Batavia remains perfect,
shuts out Streamwood
Bulldogs' shutout streak surpasses 5 hours of play this season
By Chris Walker
STREAMWOOD -- You can add Alan Camarena, Oscar Chavez, Rafael Gil and Donnie Sosa to list of prolific scorers who were unable to deposit the ball in the back of the net against Batavia so far this season.
Apparently, it’s going to be awfully difficult to score against Batavia’s back line, which featured Nathan Carey, Joe Jorgenson, Nick Konopacki and Daniel Zagoren during Tuesday’s Upstate Eight River Conference game.
The Bulldogs shut out their fourth-straight opponent, bringing home a 2-0 Upstate Eight River victory over host Streamwood at Millennium Field.
“We’re feeling great back there,” Carey said. “I just think we need to continue working on talking. It’s been lacking the past few games, but the results have been good.”
While the overall effort by Batavia’s defenders and goalkeeping tandem was fantastic once again, Carey was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for another great individual defensive effort. The senior worked hard toward the team’s common goal of shutting down yet another opponent.
“Our keepers are doing great, and you really can’t ask much from them with how great they’re playing,” Carey said. “We know we still have to work harder and get better. I think we’re thinking teams aren’t as good as they really are, taking them for granted a bit, and we can’t do that, so we have to keep working hard.”
Batavia (4-0-0, 2-0-0), which has now outscored its four opponents 11-0, didn’t waste much time before setting the tone against the Sabres.
Cary fired a through ball to Ian Larson, who set up a Kevin Collins goal with 34:59 on the first-half clock.
“I figured to go back post where Kevin (Collins) was there to finish it,” Larson said.
The senior standout already has five assists, or a 1.25 average per game.
The Bulldogs then put the Sabres in a bigger hole with still 28:08 left in the first half when senior Larson guided in a free kick.
“When I first went to set the ball, I noticed they had one of their shorter players on the end of the wall, “ Larson said. “I just tried to send it over both and around the wall."
Streamwood (4-2-1, 0-1-1) was unable to answer.
“In the first half, we just had a couple of blunders again, and it’s part of being a young team,” Sabres coach Matt Polovin said. “We’re going to have some growing pains throughout the season. If it’s going to happen, I would rather it happen early in the season rather than later.
"The guys will eventually get it, and when you’ve got young kids, including four freshmen who can be out there at any given time, it’s going to take them time before they get it.”
The Sabres hadn’t played since a 1-1 tie to West Chicago early last week. Perhaps the extended layoff between games hurt them?
“We’re not used to having that much time off, and I don’t mind taking a couple of days off and getting right back into it,” Polovin said. "The first half was a little shaky, but the second half was a lot better. If we can work off that, something good can definitely happen.”
Streamwood was able to tighten up defensively after falling behind early but only was able to create a handful of scoring chances.
In the second half, Camarena had a couple decent looks for the Sabres, but perhaps their best opportunity of becoming the first team to score on Batavia in 2014 occurred in the 78th minute.
Mike Delaney received a corner kick from Edwin Rueda but wasn’t able to do much initially with it. The ball ultimately became situated within a crowd of players from both squads. Rueda was able to gain possession but had his shot carom off a defender.
Jasminko Dizdarevic and Alex Herrera both had rebound opportunities, but neither were able to sneak the ball past any of the defenders nor second-half keeper John Faraone.
Kevin Fiddelke manned goal in the first half as the Bulldogs once again received a strong effort from both keepers.
“It’s been great splitting time because the person who starts can communicate with the other (goalkeeper) on how the other team is playing,” Fiddelke said. “Then, in the second half, the other person knows what to look for, which is a good thing.”
During a pair of 4-0 wins leading into Tuesday, the Bulldogs may not have felt as much pressure because they enjoyed comfortable leads. Still, they only had a modest 2-0 lead against the Sabres. Plus, when you’ve not allowed a single goal all season, you want to keep that impressive streak alive.
“I have tremendous confidence in the guys in front of me,” Fiddelke said. “I don’t think any of us is feeling any pressure at this point. We’re just having a lot of fun in our season.”
As a former defender himself, Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco has also enjoyed seeing that big zero on the scoreboard at the end of games too.
“It’s good to see those stats up there, but it really comes down to moving onto the next game,” Gianfrancesco said. “Having the two guys (in goal) has created a level of competition between the both of them. I think it keeps them both sharp and our back line is very comfortable with either one of them, so we’ve been blessed with that.”
Starting lineups
Batavia
G Kevin Fiddelke
D Nathan Carey
D Joe Jorgenson
D Nick Konopacki
D Daniel Zagoren
M Matt Allen
M Erik Foessler
M Adam Heinz
M Luke Laurich
M Ian Larson
F Kevin Collins
Streamwood
G Sergio Blanco
D Christian Balbinio
D Mike Delaney
D Erie Ortiz
D Aaron Villegas
M Jasminko Dizarevic
M Marcos Rojo
F Alan Camarena
F Oscar Chavez
F Rafael Gil
F Donnie Sosa
Man of the Match: Nathan Carey, Batavia
Officials: Bill Gentes, Elie Ghawi, Glenn Sogge
shuts out Streamwood
Bulldogs' shutout streak surpasses 5 hours of play this season
By Chris Walker
STREAMWOOD -- You can add Alan Camarena, Oscar Chavez, Rafael Gil and Donnie Sosa to list of prolific scorers who were unable to deposit the ball in the back of the net against Batavia so far this season.
