Slick decision helps
St. Charles East nip Batavia
Dizdarevic goal gives Saints big league win
By Dave Surico
BATAVIA -- St. Charles East forward Jasminko Dizdarevic said he knew exactly what Batavia goalkeeper Jimmy Perreault was going to do. Perreault said the same thing about Dizadrevic. The forward found some luck, the goalkeeper didn't and that was the deciding factor in St. Charles East's 1-0 win over Batavia in front of a homecoming crowd of more than 125 people on Saturday.
The deciding play started in St. Charles East's end of the field when Batavia rushed a throw-in.
Soon after Mitch Lucatorto made a steal and started another of what had become trademark runs up the middle of the field.
"(Defender Mitch) Dorsey, I think, cut off a guy. The guy cut back, and I just read it and I was already running," said the senior. "Jas is always makings runs for me, and I was able to find him on a good ball."
Disdarevic ran onto the through-ball. He carried it on the left side and the lone Batavia defender came to him. In the middle, fellow forward Justien Stepien made a free run without a Bulldog defender in sight.
"I heard Justin calling my name, and I tried to play it across because I knew he was by himself," said Disdarevic, who returned to action Saturday after missing three games due to an injury.
It was then Lady Luck decided who would win the game.
"The kid (defender) slid, and it (the ball) came right back to me. So I took it one-on-one with the goalie," Disdarevic said. "I could have passed it to Justin, but I know this goalie because I've played with him in club.
"So I went near post because he always goes for the far post. So I knew what he was going to do. I just went near post because a little bit of space is all you need to put a goal in."
On a field made slick from two evenings of heavy rain and a rescheduled varsity football game that morning, most of the quality scoring chances went slip-sliding away. But Disdarevic made his 68th-minute try count with a professional looking strike from inside the 18 that put a damper on the Bulldogs homecoming festivities and earned him Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors.
What Diazdrevic didn't know was that Batavia keeper Perreault knew what he knew -- that the keeper usually goes far side. So Perreault decided to do the opposite. It was then he became the definition of the oft-invoked soccer term "unlucky."
"If I could have that breakaway again I'd save it, I guarantee it," the senior said. "My foot slipped out from under me. I knew he was going near post. I played with him in club season. I knew where he was going, but that's how it goes."
The slipping Perreault came up just short, as did his side.
Batavia was left to wonder what if.
St. Charles East's winning play came on a bad decision by the Bulldogs. With left back/throw-in specialist Daniel Zagoren running to put the ball into play, another Bulldog took the throw instead.
"He (Zagoren) should have been the guy taking the throw and my midfielder threw it in early. We weren't ready," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "Then we had an opportunity to serve it right into the box and didn't do it, and we got caught in the transition. And obviously they got a lucky bounce and it deflected right back to him, unlucky all the way around -- just not playing smart here at the end though."
Gianfrancesco hopes to get more out of his club if they can break a bad habit that was evident throughout the game. As St. Charles East linked passes with a fluid flow, Batavia seemed content to stop and start and endure difficulties in its connectivity.
"That's been all season," Gianfrancesco said. "They just ball watch. You can talk to them all day on it ... They improved on that quite a bit as the season's progressed. Still working on it, it's doable. ... We can still improve."
St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison was pleased with his team.
"Second half we got more in a rhythm. First half we weren't really connecting passes, and I think we were turning over passes in the midfield. We made a couple of adjustments in player personnel," said Jennison, whose winning moves included switching Lucatorto from center back to defensive midfielder. "I think we did a much better job of closing the gaps centrally.
"We were fortunate that we got to exploit a little bit of space in behind. We had one or two chances in the second half. We've been defending very well recently so we like to keep that mindset that if we stopping anyone else from scoring, one's good enough for us right now. So we're obviously pretty happy to put the one chance away."
The Saints figured to take an earlier lead if it weren't for Batavia junior midfielder/defender Charlie Marston's star turn off the bench.
In the 47th minute the Saints' hardworking Dorsey, who split his time between left striker and left back, made a run at the left upper corner of the 18. Perreault came out to make a slide tackle and was whistled for a foul. That led to a yellow card, and a penalty kick. With their keeper out of the game and without another in attendance, Gianfrancesco called on Marston, who got off the bench, walked behind it to get his black keeper's shirt out of his backpack, put on the gloves and headed out to the field for the first time of the afternoon.
When the whistle blew, St. Charles East's Chris Edgerton struck a hard shot that made a convincing bid to skid inside the left post, but Marston laid out to make a spectacularly improbable save in the 47th minute.
"I've been back-up keeper for teams in the past, so being ready is kind of a custom now. You never know what's going to happen," said Marston, whose heroics made him the early choice for Man of the Match honors. "I just do what I can do. I just play all out. It's just a guess, and I guessed right."
