Explosive Batavia rolls
past shorthanded Hinsdale Central
Trio of 1st half goals power Batavia to 4-0 win
By Dave Owen
HINSDALE – Different kinds of seasons were the story in Saturday's nonconference match between Batavia and Hinsdale Central.
For the visiting Lady Bulldogs (5-1-1), a battle-seasoned nucleus produced three goals in a 13-minute span late in the first half to essentially decide the game.
“I think there’s 11 returners (on our team),” Batavia senior Anna Holcombe said. “That helps a lot because you already have the chemistry. Then adding the new people, we’ve built chemistry pretty fast with them too.”
For the Red Devils (1-2-1), it was the date on the calendar that had the maximum impact. With several starters just returning from being out of town for spring break, a revamped first half lineup battled to endure Batavia’s firepower.
“Spring break is tough; this was the first day back for a lot of girls,” Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia said. “And the way we had it set up was that, they don’t play in the first half if they weren’t here for practice both Thursday and Friday. And some of them missed the first 20 minutes if they weren’t here Thursday.
“It’s always tough when people are out of town, going eight days without seeing some players.”
All of Batavia’s players remained in town for their school’s spring break, and the results showed in sharp play and a full-strength roster.
“We’re on spring break now, but we all stayed,” said forward Grace Salyers, who scored two goals Saturday. “We had practice or games every day.”
The Lady Bulldogs showed bark and bite from the start of the match.
In the fifth minute, Kyla Mackenzie’s 15-yard left side shot off a Salyers pass was denied on a great diving save by Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Fiona Fitzsimmons.
Holcombe’s ensuing corner kick was headed wide by CeCe Hamann. Then in the 14th minute, Fitzsimmons nicely batted away a Zaira Solis cross into the crease.
But midway through the half, the relentless Batavia pressure produced two goals in a span of just over two minutes.
The 1-0 lead came 19:42 before halftime. On a play initiated by a Batavia throw-in, Holcombe did the heavy lifting with a dribble up the middle. Driving around and past three defenders, she lined a low 16-yard shot inside the post for the game’s eventual winning goal.
“I saw the middle open,” Holcombe said, “and Ashley Whelpley passed me the ball. Then I saw a gap open, and I dribbled through, got on my left and I hit it to the far right corner (of the net).”
MVP of the Match Holcombe was back on a relentless attack 17:03 before halftime. This time, her cross from the left side found Salyers, whose nice header inside the left post made it 2-0 Batavia.
“We just noticed their defensive formation and how they were kind of sitting a little more flat,” Salyers said of Batavia’s offensive success. “So we were looking for splits and stuff to make those runs forward.”
Said Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco: “Anna setting up herself and other people, that opened space for others and created opportunities for others, it takes a lot of pressure off a lot of other girls, having her out there and her performance.”
A Fitzsimmons high grab of MacKenzie 18-yard shot in the 24th minute (set up by a Holcombe corner kick) kept up the Batavia surge.
Holcombe followed with nice rushes and shots on goal in the 25th and 30th minutes, both grabbed by Fitzsimmons. Then with 6:43 left in the first half, another rush upped the Batavia halftime lead to 3-0.
Morgan Toronyi’s pass found Chloe Valentino on left wing. Valentino’s ensuing low drive clanged off the inside of the right post and into the net, and the Lady Bulldogs’ lead grew.
“I think we did a good job connecting passes and finding the outside,” Holcombe said. “Normally we play on a wider field (than Hinsdale Central’s stadium), so it was kind of a struggle to keep it in wide. But I think we did a pretty good job doing that, connecting passes.”
But with Hinsdale Central’s lineup back close to full strength at the start of the second half, Batavia’s early command of play began to diminish.
“In the second half we looked good,” Madonia said. “Really we played great except for seven minutes of the game (midway through the first half). A few attempts the ball didn’t roll our way, or we didn’t get a call we needed.
“They (Batavia) came out the middle part of the game and really took care of business. You have to tilt your hat to them. I’m happy with the girls though. They’re working hard and staying positive. What else can I ask? Especially in the second half, I thought we played a great game.”
The Red Devils’ rise culminated with a huge set piece chance with 27:15 left to play.
Sam Moriarty’s well-struck 40-yard free kick found Olivia Rayis in the box. Her touch pass to Sarah Cernugel set up a 6-yard drive which Batavia second half goalkeeper Aubrey Hahn denied with a great diving block near the left post.
“She (Hahn) had a couple nice saves right on the line.” Gianfrancesco said.
Three other non-scorers in Batavia’s 4-0 win also earned rave reviews.
