Batavia shines against
Kaneland on opening night
4 Bulldogs score in 4-0 win over Kaneland
By Chris Walker
BATAVIA -- Oh, Gianfrancesco!
While it was St. Patrick’s Day’s, Batavia senior Ryan Gianfrancesco didn’t need the luck of the Irish to have an unforgettable debut during Thursday night’s 4-0 victory against Kaneland in Batavia.
Gianfrancesco used her talents to score her first goal in what was her first varsity game for her dad/coach Mark Gianfrancesco. She also reacquainted with teammates whom she had been itching to run alongside for years. The opening goal proved to be the game-winner in the Bulldogs impressive victory.
The Bulldogs were far from finished after the 21st minute goal. They controlled possession for the majority of the game and added a PK from junior Kailey Hansen in the first half and a pair of goals during the run of play in the second half from juniors Johanna Shubert and Riley DiBiase.
“It was just good to play somebody else rather than each other,” coach Gianfrancesco said. “Good to just get out and play and work on some things, see how they adjust, switching things around. You don’t know until it’s live.
“Obviously we’ve got some things we’d like to improve on. I thought we connected some passes, worked the ball around, moving off the ball was pretty good. We just have to keep improving serving some balls in the box and getting more people in the box and finishing some chances, all fixable stuff. Overall, a good start for the season.”
Ryan Gianfrancesco was making runs vertically and horizontally throughout the first half and saw her efforts pay off. She found some space while fellow senior Bella Lins simultaneously found her.
“I saw Bella had the ball so I checked into the space,” Ryan said. “I was probably around the 18-yard line on the left side. I dribbled and shot with my non-dominant foot and hit side netting far post.”
Lins wouldn’t score in the victory but played a huge role in Batavia’s offense and was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her efforts. After assisting Gianfrancesco she was taken down hard in the 30th minute to earn a penalty kick.
“After that I got this spark in me that was going to make me play even harder,” Lins said. “I think this motivated me and the rest of the team and then we really got rolling.”
Junior Kailey Hansen converted the PK with a bounding shot past a diving attempt from Kaneland freshman goalkeeper Natalie Myers
“We did hang with them for a while,” Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. “It was 1-0 then they get the penalty. That’s a bummer, because the goalie guesses the right way, but the ball bounces up. To be honest, we played much better today than we did against Sterling, yet we beat Sterling 7-0 (on Tuesday).”
Kaneland (1-1-0) had one of its best chances, and really one of its last legitimate ones in the 35th minute off a corner kick that Anna Bischoff was able to get on the other end of near the far post. But Batavia goalkeeper Aubrey Hahn, the lone Bulldogs player remaining from the 2019 team that went 17-5-2 and won a regional during the last full season of pre-pandemic IHSA girls soccer, made the stop
Batavia thinks its got the pieces to make some noise.
“We’re definitely the underdogs this year, I think,” Lins said. “I think the chemistry has always been there. I feel like now that everyone is back, and it’s a regular-season, that we’re definitely looking good.
“Our attacking is going to be better this year, and having Aubrey (Hahn) in goal our defense will be good and has that safety net back there. We’ve got Ryan (Gianfrancesco) and Jo (Johanna Shubert) making those runs and giving us the opportunity to score.”
The addition of players like Gianfrancesco, Hahn (who sat out the abbreviated 2021 season) and Jaden Collins, all seniors, without doubt changes the dynamics of a team that went 7-13-0 a season ago.
“I think we’re coming in as the underdogs because they don’t expect us to come in (with) different seniors,” Ryan Gianfrancesco said. “Adding players like Aubrey and Jaden in back is going to make a tremendous difference, but like Bella said, I think the chemistry isn’t what people are expecting from us. We have so much composure and an amazing keeper who is going to help us a ton.”
Kaneland tried to build off the few opportunities it had in the first half, but Batavia thwarted those efforts and controlled possession for most of the final 40 minutes, including in the 54th minute when Shubert scored to make it 3-0.
Juniors Laila Figueras and DiBiase got into the scoring mix as well for the Bulldogs. They connected in the 71st minute after Figueras delivered a quick, short touch pass as DiBiase swept across the front of the box and sent a shot past Myers.
“G (coach Gianfrancesco) always says ‘levels up,’ and we definitely looked levels up breaking the line of pressure,” Ryan Gianfrancesco said. “That helped us a ton. Rather than playing laterally, looking forward helped us get the attack quicker so we could just get to the goal as soon as possible.”
Getting her first varsity goal certainly didn’t take long on Thursday, and it’s hard to imagine either Gianfrancesco will ever forget it, as well as the long and winding road to get it.