Marston came out at the next stoppage in play to a large roar from the crowd, and the save seemed to energize the Bulldogs for the next five minutes as they put together their best sequence of the game. Co-captain Luke Laurich tried to take advantage of the wind at his back in the 52nd minute. He snaked his way laterally between several foes before launching a shot from 35 yards out in the middle of the field that found St. Charles East keeper Steven Owens off his line. The dangerous idea drifted several yards wide of the frame.
Laurich said St. Charles East's halftime adjustments started to take their toll after that.
"They put two defensive mids onto me and they closed me down and it was a lot harder to distribute in the middle after they changed their formation," the senior said. "With the field conditions here in the middle it was pretty hard to play on the ground, so we had to play a lot of in the air balls which was a lot tougher because they had huge guys in the back. That made it rough."
The Saints won their third-straight game after an 0-3-1 run as the defending champs at the Northside College Showcase at New Trier August 29 through September 4. It appears the team benefitted from a rare stretch of eight days between matches after the Thursday game with Waubonsie Valley was washed out due to the weather.
"That tournament was rough for us," Lucatorto said. "But we've had a lot of longer practices and a lot or hardworking practices so we're getting back there. We're doing great in conference so I'm excited for the rest of the season."
The win gave St. Charles East (4-3-1, 2-0-0) the conference lead and adds more fuel to the fire as it travels for its crosstown rivalry game with St. Charles North (7-3-2, 1-0-0) at 6:30 Tuesday. The North Stars are ranked 23rd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Batavia (4-4-2, 0-1-1) didn't see its confidence flag waver after the competition with its surging conference opponent.
"From here it's only upward," Perreault said. "We're a good team. We lost to a good team, and we're going to come up big against Elgin."
The Bulldogs travel to face the Maroons at 6:30 Tuesday.
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Steven Owens
D: Kevin Davis
D: Jack Kempf
D: Mitch Lucatorto
MF: Will Arnold
MF: Brandon DiOrio
MF: Evan DiLeonardi
MF: Chris Edgerton
MF: Peter Clancy
F: Mitch Dorsey
F: Justin Stepien
Batavia
GK: Jimmy Perreault
D: Trevor Hockings
D: Will Smith
D: Joe Corno
D: Daniel Zagoren
MF: Luke Laurich
MF: Nathan Carey
MF: Matt Allen
MF: Erik Faessler
MF: Sal Garcia
F: Davis DiBiase
Man of the Match: Jasminko Dizdarevic, F, St. Charles East
St. Charles East nip Batavia
Dizdarevic goal gives Saints big league win
By Dave Surico
BATAVIA -- St. Charles East forward Jasminko Dizdarevic said he knew exactly what Batavia goalkeeper Jimmy Perreault was going to do. Perreault said the same thing about Dizadrevic. The forward found some luck, the goalkeeper didn't and that was the deciding factor in St. Charles East's 1-0 win over Batavia in front of a homecoming crowd of more than 125 people on Saturday.
The deciding play started in St. Charles East's end of the field when Batavia rushed a throw-in.
Soon after Mitch Lucatorto made a steal and started another of what had become trademark runs up the middle of the field.
"(Defender Mitch) Dorsey, I think, cut off a guy. The guy cut back, and I just read it and I was already running," said the senior. "Jas is always makings runs for me, and I was able to find him on a good ball."
Disdarevic ran onto the through-ball. He carried it on the left side and the lone Batavia defender came to him. In the middle, fellow forward Justien Stepien made a free run without a Bulldog defender in sight.
"I heard Justin calling my name, and I tried to play it across because I knew he was by himself," said Disdarevic, who returned to action Saturday after missing three games due to an injury.
It was then Lady Luck decided who would win the game.
"The kid (defender) slid, and it (the ball) came right back to me. So I took it one-on-one with the goalie," Disdarevic said. "I could have passed it to Justin, but I know this goalie because I've played with him in club.
"So I went near post because he always goes for the far post. So I knew what he was going to do. I just went near post because a little bit of space is all you need to put a goal in."
On a field made slick from two evenings of heavy rain and a rescheduled varsity football game that morning, most of the quality scoring chances went slip-sliding away. But Disdarevic made his 68th-minute try count with a professional looking strike from inside the 18 that put a damper on the Bulldogs homecoming festivities and earned him Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors.
What Diazdrevic didn't know was that Batavia keeper Perreault knew what he knew -- that the keeper usually goes far side. So Perreault decided to do the opposite. It was then he became the definition of the oft-invoked soccer term "unlucky."
"If I could have that breakaway again I'd save it, I guarantee it," the senior said. "My foot slipped out from under me. I knew he was going near post. I played with him in club season. I knew where he was going, but that's how it goes."
The slipping Perreault came up just short, as did his side.
Batavia was left to wonder what if.
St. Charles East's winning play came on a bad decision by the Bulldogs. With left back/throw-in specialist Daniel Zagoren running to put the ball into play, another Bulldog took the throw instead.
