DiBiase shoots, Batavia scores
victory over Hinsdale Central
Bulldogs post 2-0 win in battle of developing teams
By Matt Le Cren
BATAVIA – Gracey DiBiase has a lot of new teammates, is playing an unfamiliar position and has had to take on more responsibility than ever.
But it’s all good for the Batavia senior, who has been playing lights-out in the early going this season.
That’s good news for the Bulldogs, who are off to a 2-1-1 start despite having only five seniors on the roster.
DiBiase struck fear into Hinsdale Central’s defense Friday, unleashing 13 of her team’s 16 shots and scoring an important insurance goal to lift the host Bulldogs to a 2-0 victory.
“This is only our (fourth) game and building that chemistry right off the bat, I’m very happy with my team,” DiBiase said. “We have a lot of younger players, so it’s really hard for us to mesh together. I think our chemistry is phenomenal.”
Some of that is due to DiBiase’s acceptance of her new role. The former defender is being used as an attacking midfielder or forward, depending on whether the Bulldogs use four or five midfielders, and the reality is she is dangerous no matter where she gets the ball.
“She’s got a hammer left foot, and she sets up some other people,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “It creates some opportunities.
“She’s good at holding the ball for us, and that allows other people to make some runs in so she can slot balls to some other players. Right now it’s working.”
DiBiase, who had two goals and two assists in Thursday’s 6-1 win over South Elgin and now has four goals this spring, was a major reason why the Bulldogs handled an up-and-coming Hinsdale Central team despite having three players, including two starters, miss the game with injuries.
She took six of her team’s seven shots in the first half but was unlucky not to score at least a couple of goals. DiBiase bounced two kicks just wide of the post, smoked a 25-yard blast off the left post and watched Red Devils goalie Fiona Fitzsimons stop her on a 30-yard drive.
It was more of the same in the second half as DiBiase barely missed on two more long shots, then was stymied twice in one sequence by Fitzsimons, who first punched out her corner kick, then saved DiBiase’s hard rebound.
But DiBiase finally broke through with 14:12 to go, taking advantage of a clearing error by the Red Devils. Bella Zink’s throw-in from the right wing bounced into the box, where it deflected off a defender straight to DiBiase, who used her trusty left leg to tuck a 22-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net.
“It was a sigh of relief,” DiBiase said. “I was just in the right place at the right time.
“It slipped through the box, and I just got it on my foot and hit it in.”
Ironically, the play was similar to Batavia’s first goal, which came on the Bulldogs’ first shot of the game and the only one of their first half attempts which did not come off the foot of DiBiase.
But the play, while it may not have been amazing, was another touch of grace, this one from sophomore Grace Salyers, who intercepted a loose ball in the box and poked a right-footed shot past Fitzsimons at the 34:10 mark.
“I was like, who passed it to me?” Salyers said. “Because I all remember is I got the ball and kind of toe-poked it into the corner.
“I definitely think it kind of lowered their confidence. But then again, it depends on the team because some teams rise from that and some teams kind of sink.”
Hinsdale Central (0-3-1) did a little of both. The Red Devils were on their heels for most of the first half and mustered only one shot, which Batavia starting goalie Kateyln Turnquist saved with a routine effort.
The second half was more of the same until DiBiase made it 2-0. That seemed to wake up the visitors, who engaged in some enervating end-to-end action as the frozen fans tried to keep warm.
First, junior Elle Jenkins took a pot shot from 30 yards out which required Hailey Flanagan, who replaced Turnquist at halftime, to make a leaping save with 12:55 left.
Four minutes later, Jenkins fired a 25-yard shot off the crossbar. Flanagan then smothered Brittany Doneske on the rebound try.
“I think we got motivated after the second goal, got fired up,” said Hinsdale Central senior Madeline Swade, who anchored the Red Devils’ defense. “We held a decent amount of possession in today’s game, which was good for us, so that helped.”
Despite the loss, first-year coach Bryan Ciesiulka is pleased with the progress his team in showing and believes it is just a matter of time before more positive results are realized.
“We’re getting there,” Ciesiulka said. “We’re starting to play a little better.
“We’re just making some mistakes in bad spots. That’s cost us. But we’re playing pretty well, and they’re working hard, which is what I’m happy with.”
