Batavia scores in final minute,
downs Plainfield Central
Young Bulldogs break even on road vs. quality foes opening week
By Curt Herron
PLAINFIELD -- When a team doesn't have very much varsity experience, meeting up with three-consecutive well-coached programs on the road in the first week of the season could very well result in an 0-3-0 start.
While that's the scenario that Batavia faced as it kicked off its 2022 season, coach Mark Gianfrancesco's squad fared considerably better.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs scored a goal with 24 seconds remaining to claim a 3-2 nonconference victory at Plainfield Central to cap a week in which they went 1-1-1.
Batavia opened the season Tuesday with a scoreless draw against defending Class A champions Wheaton Academy before falling 3-0 at West Aurora two days later.
The visitors secured their first win when junior Henry Sindelar connected from close range in the 80th minute following a pass into the box from senior Alejandro Garcia.
Batavia took the first lead of the game in the 35th minute thanks to junior Alex Marshall, But the quickly evaporated when the Wildcats (1-2-0) countered 38 seconds later.
Garcia converted on a penalty in the 45th minute to give the Bulldogs their second lead. This time it took their hosts longer to respond, but respond they did in the 57th minute.
Batavia only had two seniors in the starting lineup – captains Ryan Horlock in goal and Nathan Feller in the midfield. Seven juniors, Joshua Black, Luke Petersen, Michael Ruffo, Owen Stahl, Max Simmons, Marshall and Sindelar, were joined by sophomores Sam Barsch and Brokk Olberg.
"Just stick with it, I think that was the big thing," Gianfrancesco said of the second half. "That was a good 40 minutes for us, probably the best 40 that we've played collectively, so that was good to see.
“That was our outside back who scored that goal. So how far was he up on the field? That's some of the stuff that we're working on, and we kind of saw that come to fruition today.
“I would say that we had three guys off of this team who had real varsity minutes last year. So to have that and then play Wheaton Academy, West Aurora and these guys today to go 1-1-1, we'll take it. You just have to stay positive regardless of the result. We're building toward something bigger.
"It was a roller coaster of emotions and waves of advantage,” said Gianfrescho. “It was up, down and back. I thought that both teams did a pretty good job of holding that . ... I guess we just got the better end of it toward the end of the game.
“We really controlled the midfield, and that was big. We kind of dominated in that area, and we were able to make extra passes and therefore get our backs up. That started a lot of them trying to go forward so that allowed us to rest, get our composure and knock it around.
“And when they got it, they didn't have much juice because we were making them chase the ball."
After the Plainfield Central converted its penalty in the 57th minute to even the score for the second time, Batavia began to put steady pressure on the host's talented freshman goalkeeper Marshall Degraff. He came up with several impressive stops and also had a big influence moving the ball upfield with his punts and dangerous free kicks.
During the next few minutes, two players who have experience with Team Illinois at the youth level challenged one another. Olberg had a pair of shots deflected by Degraff and also sent in several threatening corner kicks, two of which were cleared by defenders in the 75th minute.
One of the hosts' best threats during the latter part of the match came just 11 seconds before Batavia moved in front for good. Gordon Stanich sent in a long attempt, but it was hauled in by Horlock. The Bulldogs counterattacked and Garcia sent a pass from the side into the box, where Sindelar was able to get off a shot that Degraff couldn't get.
"I was the reason why we gave up the penalty kick, so it felt good to score the last one," Sindelar said. "I was going about 20 percent down the sideline and one of my teammates was yelling at me. They were like 'Keep running!', so I went full speed straight to the middle of the box, and he played it perfectly. I used my wrong foot, but it felt really good.
"Going into the season, we have a lot of young people with freshmen and sophomores, so we didn't expect much. But it's good to see that we can get wins."
Batavia had a lot more good opportunities early in the second half beginning with a liner by Ruffo that Degraff tipped before it glanced off the crossbar. Then in the 45th minute, Garcia was fouled after he entered the box and he connected on the penalty to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Shortly after Olberg and Sindelar were both stopped on good tries, Plainfield Central got an opportunity to force another tie when Angel Rosales got fouled in the box. Horlock stopped the initial attempt by Diaz, but the referee ruled for another penalty try and this time Diaz connected.
