission, a zig-zag run from Plainfield North's Breier helped her trick her way in-close, but she went wide with her attempt. Victoria Thornton, a silky smooth junior whom Crowe deployed as a defensive midfielder, looked to join and inspire the Tigers attack. But the way the home side began to build its attack forced her to defend only.
Davis went close twice in a matter of moments to start a sequence in which Batavia would record six-consecutive shots on frame in six trips into the Tigers end.
Breier and Grant created a corner to end this streak by the Lady Bulldogs at 55 minutes, and if not for a pair of sharp tackles by Morgan Wahlen, Breier may have gotten free inside the Batavia box.
Batavia continued to push for another strike and did so in fine fashion in the 67th minute. Freshman Abby Zipse earned her first point during her initial appearance with the big club.
On the final goal of the day, Davis turned and carried away from pressure and then buried her shot past Kuyawa, who had no chance.
Thornton, Christmas and Grant nearly ended the Lady Bulldogs shutout streak of four-straight games when they combined to put a quality attempt at Scara, who saved with confidence at 78 minutes.
"Mark has a very good team, and you can see why they entered this game with no losses," began Crowe, whose club shares the Southwest Prairie Conference points lead with Minooka and Oswego East.
"There were a lot of positives to take from this game for us. We were able to rest some players, got everyone minutes, responded well each time Batavia scored, and played hard for 80 minutes despite chasing the game for most of the day.
"We were coming off of a strong effort in overtime earlier the week to beat Oswego East to go 4-0-0 in conference, and with five-straight conference games coming up, I feel like we're ready for the challenge ahead of us."
Batavia's Maris felt the same about her team's fortunes.
"I really liked our effort today," began Maris.
"We like that we're undefeated. It's exciting to be without any losses, and it really gives us something extra to play for each time out.
"I think today showed that we're all ready for what's ahead of us, and that everyone on our roster can be counted on when they are needed."
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK- Erin Kuyawa
D- Claudia Baginski
D- Sielle Bartz
D- Payton Strausberger
D- Makenna Woodill
M- Victoria Thornton
M- Jessica Christmas
M- Trinity Grimes
M- Megan Breier
M- Jenna Christmas
F- Molly Grant
Batavia
GK- Jenny Scara
D- Gracey DiBiase
D- Jenna Nichols
D- Alex Piron
D- Amy TenHaken
M- Morgan Wahlen
M- Cameron Hindel
M- Mackenzie Foster
M- Anna Rakos
F- Avery Davis
F- Keegan Maris
Chicago Soccer MVPs of the match: Cameron Hindel, sr., MF, Batavia
Keegan Maris, sr., F, Batavia