All three of Hinsdale Central’s losses have come to quality opponents. They were defeated 2-0 by no. 4 Naperville North and 1-0 by Class AA stalwart Nazareth, so the defensive effort is there. Now the Red Devils just have to finish some chances.
“We had a lot of good performances,” Ciesiulka said. “The final piece isn’t there yet.
“The biggest thing is we’re asking a lot of them with the way we want to play, and they’re getting better every day which is good. So I think you’ll see a completely different picture at the end.”
Swade concurred.
“I think the more we play together the more we’re going to start to mesh,” Swade said. “We just need to get used to each other’s styles of play.
“It’s hard because we’re a new team. It’s only our fourth game.”
Batavia has played the same amount of games, which is why DiBiase is pleasantly surprised at how far along the Bulldogs are. Part of that is due to her partnership with Salyers, who is in her first year on varsity.
“Being a new player on the team, I think that the returners are very (welcoming), and it’s just quickly created a bond, and it helped our chemistry,” Salyers said.
“(DiBiase and I) just continue to watch each other, keep an eye on each other, knowing where we are on the field.
“This is the first year we’ve played together, but it’s working out pretty well.
And the key to that is?
“Just a lot of communication,” DiBiase said. “Like if Grace moves into my space, I have to know to move off of her and really get into that open space so she can find me.”
On Friday the Bulldogs found a victory because of that teamwork.
“That was good to see,” Gianfrancesco said. “It was a nice win.
“(The Red Devils) are a nice team, and they had a couple of opportunities at the end there as we got kind of lax. We were happy to get out of there with a W.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Fiona Fitzsimons
D Sarah Cernugal
D Samantha Moriarty
D Sophie Simmons
D Madeline Swade
M Mackensie Cruickshank
M Brittany Doneske
M Elle Jenkins
F Madigan Lynch
F Caroline Renehan
F Hailey Arnold
Batavia
GK Katelyn Turnquist
D Claire Stack
D Any TenHaken
D Jenna Nicholas
M Anna Bross
M Anna Rakos
M Abby Zipse
M Bella Zink
F Zaira Solis
F Grace Salyers
F Gracey DiBiase
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Gracey DiBiase, sr., M, Batavia.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Batavia – Grace Salyers 34:10
2nd Half
Batavia – Gracey DiBiase 14:12
victory over Hinsdale Central
Bulldogs post 2-0 win in battle of developing teams
By Matt Le Cren
BATAVIA – Gracey DiBiase has a lot of new teammates, is playing an unfamiliar position and has had to take on more responsibility than ever.
But it’s all good for the Batavia senior, who has been playing lights-out in the early going this season.
That’s good news for the Bulldogs, who are off to a 2-1-1 start despite having only five seniors on the roster.
DiBiase struck fear into Hinsdale Central’s defense Friday, unleashing 13 of her team’s 16 shots and scoring an important insurance goal to lift the host Bulldogs to a 2-0 victory.
“This is only our (fourth) game and building that chemistry right off the bat, I’m very happy with my team,” DiBiase said. “We have a lot of younger players, so it’s really hard for us to mesh together. I think our chemistry is phenomenal.”
Some of that is due to DiBiase’s acceptance of her new role. The former defender is being used as an attacking midfielder or forward, depending on whether the Bulldogs use four or five midfielders, and the reality is she is dangerous no matter where she gets the ball.
“She’s got a hammer left foot, and she sets up some other people,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “It creates some opportunities.
“She’s good at holding the ball for us, and that allows other people to make some runs in so she can slot balls to some other players. Right now it’s working.”
DiBiase, who had two goals and two assists in Thursday’s 6-1 win over South Elgin and now has four goals this spring, was a major reason why the Bulldogs handled an up-and-coming Hinsdale Central team despite having three players, including two starters, miss the game with injuries.
She took six of her team’s seven shots in the first half but was unlucky not to score at least a couple of goals. DiBiase bounced two kicks just wide of the post, smoked a 25-yard blast off the left post and watched Red Devils goalie Fiona Fitzsimons stop her on a 30-yard drive.
It was more of the same in the second half as DiBiase barely missed on two more long shots, then was stymied twice in one sequence by Fitzsimons, who first punched out her corner kick, then saved DiBiase’s hard rebound.
But DiBiase finally broke through with 14:12 to go, taking advantage of a clearing error by the Red Devils. Bella Zink’s throw-in from the right wing bounced into the box, where it deflected off a defender straight to DiBiase, who used her trusty left leg to tuck a 22-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net.