Batavia's Garcia likes his team's team approach.
"I gave it my all and just wanted to thank my teammates and help them because without everyone here, this wouldn't be possible," Garcia said. "It's not one person that won us the game, it was everyone. Everyone gave 100 percent, and I’m proud of them.
"We tied our first one and could have won that one, but it's all good. We lost the second one against West Aurora so we wanted to win this one, and we won it. And now it's off to the next one. Everyone is just amazing, their attitude and everything about them."
The Bulldogs started the match with most of the early good attempts. Ruffo was stopped on a short-range try, Sindelar sent in a corner that Plainfield Central's Neil Soans headed away and a throw-in by Stahl went to Feller, whose header was cleared by a defender.
Shortly after Degraff fired in a free kick from 50 yards that Diaz headed toward the net and Horlock punched away, Batavia scored the first goal. Marshall connected from in front of the net after receiving a pass from junior John Smeraglinolo in the 35th minute.
Plainfield Central pulled even in a hurry when Soans sent in a free kick from 40 yards that eluded Horlock 38 seconds later.
"Toward the end of the half, we felt tired but we pushed through," Stahl said. "I think we found our way through our combination passing through the middle. Our formation work with our coaches this week in practice really helped us on the last goal. We had a good game overall, and I was happy that we were able to perform the way we did this week.
"I like that I get to play with a lot of my friends. I hadn't done that for a couple of years, because I was playing up. And I get to play defense, too, with Luke Petersen at center back. I love playing with him since we always get to defend all of the good strikers. And it's great to put on a good show on defense. It's good to get that first win."
Kevin Fitzgerald, who's in his 21st season at Plainfield Central, has the longest tenure of the many quality head boys coaches who are now at Will County schools. Despite seeing his school lose athletes to new district schools twice during his career, he's been able to keep the Wildcats among the top programs in the southwest suburbs.
After winning 2-1 over Windy City Ram Classic semifinalist Shepard on the opening day of the season, the Wildcats put up a good fight before falling 2-1 to highly-regarded Naperville Central on Thursday in Plainfield. Like the Bulldogs, Plainfield Central started a young lineup that featured two juniors, five sophomores, a freshman and just three seniors.
"I'd say that with mostly a young group, I like our work rate so far," Fitzgerald said. "Our seniors like Jesus and Neil (a captain) along with captains Peyton (Johnson) and Cade (Caden Bargas), have been great at setting the tone of playing hard. Teams say it a lot, but in order to compete against our schedule it's crucial we do it every time we play or train. And it really needs to be our foundation: gritty; tough; hard to play against. That's how we got our win versus Shepard.
"To be honest, I think that dropped off just a bit versus Batavia. They outplayed us, had the ball more and probably deserved the win. Being so close each game, small mistakes or not finishing doomed us. At the same time, I think we'll be better for it as long as we learn from our mistakes. Our defense played well again and Marshall Degraff in net has been outstanding, especially for a freshman."
Batavia better get used to playing on the road -- the Bulldogs play their first 11 matches wearing the visitors' kit.
It’s first date in its friendly confines is September 22 against DuKane Conference foe Wheaton Warrenville South. That’s one of just three home games it will host. The Bulldogs play at Neuqua Valley on Tuesday and then travel to central Illinois to play in the Morton Invitational this weekend.
Starting lineups
Batavia
G: Ryan Horlock
D: Owen Stahl
D: Henry Sindelar
D: Luke Petersen
M: Nathan Feller
M: Sam Barsch
M: Brokk Olberg
M: Max Simmons
M: Alex Marshall
F: Joshua Black
F: Michael Ruffo
Plainfield Central
G: Marshall Degraff
D: Neil Soans
D: Elijah Rodriguez
D: Henry Lambert
D: Caden Bargas
M: Danny Haberkamp
M: Abraham Contreras
M: Peyton Johnson
M: Gordon Stanich
F: Jesus Diaz
F: Angel Rosales
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alejandro Garcia, sr., MF, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
B: Alex Marshall (John Smeraglinolo), 35'
P: Neil Soans (unassisted), 35'
Second half
B: Alejandro Garcia (PK), 45'
P: Jesus Diaz (PK), 57'
B: Henry Sindelar (Alejandro Garcia), 80'
downs Plainfield Central
Young Bulldogs break even on road vs. quality foes opening week
By Curt Herron
PLAINFIELD -- When a team doesn't have very much varsity experience, meeting up with three-consecutive well-coached programs on the road in the first week of the season could very well result in an 0-3-0 start.
