Beaulieu leads SCN past Batavia
Practice, positioning pays off for junior in North Stars in 2-0 win
By Paul LaTour
ST. CHARLES -- Matt Beaulieu admits to having a mental block when it comes to shooting for the short side on a free kick. Luckily for Beaulieu and his St. Charles North teammates, he has no such hangup about going far post.
Beaulieu scored both goals -- one in each half -- in leading the North Stars to a 2-0 victory over Batavia in the nightcap of the 2017 Tri-Cities Night on Tuesday at St. Charles North.
While his first goal came at the expense of a teammate’s misfortune, it was Beaulieu’s good fortune that provided the second goal, which came with 11:14 remaining.
“I have this thing where I can’t go near post on a free kick, so I always practice to the far post. I guess it paid off,” said Beaulieu, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his two-goal performance.
“It’s a mental thing -- I just can’t do it. But I guess it’s pretty fortunate that I have that,” he added while laughing.
The goal put the finishing touches on the win for the North Stars (11-2-4, 3-1-2). Batavia struggled to mount an attack all night and agreed to call the game early when the lightning system alarm sounded with 4:07 left.
“That 2-0 free kick, that was kind of it. We play again Friday, so there’s no point waiting to play the last four minutes. We’ve got to worry about the playoffs,” said Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco, whose team faces Plainfield East in the Lockport Regional on Friday.
Despite having a wind gusting to 30 mph at their backs for the first half, the North Stars nearly let the advantage slip away. But they finally broke through with 14:13 to play in the half on Beaulieu’s first goal, which was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
The scoring play began down the right side, progressing until the ball made its way to Bernard Elegbede just inside the penalty area. Elegbede blasted a shot that smacked into the crossbar and deflected to the right of keeper Treven Ritko-Siros and right to Beaulieu’s feet for an easy goal.
“I saw a bunch of defenders in front of me, so I wanted to put it high,” Elegbede said. “It hit the crossbar, but I was just happy Matt was there to put it away. I would have felt pretty bad if I hadn’t got it on frame.”
“It was pretty fortunate, but Bernard put it in the right spot, I guess even if not on purpose,” Beaulieu said, again laughing.
The win helped the North Stars end the regular season on a positive note after hitting a slump in September following a bracket title in the PepsiCo Shootout. They entered the Tuesday contest having won only three of their previous six games (3-1-2).
“It is a long season and legs get tired out there,” Elegbede said. “But it was important to get back on track after a long week off since beating Larkin. It was a good week of recovery and getting ready for this game.”
The Bulldogs (6-12-2, 1-4-1) entered the night having won four of their past six games, which included a season-best three-game winning streak.
“I like the way we’re playing,” Gianfrancesco said. “I liked our defensive shape. But we were still struggling to build out and get numbers up to try to create some chances, which we really didn’t do today at all.”
The defense was challenged right from the start as the North Stars controlled play, earning five corner kicks in the opening 20 minutes. However, the Bulldogs kept the ball mostly out of danger, not allowing a clear scoring chance off any of the set plays.
The wind proved a formidable opponent for both teams in the first half. For the North Stars, it was difficult to keep their shots from sailing high. For the Bulldogs, it meant needing to stay compact on defense, which hindered their counterattack attempts.
“We just have to continue working on countering and moving forward to create some chances for ourselves. We’ll just keep working at it,” Gianfrancesco added.
The coach credited center back Sal Garcia for continuing his season-long efforts to keep the Bulldogs defense organized. He also said Miguel Garcia showed resilience in the second half after making a mistake that led to the North Stars first goal.
“Miguel Garcia bounced back and played well on the outside,” Gianfrancesco said. “He struggled a little bit in the first half and that’s where the goal came from on that side. He locked it down more in the second half.”
The 2017 Tri-Cities Night benefitted the Carrie Riley Black Fund. Black, the daughter of St. Charles North freshman coach Chuck Riley and a 1981 graduate of St. Charles High School, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2010.
Starting Lineups
Batavia
GK -- Treven Ritko-Siros
D -- Ian Wood
D -- Miguel Garcia
MF -- Brayden Kuhn
MF -- Nick Cannella
MF -- Adler Palos
MF -- Joe Grendzinski
MF -- Sal Garcia
F -- Joe Corno
F -- Brandon Knapp
F -- Max Hardin
St. Charles North
GK --Piercarlo Ricossa
D -- Mitch Bricker
D -- Kyle Kolodziej
D -- Peter Willis
D -- Connor Bettini
MF -- Alex Somera
MF -- Jameson D’Amico
MF -- Josh Amaro
F -- Matt Beaulieu
F -- Jake Persenico
F -- Bernard Elegbede
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Matt Beaulieu, F, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
Batavia 0 0 -- 0
SC North 1 1 -- 2
First Half
SC North: Matt Beaulieu (Bernard Elegbede), 14:13.
Second Half
SC North: Matt Beaulieu (free kick), 11:14.