“Jenna Nichols in the back -- she basically does everything we need her to do,” Gianfrancesco said. “She’s so solid, is composed with the ball and cleans up anything we need.
“And obviously our midfield players, whether it was Abby Zipse or Bella Zink or Ashley Whelpley -- that’s a pretty good core there. It allows us to switch the ball, and they win a lot of 50-50 (balls).”
On the Hinsdale Central side, the instigator of the great scoring chance has also been an early-season standout.
“Sam Moriarty always keeps it at a nice, stable level,” Madonia said. “She’s consistent, she’s positive, she holds people accountable, and she’s a great leader.
“People like Caroline Lyman and Sam Moriarty (have stood out this season), and I would say both our goalkeepers Fiona Fitzsimmons and Taylor Ward. Those four for sure have been our stability.”
Ward replaced Fitzsimmons at goalkeeper in the second half, and was sensational in the sequence that led to Batavia’s fourth goal.
With 14:50 left, Holcombe’s 12-yard drive was denied by a great Ward save. The push continued moments later with Holcombe’s rebound header that Ward leaped to deflect off the crossbar, and Ward again came up with the stop on Salyers’ point-blank rebound try.
“You just have to keep going until you hear something,” Ward said of her rapid-fire series of stops. “That’s how it is.”
Unfortunately for Ward and the Red Devils, Salyers was fouled on her rebound try. Her ensuing penalty kick barely eluded the diving keeper inside the left post for the 4-0 final tally.
“One of their girls came out of nowhere and kind of hit me,” Salyers said of the foul. “I wasn’t expecting it, because I didn’t have the ball yet. I was on the ground, and I tried to head it, but it didn’t really work out. But then I got the call (for the PK) so it worked out.”
The Red Devils’ strong goalkeeper tandem of Fitzsimmons and Ward is also working out very well.
“We’re very encouraging of each other,” Ward said. “We split (time) and both are obviously fighting for that spot, but we have a good relationship.
“We help each other out. If one of us starts and there’s stuff we need to tell each other, we tell them about that so the other person knows and can do better.”
Doing better was the theme of the second half for Hinsdale Central.
“Obviously we’re down (3-0 at the half),” Ward said, “but coach said ‘We lost that half. We have to win the second half and play it half by half.’ And that’s exactly what we did.
“If it wasn’t for the PK we would have tied that half. We definitely had a better second half. We kind of started to connect passes better for sure.”
Gianfrancesco agreed about the shift in the tide.
“We did a better job in the first half,” Gianfrancesco said. “Second half a couple girls came on for them that hadn’t played first half, and they were a little more physical in the second half.
“I don’t know that we necessarily stepped up to that until we started getting a little bit of a rhythm. And it’s a narrow field, only 62 (yards) wide, so that clumped it together, and we didn’t really use a lot of that in the second half. But it still worked out pretty well.”
But the Red Devils didn’t make it easy.
One nice combination came off a Lyman 35-yard free kick with 13 minutes left. That play ended with a Rayis shot that Hahn denied with a save near the left post.
A Lyman left side push with 8:30 to play was denied on a Hahn one-hop save. Then with 5:30 to go, Nichols’ blocked shot on Lyman at the top of the box stuffed the final threat to the Batavia shutout.
“We’ve had some pretty tough competition in the beginning (of the season), but I think we’re doing pretty good so far,” Holcombe said.
Familiarity has helped fuel the strong start.
“I think we’re doing really well,” Salyers said. “We have a lot of returners that we’re starting. So I knew what to expect, but at the same time it’s been more than I expected if that makes sense.
“I think we’re progressively getting better and better with our formations. We’re more comfortable with each other, and the chemistry just keeps on building because we built it really well last year.”
Starting lineups
Batavia
GK: Hailey Flannagan
D: Zaira Solis
D: Jenna Nichols
D: Taylor Fleury
D: Kyla Mackenzie
M: Abby Zipse
M: Bella Zink
M: Kate Schoenfelder
M: CeCe Hamann
F: Anna Holcombe
F: Grace Salyers
Hinsdale Central
GK: Fiona Fitzsimmons
D: Emily Bagnall
D: Sam Moriarty
D: Jackie Roberts
D: Haley Paulson
M: Sarah Cernugel
M: Brittney Doneske
M: Caroline Fryzel
M: Jane Bibby
F: Grace Kalis
F: Jackie Blake
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Anna Holcombe, sr. F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
B – Anna Holcombe, 21st minute
B – Grace Salyers (Holcombe), 23rd minute
B – Chloe Valentino (Morgan Toronyi), 34th minute
Second half
B – Salyers (PK), 66th minute
past shorthanded Hinsdale Central
Trio of 1st half goals power Batavia to 4-0 win
By Dave Owen
HINSDALE – Different kinds of seasons were the story in Saturday's nonconference match between Batavia and Hinsdale Central.