While that's the scenario that Batavia faced as it kicked off its 2022 season, coach Mark Gianfrancesco's squad fared considerably better.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs scored a goal with 24 seconds remaining to claim a 3-2 nonconference victory at Plainfield Central to cap a week in which they went 1-1-1.
Batavia opened the season Tuesday with a scoreless draw against defending Class A champions Wheaton Academy before falling 3-0 at West Aurora two days later.
The visitors secured their first win when junior Henry Sindelar connected from close range in the 80th minute following a pass into the box from senior Alejandro Garcia.
Batavia took the first lead of the game in the 35th minute thanks to junior Alex Marshall, But the quickly evaporated when the Wildcats (1-2-0) countered 38 seconds later.
Garcia converted on a penalty in the 45th minute to give the Bulldogs their second lead. This time it took their hosts longer to respond, but respond they did in the 57th minute.
Batavia only had two seniors in the starting lineup – captains Ryan Horlock in goal and Nathan Feller in the midfield. Seven juniors, Joshua Black, Luke Petersen, Michael Ruffo, Owen Stahl, Max Simmons, Marshall and Sindelar, were joined by sophomores Sam Barsch and Brokk Olberg.
"Just stick with it, I think that was the big thing," Gianfrancesco said of the second half. "That was a good 40 minutes for us, probably the best 40 that we've played collectively, so that was good to see.
“That was our outside back who scored that goal. So how far was he up on the field? That's some of the stuff that we're working on, and we kind of saw that come to fruition today.
“I would say that we had three guys off of this team who had real varsity minutes last year. So to have that and then play Wheaton Academy, West Aurora and these guys today to go 1-1-1, we'll take it. You just have to stay positive regardless of the result. We're building toward something bigger.
"It was a roller coaster of emotions and waves of advantage,” said Gianfrescho. “It was up, down and back. I thought that both teams did a pretty good job of holding that . ... I guess we just got the better end of it toward the end of the game.
“We really controlled the midfield, and that was big. We kind of dominated in that area, and we were able to make extra passes and therefore get our backs up. That started a lot of them trying to go forward so that allowed us to rest, get our composure and knock it around.
“And when they got it, they didn't have much juice because we were making them chase the ball."
After the Plainfield Central converted its penalty in the 57th minute to even the score for the second time, Batavia began to put steady pressure on the host's talented freshman goalkeeper Marshall Degraff. He came up with several impressive stops and also had a big influence moving the ball upfield with his punts and dangerous free kicks.
During the next few minutes, two players who have experience with Team Illinois at the youth level challenged one another. Olberg had a pair of shots deflected by Degraff and also sent in several threatening corner kicks, two of which were cleared by defenders in the 75th minute.
One of the hosts' best threats during the latter part of the match came just 11 seconds before Batavia moved in front for good. Gordon Stanich sent in a long attempt, but it was hauled in by Horlock. The Bulldogs counterattacked and Garcia sent a pass from the side into the box, where Sindelar was able to get off a shot that Degraff couldn't get.
"I was the reason why we gave up the penalty kick, so it felt good to score the last one," Sindelar said. "I was going about 20 percent down the sideline and one of my teammates was yelling at me. They were like 'Keep running!', so I went full speed straight to the middle of the box, and he played it perfectly. I used my wrong foot, but it felt really good.
"Going into the season, we have a lot of young people with freshmen and sophomores, so we didn't expect much. But it's good to see that we can get wins."
Batavia had a lot more good opportunities early in the second half beginning with a liner by Ruffo that Degraff tipped before it glanced off the crossbar. Then in the 45th minute, Garcia was fouled after he entered the box and he connected on the penalty to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Shortly after Olberg and Sindelar were both stopped on good tries, Plainfield Central got an opportunity to force another tie when Angel Rosales got fouled in the box. Horlock stopped the initial attempt by Diaz, but the referee ruled for another penalty try and this time Diaz connected.
