Batavia offense explodes
to steamroll Streamwood
Bulldogs net 5 goals in 5-minute span of first half
By Ken Keenan
STREAMWOOD -- Relentless. That pretty much sums up Batavia's
performance against host Streamwood on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs
erupted for five goals in a five-minute span during the first half and
cruised to a 7-0 victory in the Upstate Eight Conference River
Division opener for both teams.
Controlling the match from the start, Batavia's aggressive midfield
play kept the Sabres (1-5-0 overall) on their heels -- and allowed the
Bulldogs (4-0-3) to attack, attack and attack some more.
"We had a nice focus and momentum for our first conference game," said
Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco, whose club battled Metea Valley
to a 3-3 draw Monday. "We jumped on it. We wanted to take care of
business, and we finished when we had the chances."
Boy, did they ever. Junior forward Megan McEachern got the party
started, firing a 20-yard shot into the right corner of the net past
sophomore goalkeeper Yasmine Resendiz for a 1-0 lead with 34:20
showing on the first-half clock. Senior midfielder Karina Rosales --
Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match -- earned the assist.
A mere 45 seconds elapsed before Rosales made it 2-0 on a high floater
from about 10 yards out. With 32:24 to go, McEachern upped the margin
to 3-0 with a close-range shot (assisted by Rosales). Just over a
minute later, sophomore forward Mackenzie Foster gave Batavia a 4-0
bulge on another shot from in close, with the assist going to junior
midfielder Anna Lins.
Rosales continued the barrage with yet another goal from the doorstep
(assisted by senior defender Alison Grimm) at the 28:46 mark to put
the Bulldogs on top by a 5-0 count. The lopsided score grew to 6-0
with 4:14 remaining in the first half, when senior midfielder Olivia
Callipari danced around the Streamwood defense and buried a shot
top shelf.
A corner kick by junior defender Alyssa Knutson led to the seventh
goal, scored by senior defender Kayla Stolfa on a long, rising shot
with 13:10 left in the game.
"We definitely came out strong, and that's really what we wanted to
do," Rosales said. "We pushed up really well."
Praising the Bulldogs' midfielders for spearheading the attack,
McEachern said, "It was fun moving the ball and getting everyone into
it. Everyone stepped up. We did a good job finding the ball and
finished well."
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin had nothing but praise for the
victors -- across the board.
"They're awesome," said Polovin, whose crew also played Monday night
and fell to South Elgin 4-1. "They have a bunch of veterans, and
they're fast, physical and smart. It was actually fun to watch them
play. I'm not afraid to tell a team they deserve it. Batavia played a
great game."
If not for the never-say-die approach of Sabres freshman defender
Esmeralda Navarro, the final tally could have been even more
substantial. With her team unable to measure any real possession time,
Navarro dug in and thwarted a boatload of Batavia opportunities.
Shortly after the sixth goal, Navarro cleared the ball from danger
after a Stolfa throw-in found senior forward Tori Renfus. In the 46th
minute, Navarro foiled a Rosales attempt. The defender did the same when Renfus
made a charge in the 50th minute. A free kick by Renfus ended up on Rosales' foot with 29:40 to go, but Navarro stole the ball and cleared it.
Navarro then hustled to clear a loose ball deep in her own end with
19:47 left in the match. Four minutes later, she knocked away a
wide-angle attempt by Knutson. The Bulldogs didn't let up, but neither
did Navarro. She cleared a ball with two minutes to go, and again
with 1:10 remaining.
Navarro said playing most of the game in the Sabres' end "was difficult, but I knew we couldn't give up. If I stop, I let my team down."
Polovin said, "Esmeralda is only a freshman, but she's by far our best
defender. She's got a great upside, and she'll be a rock for us back
there these next four years."
Pleased as he was with the blowout win, Gianfrancesco doesn't want the
Bulldogs to rest on their laurels.
"It was great that we had that killer instinct ... a good start to the
conference schedule," he said. "Everyone was focused and ready to go.
And that's the expectation -- to remain consistent throughout the
season."
Meanwhile, the loss served as another lesson for a young Streamwood
squad that's still finding its way.
"A game like this gives these girls a chance to see how far they need
to go to keep developing," Polovin said. "It's a tough conference to
play in, and there will be growing pains. But you can't get
frustrated. We did what we could up against a beast, and we'll see if
we can turn things around a bit."
Starting lineups
Batavia
GK: Jenny Scara
D: Alison Grimm
D: Kayla Stolfa
D: Alyssa Knutson
D: Rachel Reinecke
M: Olivia Callipari
M: Alexis Bryl
M: Karina Rosales
F: Megan McEachern
F: Mackenzie Foster
F: Keegan Maris
Streamwood
GK: Yasmine Resendiz
D: Christina Corona
D: Alex Bonilla
D: Esmeralda Navarro
D: Lexi Wilson
M: Cassie Adan
M: Alondra Blanco
F: Tawny Carroll
F: Karina Nevares
F: Shonali Pierce-Vazquez
F: Kaila Ford
MVP of the Match: Karina Rosales, MF, Batavia
Officials: Bob Crumrine, Manou Chahmirzadi, Jordan Hanley
to steamroll Streamwood
Bulldogs net 5 goals in 5-minute span of first half
By Ken Keenan
STREAMWOOD -- Relentless. That pretty much sums up Batavia's
performance against host Streamwood on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs
erupted for five goals in a five-minute span during the first half and
cruised to a 7-0 victory in the Upstate Eight Conference River
Division opener for both teams.