For the visiting Lady Bulldogs (5-1-1), a battle-seasoned nucleus produced three goals in a 13-minute span late in the first half to essentially decide the game.
“I think there’s 11 returners (on our team),” Batavia senior Anna Holcombe said. “That helps a lot because you already have the chemistry. Then adding the new people, we’ve built chemistry pretty fast with them too.”
For the Red Devils (1-2-1), it was the date on the calendar that had the maximum impact. With several starters just returning from being out of town for spring break, a revamped first half lineup battled to endure Batavia’s firepower.
“Spring break is tough; this was the first day back for a lot of girls,” Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia said. “And the way we had it set up was that, they don’t play in the first half if they weren’t here for practice both Thursday and Friday. And some of them missed the first 20 minutes if they weren’t here Thursday.
“It’s always tough when people are out of town, going eight days without seeing some players.”
All of Batavia’s players remained in town for their school’s spring break, and the results showed in sharp play and a full-strength roster.
“We’re on spring break now, but we all stayed,” said forward Grace Salyers, who scored two goals Saturday. “We had practice or games every day.”
The Lady Bulldogs showed bark and bite from the start of the match.
In the fifth minute, Kyla Mackenzie’s 15-yard left side shot off a Salyers pass was denied on a great diving save by Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Fiona Fitzsimmons.
Holcombe’s ensuing corner kick was headed wide by CeCe Hamann. Then in the 14th minute, Fitzsimmons nicely batted away a Zaira Solis cross into the crease.
But midway through the half, the relentless Batavia pressure produced two goals in a span of just over two minutes.
The 1-0 lead came 19:42 before halftime. On a play initiated by a Batavia throw-in, Holcombe did the heavy lifting with a dribble up the middle. Driving around and past three defenders, she lined a low 16-yard shot inside the post for the game’s eventual winning goal.
“I saw the middle open,” Holcombe said, “and Ashley Whelpley passed me the ball. Then I saw a gap open, and I dribbled through, got on my left and I hit it to the far right corner (of the net).”
MVP of the Match Holcombe was back on a relentless attack 17:03 before halftime. This time, her cross from the left side found Salyers, whose nice header inside the left post made it 2-0 Batavia.
“We just noticed their defensive formation and how they were kind of sitting a little more flat,” Salyers said of Batavia’s offensive success. “So we were looking for splits and stuff to make those runs forward.”
Said Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco: “Anna setting up herself and other people, that opened space for others and created opportunities for others, it takes a lot of pressure off a lot of other girls, having her out there and her performance.”
A Fitzsimmons high grab of MacKenzie 18-yard shot in the 24th minute (set up by a Holcombe corner kick) kept up the Batavia surge.
Holcombe followed with nice rushes and shots on goal in the 25th and 30th minutes, both grabbed by Fitzsimmons. Then with 6:43 left in the first half, another rush upped the Batavia halftime lead to 3-0.
Morgan Toronyi’s pass found Chloe Valentino on left wing. Valentino’s ensuing low drive clanged off the inside of the right post and into the net, and the Lady Bulldogs’ lead grew.
“I think we did a good job connecting passes and finding the outside,” Holcombe said. “Normally we play on a wider field (than Hinsdale Central’s stadium), so it was kind of a struggle to keep it in wide. But I think we did a pretty good job doing that, connecting passes.”
But with Hinsdale Central’s lineup back close to full strength at the start of the second half, Batavia’s early command of play began to diminish.
“In the second half we looked good,” Madonia said. “Really we played great except for seven minutes of the game (midway through the first half). A few attempts the ball didn’t roll our way, or we didn’t get a call we needed.
“They (Batavia) came out the middle part of the game and really took care of business. You have to tilt your hat to them. I’m happy with the girls though. They’re working hard and staying positive. What else can I ask? Especially in the second half, I thought we played a great game.”
The Red Devils’ rise culminated with a huge set piece chance with 27:15 left to play.
Sam Moriarty’s well-struck 40-yard free kick found Olivia Rayis in the box. Her touch pass to Sarah Cernugel set up a 6-yard drive which Batavia second half goalkeeper Aubrey Hahn denied with a great diving block near the left post.
“She (Hahn) had a couple nice saves right on the line.” Gianfrancesco said.
Three other non-scorers in Batavia’s 4-0 win also earned rave reviews.