Apparently, it’s going to be awfully difficult to score against Batavia’s back line, which featured Nathan Carey, Joe Jorgenson, Nick Konopacki and Daniel Zagoren during Tuesday’s Upstate Eight River Conference game.
The Bulldogs shut out their fourth-straight opponent, bringing home a 2-0 Upstate Eight River victory over host Streamwood at Millennium Field.
“We’re feeling great back there,” Carey said. “I just think we need to continue working on talking. It’s been lacking the past few games, but the results have been good.”
While the overall effort by Batavia’s defenders and goalkeeping tandem was fantastic once again, Carey was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for another great individual defensive effort. The senior worked hard toward the team’s common goal of shutting down yet another opponent.
“Our keepers are doing great, and you really can’t ask much from them with how great they’re playing,” Carey said. “We know we still have to work harder and get better. I think we’re thinking teams aren’t as good as they really are, taking them for granted a bit, and we can’t do that, so we have to keep working hard.”
Batavia (4-0-0, 2-0-0), which has now outscored its four opponents 11-0, didn’t waste much time before setting the tone against the Sabres.
Cary fired a through ball to Ian Larson, who set up a Kevin Collins goal with 34:59 on the first-half clock.
“I figured to go back post where Kevin (Collins) was there to finish it,” Larson said.
The senior standout already has five assists, or a 1.25 average per game.
The Bulldogs then put the Sabres in a bigger hole with still 28:08 left in the first half when senior Larson guided in a free kick.
“When I first went to set the ball, I noticed they had one of their shorter players on the end of the wall, “ Larson said. “I just tried to send it over both and around the wall."
Streamwood (4-2-1, 0-1-1) was unable to answer.
“In the first half, we just had a couple of blunders again, and it’s part of being a young team,” Sabres coach Matt Polovin said. “We’re going to have some growing pains throughout the season. If it’s going to happen, I would rather it happen early in the season rather than later.
"The guys will eventually get it, and when you’ve got young kids, including four freshmen who can be out there at any given time, it’s going to take them time before they get it.”
The Sabres hadn’t played since a 1-1 tie to West Chicago early last week. Perhaps the extended layoff between games hurt them?
“We’re not used to having that much time off, and I don’t mind taking a couple of days off and getting right back into it,” Polovin said. "The first half was a little shaky, but the second half was a lot better. If we can work off that, something good can definitely happen.”
Streamwood was able to tighten up defensively after falling behind early but only was able to create a handful of scoring chances.
In the second half, Camarena had a couple decent looks for the Sabres, but perhaps their best opportunity of becoming the first team to score on Batavia in 2014 occurred in the 78th minute.
Mike Delaney received a corner kick from Edwin Rueda but wasn’t able to do much initially with it. The ball ultimately became situated within a crowd of players from both squads. Rueda was able to gain possession but had his shot carom off a defender.
Jasminko Dizdarevic and Alex Herrera both had rebound opportunities, but neither were able to sneak the ball past any of the defenders nor second-half keeper John Faraone.
Kevin Fiddelke manned goal in the first half as the Bulldogs once again received a strong effort from both keepers.
“It’s been great splitting time because the person who starts can communicate with the other (goalkeeper) on how the other team is playing,” Fiddelke said. “Then, in the second half, the other person knows what to look for, which is a good thing.”
During a pair of 4-0 wins leading into Tuesday, the Bulldogs may not have felt as much pressure because they enjoyed comfortable leads. Still, they only had a modest 2-0 lead against the Sabres. Plus, when you’ve not allowed a single goal all season, you want to keep that impressive streak alive.
“I have tremendous confidence in the guys in front of me,” Fiddelke said. “I don’t think any of us is feeling any pressure at this point. We’re just having a lot of fun in our season.”
As a former defender himself, Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco has also enjoyed seeing that big zero on the scoreboard at the end of games too.
“It’s good to see those stats up there, but it really comes down to moving onto the next game,” Gianfrancesco said. “Having the two guys (in goal) has created a level of competition between the both of them. I think it keeps them both sharp and our back line is very comfortable with either one of them, so we’ve been blessed with that.”
Starting lineups
Batavia
G Kevin Fiddelke
D Nathan Carey
D Joe Jorgenson
D Nick Konopacki
D Daniel Zagoren
M Matt Allen
M Erik Foessler
M Adam Heinz
M Luke Laurich
M Ian Larson
F Kevin Collins
Streamwood
G Sergio Blanco
D Christian Balbinio
D Mike Delaney
D Erie Ortiz
D Aaron Villegas
M Jasminko Dizarevic
M Marcos Rojo
F Alan Camarena
F Oscar Chavez
F Rafael Gil
F Donnie Sosa
Man of the Match: Nathan Carey, Batavia
Officials: Bill Gentes, Elie Ghawi, Glenn Sogge