Controlling the match from the start, Batavia's aggressive midfield
play kept the Sabres (1-5-0 overall) on their heels -- and allowed the
Bulldogs (4-0-3) to attack, attack and attack some more.
"We had a nice focus and momentum for our first conference game," said
Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco, whose club battled Metea Valley
to a 3-3 draw Monday. "We jumped on it. We wanted to take care of
business, and we finished when we had the chances."
Boy, did they ever. Junior forward Megan McEachern got the party
started, firing a 20-yard shot into the right corner of the net past
sophomore goalkeeper Yasmine Resendiz for a 1-0 lead with 34:20
showing on the first-half clock. Senior midfielder Karina Rosales --
Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match -- earned the assist.
A mere 45 seconds elapsed before Rosales made it 2-0 on a high floater
from about 10 yards out. With 32:24 to go, McEachern upped the margin
to 3-0 with a close-range shot (assisted by Rosales). Just over a
minute later, sophomore forward Mackenzie Foster gave Batavia a 4-0
bulge on another shot from in close, with the assist going to junior
midfielder Anna Lins.
Rosales continued the barrage with yet another goal from the doorstep
(assisted by senior defender Alison Grimm) at the 28:46 mark to put
the Bulldogs on top by a 5-0 count. The lopsided score grew to 6-0
with 4:14 remaining in the first half, when senior midfielder Olivia
Callipari danced around the Streamwood defense and buried a shot
top shelf.
A corner kick by junior defender Alyssa Knutson led to the seventh
goal, scored by senior defender Kayla Stolfa on a long, rising shot
with 13:10 left in the game.
"We definitely came out strong, and that's really what we wanted to
do," Rosales said. "We pushed up really well."
Praising the Bulldogs' midfielders for spearheading the attack,
McEachern said, "It was fun moving the ball and getting everyone into
it. Everyone stepped up. We did a good job finding the ball and
finished well."
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin had nothing but praise for the
victors -- across the board.
"They're awesome," said Polovin, whose crew also played Monday night
and fell to South Elgin 4-1. "They have a bunch of veterans, and
they're fast, physical and smart. It was actually fun to watch them
play. I'm not afraid to tell a team they deserve it. Batavia played a
great game."
If not for the never-say-die approach of Sabres freshman defender
Esmeralda Navarro, the final tally could have been even more
substantial. With her team unable to measure any real possession time,
Navarro dug in and thwarted a boatload of Batavia opportunities.
Shortly after the sixth goal, Navarro cleared the ball from danger
after a Stolfa throw-in found senior forward Tori Renfus. In the 46th
minute, Navarro foiled a Rosales attempt. The defender did the same when Renfus
made a charge in the 50th minute. A free kick by Renfus ended up on Rosales' foot with 29:40 to go, but Navarro stole the ball and cleared it.
Navarro then hustled to clear a loose ball deep in her own end with
19:47 left in the match. Four minutes later, she knocked away a
wide-angle attempt by Knutson. The Bulldogs didn't let up, but neither
did Navarro. She cleared a ball with two minutes to go, and again
with 1:10 remaining.
Navarro said playing most of the game in the Sabres' end "was difficult, but I knew we couldn't give up. If I stop, I let my team down."
Polovin said, "Esmeralda is only a freshman, but she's by far our best
defender. She's got a great upside, and she'll be a rock for us back
there these next four years."
Pleased as he was with the blowout win, Gianfrancesco doesn't want the
Bulldogs to rest on their laurels.
"It was great that we had that killer instinct ... a good start to the
conference schedule," he said. "Everyone was focused and ready to go.
And that's the expectation -- to remain consistent throughout the
season."
Meanwhile, the loss served as another lesson for a young Streamwood
squad that's still finding its way.
"A game like this gives these girls a chance to see how far they need
to go to keep developing," Polovin said. "It's a tough conference to
play in, and there will be growing pains. But you can't get
frustrated. We did what we could up against a beast, and we'll see if
we can turn things around a bit."
Starting lineups
Batavia
GK: Jenny Scara
D: Alison Grimm
D: Kayla Stolfa
D: Alyssa Knutson
D: Rachel Reinecke
M: Olivia Callipari
M: Alexis Bryl
M: Karina Rosales
F: Megan McEachern
F: Mackenzie Foster
F: Keegan Maris
Streamwood
GK: Yasmine Resendiz
D: Christina Corona
D: Alex Bonilla
D: Esmeralda Navarro
D: Lexi Wilson
M: Cassie Adan
M: Alondra Blanco
F: Tawny Carroll
F: Karina Nevares
F: Shonali Pierce-Vazquez
F: Kaila Ford
MVP of the Match: Karina Rosales, MF, Batavia
Officials: Bob Crumrine, Manou Chahmirzadi, Jordan Hanley