"He (Zagoren) should have been the guy taking the throw and my midfielder threw it in early. We weren't ready," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "Then we had an opportunity to serve it right into the box and didn't do it, and we got caught in the transition. And obviously they got a lucky bounce and it deflected right back to him, unlucky all the way around -- just not playing smart here at the end though."
Gianfrancesco hopes to get more out of his club if they can break a bad habit that was evident throughout the game. As St. Charles East linked passes with a fluid flow, Batavia seemed content to stop and start and endure difficulties in its connectivity.
"That's been all season," Gianfrancesco said. "They just ball watch. You can talk to them all day on it ... They improved on that quite a bit as the season's progressed. Still working on it, it's doable. ... We can still improve."
St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison was pleased with his team.
"Second half we got more in a rhythm. First half we weren't really connecting passes, and I think we were turning over passes in the midfield. We made a couple of adjustments in player personnel," said Jennison, whose winning moves included switching Lucatorto from center back to defensive midfielder. "I think we did a much better job of closing the gaps centrally.
"We were fortunate that we got to exploit a little bit of space in behind. We had one or two chances in the second half. We've been defending very well recently so we like to keep that mindset that if we stopping anyone else from scoring, one's good enough for us right now. So we're obviously pretty happy to put the one chance away."
The Saints figured to take an earlier lead if it weren't for Batavia junior midfielder/defender Charlie Marston's star turn off the bench.
In the 47th minute the Saints' hardworking Dorsey, who split his time between left striker and left back, made a run at the left upper corner of the 18. Perreault came out to make a slide tackle and was whistled for a foul. That led to a yellow card, and a penalty kick. With their keeper out of the game and without another in attendance, Gianfrancesco called on Marston, who got off the bench, walked behind it to get his black keeper's shirt out of his backpack, put on the gloves and headed out to the field for the first time of the afternoon.
When the whistle blew, St. Charles East's Chris Edgerton struck a hard shot that made a convincing bid to skid inside the left post, but Marston laid out to make a spectacularly improbable save in the 47th minute.
"I've been back-up keeper for teams in the past, so being ready is kind of a custom now. You never know what's going to happen," said Marston, whose heroics made him the early choice for Man of the Match honors. "I just do what I can do. I just play all out. It's just a guess, and I guessed right."
Marston came out at the next stoppage in play to a large roar from the crowd, and the save seemed to energize the Bulldogs for the next five minutes as they put together their best sequence of the game. Co-captain Luke Laurich tried to take advantage of the wind at his back in the 52nd minute. He snaked his way laterally between several foes before launching a shot from 35 yards out in the middle of the field that found St. Charles East keeper Steven Owens off his line. The dangerous idea drifted several yards wide of the frame.
Laurich said St. Charles East's halftime adjustments started to take their toll after that.
"They put two defensive mids onto me and they closed me down and it was a lot harder to distribute in the middle after they changed their formation," the senior said. "With the field conditions here in the middle it was pretty hard to play on the ground, so we had to play a lot of in the air balls which was a lot tougher because they had huge guys in the back. That made it rough."
The Saints won their third-straight game after an 0-3-1 run as the defending champs at the Northside College Showcase at New Trier August 29 through September 4. It appears the team benefitted from a rare stretch of eight days between matches after the Thursday game with Waubonsie Valley was washed out due to the weather.
"That tournament was rough for us," Lucatorto said. "But we've had a lot of longer practices and a lot or hardworking practices so we're getting back there. We're doing great in conference so I'm excited for the rest of the season."
The win gave St. Charles East (4-3-1, 2-0-0) the conference lead and adds more fuel to the fire as it travels for its crosstown rivalry game with St. Charles North (7-3-2, 1-0-0) at 6:30 Tuesday. The North Stars are ranked 23rd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Batavia (4-4-2, 0-1-1) didn't see its confidence flag waver after the competition with its surging conference opponent.
"From here it's only upward," Perreault said. "We're a good team. We lost to a good team, and we're going to come up big against Elgin."
The Bulldogs travel to face the Maroons at 6:30 Tuesday.
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Steven Owens
D: Kevin Davis
D: Jack Kempf
D: Mitch Lucatorto
MF: Will Arnold
MF: Brandon DiOrio
MF: Evan DiLeonardi
MF: Chris Edgerton
MF: Peter Clancy
F: Mitch Dorsey
F: Justin Stepien
Batavia
GK: Jimmy Perreault
D: Trevor Hockings
D: Will Smith
D: Joe Corno
D: Daniel Zagoren
MF: Luke Laurich
MF: Nathan Carey
MF: Matt Allen
MF: Erik Faessler
MF: Sal Garcia
F: Davis DiBiase
Man of the Match: Jasminko Dizdarevic, F, St. Charles East