Practice, positioning pays off for junior in North Stars in 2-0 win
By Paul LaTour
ST. CHARLES -- Matt Beaulieu admits to having a mental block when it comes to shooting for the short side on a free kick. Luckily for Beaulieu and his St. Charles North teammates, he has no such hangup about going far post.
Beaulieu scored both goals -- one in each half -- in leading the North Stars to a 2-0 victory over Batavia in the nightcap of the 2017 Tri-Cities Night on Tuesday at St. Charles North.
While his first goal came at the expense of a teammate’s misfortune, it was Beaulieu’s good fortune that provided the second goal, which came with 11:14 remaining.
“I have this thing where I can’t go near post on a free kick, so I always practice to the far post. I guess it paid off,” said Beaulieu, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his two-goal performance.
“It’s a mental thing -- I just can’t do it. But I guess it’s pretty fortunate that I have that,” he added while laughing.
The goal put the finishing touches on the win for the North Stars (11-2-4, 3-1-2). Batavia struggled to mount an attack all night and agreed to call the game early when the lightning system alarm sounded with 4:07 left.
“That 2-0 free kick, that was kind of it. We play again Friday, so there’s no point waiting to play the last four minutes. We’ve got to worry about the playoffs,” said Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco, whose team faces Plainfield East in the Lockport Regional on Friday.
Despite having a wind gusting to 30 mph at their backs for the first half, the North Stars nearly let the advantage slip away. But they finally broke through with 14:13 to play in the half on Beaulieu’s first goal, which was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
The scoring play began down the right side, progressing until the ball made its way to Bernard Elegbede just inside the penalty area. Elegbede blasted a shot that smacked into the crossbar and deflected to the right of keeper Treven Ritko-Siros and right to Beaulieu’s feet for an easy goal.
“I saw a bunch of defenders in front of me, so I wanted to put it high,” Elegbede said. “It hit the crossbar, but I was just happy Matt was there to put it away. I would have felt pretty bad if I hadn’t got it on frame.”
“It was pretty fortunate, but Bernard put it in the right spot, I guess even if not on purpose,” Beaulieu said, again laughing.
The win helped the North Stars end the regular season on a positive note after hitting a slump in September following a bracket title in the PepsiCo Shootout. They entered the Tuesday contest having won only three of their previous six games (3-1-2).
“It is a long season and legs get tired out there,” Elegbede said. “But it was important to get back on track after a long week off since beating Larkin. It was a good week of recovery and getting ready for this game.”
The Bulldogs (6-12-2, 1-4-1) entered the night having won four of their past six games, which included a season-best three-game winning streak.
“I like the way we’re playing,” Gianfrancesco said. “I liked our defensive shape. But we were still struggling to build out and get numbers up to try to create some chances, which we really didn’t do today at all.”
The defense was challenged right from the start as the North Stars controlled play, earning five corner kicks in the opening 20 minutes. However, the Bulldogs kept the ball mostly out of danger, not allowing a clear scoring chance off any of the set plays.
The wind proved a formidable opponent for both teams in the first half. For the North Stars, it was difficult to keep their shots from sailing high. For the Bulldogs, it meant needing to stay compact on defense, which hindered their counterattack attempts.
“We just have to continue working on countering and moving forward to create some chances for ourselves. We’ll just keep working at it,” Gianfrancesco added.
The coach credited center back Sal Garcia for continuing his season-long efforts to keep the Bulldogs defense organized. He also said Miguel Garcia showed resilience in the second half after making a mistake that led to the North Stars first goal.
“Miguel Garcia bounced back and played well on the outside,” Gianfrancesco said. “He struggled a little bit in the first half and that’s where the goal came from on that side. He locked it down more in the second half.”
The 2017 Tri-Cities Night benefitted the Carrie Riley Black Fund. Black, the daughter of St. Charles North freshman coach Chuck Riley and a 1981 graduate of St. Charles High School, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2010.
Starting Lineups
Batavia
GK -- Treven Ritko-Siros
D -- Ian Wood
D -- Miguel Garcia
MF -- Brayden Kuhn
MF -- Nick Cannella
MF -- Adler Palos
MF -- Joe Grendzinski
MF -- Sal Garcia
F -- Joe Corno
F -- Brandon Knapp
F -- Max Hardin
St. Charles North
GK --Piercarlo Ricossa
D -- Mitch Bricker
D -- Kyle Kolodziej
D -- Peter Willis
D -- Connor Bettini
MF -- Alex Somera
MF -- Jameson D’Amico
MF -- Josh Amaro
F -- Matt Beaulieu
F -- Jake Persenico
F -- Bernard Elegbede
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Matt Beaulieu, F, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
Batavia 0 0 -- 0
SC North 1 1 -- 2
First Half
SC North: Matt Beaulieu (Bernard Elegbede), 14:13.
Second Half
SC North: Matt Beaulieu (free kick), 11:14.