Batavia's Garcia likes his team's team approach.
"I gave it my all and just wanted to thank my teammates and help them because without everyone here, this wouldn't be possible," Garcia said. "It's not one person that won us the game, it was everyone. Everyone gave 100 percent, and I’m proud of them.
"We tied our first one and could have won that one, but it's all good. We lost the second one against West Aurora so we wanted to win this one, and we won it. And now it's off to the next one. Everyone is just amazing, their attitude and everything about them."
The Bulldogs started the match with most of the early good attempts. Ruffo was stopped on a short-range try, Sindelar sent in a corner that Plainfield Central's Neil Soans headed away and a throw-in by Stahl went to Feller, whose header was cleared by a defender.
Shortly after Degraff fired in a free kick from 50 yards that Diaz headed toward the net and Horlock punched away, Batavia scored the first goal. Marshall connected from in front of the net after receiving a pass from junior John Smeraglinolo in the 35th minute.
Plainfield Central pulled even in a hurry when Soans sent in a free kick from 40 yards that eluded Horlock 38 seconds later.
"Toward the end of the half, we felt tired but we pushed through," Stahl said. "I think we found our way through our combination passing through the middle. Our formation work with our coaches this week in practice really helped us on the last goal. We had a good game overall, and I was happy that we were able to perform the way we did this week.
"I like that I get to play with a lot of my friends. I hadn't done that for a couple of years, because I was playing up. And I get to play defense, too, with Luke Petersen at center back. I love playing with him since we always get to defend all of the good strikers. And it's great to put on a good show on defense. It's good to get that first win."
Kevin Fitzgerald, who's in his 21st season at Plainfield Central, has the longest tenure of the many quality head boys coaches who are now at Will County schools. Despite seeing his school lose athletes to new district schools twice during his career, he's been able to keep the Wildcats among the top programs in the southwest suburbs.
After winning 2-1 over Windy City Ram Classic semifinalist Shepard on the opening day of the season, the Wildcats put up a good fight before falling 2-1 to highly-regarded Naperville Central on Thursday in Plainfield. Like the Bulldogs, Plainfield Central started a young lineup that featured two juniors, five sophomores, a freshman and just three seniors.
"I'd say that with mostly a young group, I like our work rate so far," Fitzgerald said. "Our seniors like Jesus and Neil (a captain) along with captains Peyton (Johnson) and Cade (Caden Bargas), have been great at setting the tone of playing hard. Teams say it a lot, but in order to compete against our schedule it's crucial we do it every time we play or train. And it really needs to be our foundation: gritty; tough; hard to play against. That's how we got our win versus Shepard.
"To be honest, I think that dropped off just a bit versus Batavia. They outplayed us, had the ball more and probably deserved the win. Being so close each game, small mistakes or not finishing doomed us. At the same time, I think we'll be better for it as long as we learn from our mistakes. Our defense played well again and Marshall Degraff in net has been outstanding, especially for a freshman."
Batavia better get used to playing on the road -- the Bulldogs play their first 11 matches wearing the visitors' kit.
It’s first date in its friendly confines is September 22 against DuKane Conference foe Wheaton Warrenville South. That’s one of just three home games it will host. The Bulldogs play at Neuqua Valley on Tuesday and then travel to central Illinois to play in the Morton Invitational this weekend.
Starting lineups
Batavia
G: Ryan Horlock
D: Owen Stahl
D: Henry Sindelar
D: Luke Petersen
M: Nathan Feller
M: Sam Barsch
M: Brokk Olberg
M: Max Simmons
M: Alex Marshall
F: Joshua Black
F: Michael Ruffo
Plainfield Central
G: Marshall Degraff
D: Neil Soans
D: Elijah Rodriguez
D: Henry Lambert
D: Caden Bargas
M: Danny Haberkamp
M: Abraham Contreras
M: Peyton Johnson
M: Gordon Stanich
F: Jesus Diaz
F: Angel Rosales
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alejandro Garcia, sr., MF, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
B: Alex Marshall (John Smeraglinolo), 35'
P: Neil Soans (unassisted), 35'
Second half
B: Alejandro Garcia (PK), 45'
P: Jesus Diaz (PK), 57'
B: Henry Sindelar (Alejandro Garcia), 80'