“Jenna Nichols in the back -- she basically does everything we need her to do,” Gianfrancesco said. “She’s so solid, is composed with the ball and cleans up anything we need.
“And obviously our midfield players, whether it was Abby Zipse or Bella Zink or Ashley Whelpley -- that’s a pretty good core there. It allows us to switch the ball, and they win a lot of 50-50 (balls).”
On the Hinsdale Central side, the instigator of the great scoring chance has also been an early-season standout.
“Sam Moriarty always keeps it at a nice, stable level,” Madonia said. “She’s consistent, she’s positive, she holds people accountable, and she’s a great leader.
“People like Caroline Lyman and Sam Moriarty (have stood out this season), and I would say both our goalkeepers Fiona Fitzsimmons and Taylor Ward. Those four for sure have been our stability.”
Ward replaced Fitzsimmons at goalkeeper in the second half, and was sensational in the sequence that led to Batavia’s fourth goal.
With 14:50 left, Holcombe’s 12-yard drive was denied by a great Ward save. The push continued moments later with Holcombe’s rebound header that Ward leaped to deflect off the crossbar, and Ward again came up with the stop on Salyers’ point-blank rebound try.
“You just have to keep going until you hear something,” Ward said of her rapid-fire series of stops. “That’s how it is.”
Unfortunately for Ward and the Red Devils, Salyers was fouled on her rebound try. Her ensuing penalty kick barely eluded the diving keeper inside the left post for the 4-0 final tally.
“One of their girls came out of nowhere and kind of hit me,” Salyers said of the foul. “I wasn’t expecting it, because I didn’t have the ball yet. I was on the ground, and I tried to head it, but it didn’t really work out. But then I got the call (for the PK) so it worked out.”
The Red Devils’ strong goalkeeper tandem of Fitzsimmons and Ward is also working out very well.
“We’re very encouraging of each other,” Ward said. “We split (time) and both are obviously fighting for that spot, but we have a good relationship.
“We help each other out. If one of us starts and there’s stuff we need to tell each other, we tell them about that so the other person knows and can do better.”
Doing better was the theme of the second half for Hinsdale Central.
“Obviously we’re down (3-0 at the half),” Ward said, “but coach said ‘We lost that half. We have to win the second half and play it half by half.’ And that’s exactly what we did.
“If it wasn’t for the PK we would have tied that half. We definitely had a better second half. We kind of started to connect passes better for sure.”
Gianfrancesco agreed about the shift in the tide.
“We did a better job in the first half,” Gianfrancesco said. “Second half a couple girls came on for them that hadn’t played first half, and they were a little more physical in the second half.
“I don’t know that we necessarily stepped up to that until we started getting a little bit of a rhythm. And it’s a narrow field, only 62 (yards) wide, so that clumped it together, and we didn’t really use a lot of that in the second half. But it still worked out pretty well.”
But the Red Devils didn’t make it easy.
One nice combination came off a Lyman 35-yard free kick with 13 minutes left. That play ended with a Rayis shot that Hahn denied with a save near the left post.
A Lyman left side push with 8:30 to play was denied on a Hahn one-hop save. Then with 5:30 to go, Nichols’ blocked shot on Lyman at the top of the box stuffed the final threat to the Batavia shutout.
“We’ve had some pretty tough competition in the beginning (of the season), but I think we’re doing pretty good so far,” Holcombe said.
Familiarity has helped fuel the strong start.
“I think we’re doing really well,” Salyers said. “We have a lot of returners that we’re starting. So I knew what to expect, but at the same time it’s been more than I expected if that makes sense.
“I think we’re progressively getting better and better with our formations. We’re more comfortable with each other, and the chemistry just keeps on building because we built it really well last year.”
Starting lineups
Batavia
GK: Hailey Flannagan
D: Zaira Solis
D: Jenna Nichols
D: Taylor Fleury
D: Kyla Mackenzie
M: Abby Zipse
M: Bella Zink
M: Kate Schoenfelder
M: CeCe Hamann
F: Anna Holcombe
F: Grace Salyers
Hinsdale Central
GK: Fiona Fitzsimmons
D: Emily Bagnall
D: Sam Moriarty
D: Jackie Roberts
D: Haley Paulson
M: Sarah Cernugel
M: Brittney Doneske
M: Caroline Fryzel
M: Jane Bibby
F: Grace Kalis
F: Jackie Blake
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Anna Holcombe, sr. F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
B – Anna Holcombe, 21st minute
B – Grace Salyers (Holcombe), 23rd minute
B – Chloe Valentino (Morgan Toronyi), 34th minute
Second half
B – Salyers (PK), 66th minute