“It was a sigh of relief,” DiBiase said. “I was just in the right place at the right time.
“It slipped through the box, and I just got it on my foot and hit it in.”
Ironically, the play was similar to Batavia’s first goal, which came on the Bulldogs’ first shot of the game and the only one of their first half attempts which did not come off the foot of DiBiase.
But the play, while it may not have been amazing, was another touch of grace, this one from sophomore Grace Salyers, who intercepted a loose ball in the box and poked a right-footed shot past Fitzsimons at the 34:10 mark.
“I was like, who passed it to me?” Salyers said. “Because I all remember is I got the ball and kind of toe-poked it into the corner.
“I definitely think it kind of lowered their confidence. But then again, it depends on the team because some teams rise from that and some teams kind of sink.”
Hinsdale Central (0-3-1) did a little of both. The Red Devils were on their heels for most of the first half and mustered only one shot, which Batavia starting goalie Kateyln Turnquist saved with a routine effort.
The second half was more of the same until DiBiase made it 2-0. That seemed to wake up the visitors, who engaged in some enervating end-to-end action as the frozen fans tried to keep warm.
First, junior Elle Jenkins took a pot shot from 30 yards out which required Hailey Flanagan, who replaced Turnquist at halftime, to make a leaping save with 12:55 left.
Four minutes later, Jenkins fired a 25-yard shot off the crossbar. Flanagan then smothered Brittany Doneske on the rebound try.
“I think we got motivated after the second goal, got fired up,” said Hinsdale Central senior Madeline Swade, who anchored the Red Devils’ defense. “We held a decent amount of possession in today’s game, which was good for us, so that helped.”
Despite the loss, first-year coach Bryan Ciesiulka is pleased with the progress his team in showing and believes it is just a matter of time before more positive results are realized.
“We’re getting there,” Ciesiulka said. “We’re starting to play a little better.
“We’re just making some mistakes in bad spots. That’s cost us. But we’re playing pretty well, and they’re working hard, which is what I’m happy with.”
All three of Hinsdale Central’s losses have come to quality opponents. They were defeated 2-0 by no. 4 Naperville North and 1-0 by Class AA stalwart Nazareth, so the defensive effort is there. Now the Red Devils just have to finish some chances.
“We had a lot of good performances,” Ciesiulka said. “The final piece isn’t there yet.
“The biggest thing is we’re asking a lot of them with the way we want to play, and they’re getting better every day which is good. So I think you’ll see a completely different picture at the end.”
Swade concurred.
“I think the more we play together the more we’re going to start to mesh,” Swade said. “We just need to get used to each other’s styles of play.
“It’s hard because we’re a new team. It’s only our fourth game.”
Batavia has played the same amount of games, which is why DiBiase is pleasantly surprised at how far along the Bulldogs are. Part of that is due to her partnership with Salyers, who is in her first year on varsity.
“Being a new player on the team, I think that the returners are very (welcoming), and it’s just quickly created a bond, and it helped our chemistry,” Salyers said.
“(DiBiase and I) just continue to watch each other, keep an eye on each other, knowing where we are on the field.
“This is the first year we’ve played together, but it’s working out pretty well.
And the key to that is?
“Just a lot of communication,” DiBiase said. “Like if Grace moves into my space, I have to know to move off of her and really get into that open space so she can find me.”
On Friday the Bulldogs found a victory because of that teamwork.
“That was good to see,” Gianfrancesco said. “It was a nice win.
“(The Red Devils) are a nice team, and they had a couple of opportunities at the end there as we got kind of lax. We were happy to get out of there with a W.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Fiona Fitzsimons
D Sarah Cernugal
D Samantha Moriarty
D Sophie Simmons
D Madeline Swade
M Mackensie Cruickshank
M Brittany Doneske
M Elle Jenkins
F Madigan Lynch
F Caroline Renehan
F Hailey Arnold
Batavia
GK Katelyn Turnquist
D Claire Stack
D Any TenHaken
D Jenna Nicholas
M Anna Bross
M Anna Rakos
M Abby Zipse
M Bella Zink
F Zaira Solis
F Grace Salyers
F Gracey DiBiase
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Gracey DiBiase, sr., M, Batavia.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Batavia – Grace Salyers 34:10
2nd Half
Batavia – Gracey DiBiase 14:12