After playing on the JV team as a freshman in 2019, Ryan Gianfrancesco anticipated making her varsity debut for her dad in 2020 but then COVID hit and ultimately canceled a season that kept getting pushed back before the inevitable happened. Last year, she was injured. It’s been a long road but proving to be definitely worth it already.
“It’s been super weird with COVID and everything but we have a lot of chemistry from playing a long time ago together,” she said. “I didn’t play last year due to hip surgery but it’s been my dream to play for my dad and play alongside my best friends again. The chemistry is still there, and we’re looking good for the season.”
The Bulldogs will host Oswego on Saturday at home in a game that was relocated because Oswego’s natural surface isn’t ready for play, and rain is in the forecast.
Next week Batavia has nonconference games during the week against DuPage Valley Conference members Waubonsie Valley and no. 6 Naperville North. On March 26, the Bulldogs travel to meet 27th-ranked Oswego East, which returns most of its roster from a single-loss campaign last spring.
“It’s nice to get in some games before we start conference play so we get a foothold and see what we have,” Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We’ll get some tests.”
Class AA Kaneland will play another strong local 3A team in Geneva on Saturday before hopefully hosting its home opener next Wednesday against another big school foe in Streamwood. The Knights, who boast one of the finest natural pitches in the state, certainly can only do so much and Mother Nature plays a huge role in getting their field ready.
The Knights consistently use a tough nonconference schedule to build up their game. They’ve dominated most teams in the Interstate Eight. Last year they went 7-0-0 in conference and outscored opponents by a composite 42-1.
“We’ve got to face some tough non-con games, they’re only going to make us better,” Parillo said. “Last year this was basically a nil-nil game.
“Last year against Geneva it was 2-1 and could’ve gone either way. so we got them on Saturday, and we’ll see what happens. Then Streamwood on Wednesday if we can get it in. But we’re so young, oh my gosh.”
Katie Kurz was one of just four senior starters who started for the Knights on Thursday.
“I think we’re playing really well as a team at the start of the season,” she said. “It’s always a little rocky at the start, but I thought we played really well today. We connected a lot better than we did yesterday so I was really proud with how we played.”
Starting lineups
Kaneland
GK: Natalie Myers
D: Casey O’Brien
D: Madison Schrader
D: Emily Kunzer
D: Avery Erickson
MF: Audrey Salamon
MF: Maddie Nitsche
MF: Katie Kurz
F: Jade Schrader
F: Faith Brandonisio
F: Abby Fitts
Batavia
GK: Aubrey Hahn
D: Mia Anzalone
D: Jaden Collins
D: Carlin King
MF: Riley DiBiase
MF: Kailey Hansen
MF: Brooke Carlson
F: Laila Figueras
F: Ryan Gianfrancesco
F: Bella Lins
F: Johanna Shubert
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Bella Lins, sr., F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
Batavia: Ryan Gianfrancesco (Bella Lins), 21st minute
Batavia: Kailey Hansen PK, 30th minute
Second half
Batavia: Johanna Shubert (Jaden Collins), 54th minute
Batavia Riley DiBiase (Laila Figueras), 71st minute
Kaneland on opening night
4 Bulldogs score in 4-0 win over Kaneland
By Chris Walker
BATAVIA -- Oh, Gianfrancesco!
While it was St. Patrick’s Day’s, Batavia senior Ryan Gianfrancesco didn’t need the luck of the Irish to have an unforgettable debut during Thursday night’s 4-0 victory against Kaneland in Batavia.
Gianfrancesco used her talents to score her first goal in what was her first varsity game for her dad/coach Mark Gianfrancesco. She also reacquainted with teammates whom she had been itching to run alongside for years. The opening goal proved to be the game-winner in the Bulldogs impressive victory.
The Bulldogs were far from finished after the 21st minute goal. They controlled possession for the majority of the game and added a PK from junior Kailey Hansen in the first half and a pair of goals during the run of play in the second half from juniors Johanna Shubert and Riley DiBiase.
“It was just good to play somebody else rather than each other,” coach Gianfrancesco said. “Good to just get out and play and work on some things, see how they adjust, switching things around. You don’t know until it’s live.
“Obviously we’ve got some things we’d like to improve on. I thought we connected some passes, worked the ball around, moving off the ball was pretty good. We just have to keep improving serving some balls in the box and getting more people in the box and finishing some chances, all fixable stuff. Overall, a good start for the season.”
Ryan Gianfrancesco was making runs vertically and horizontally throughout the first half and saw her efforts pay off. She found some space while fellow senior Bella Lins simultaneously found her.
“I saw Bella had the ball so I checked into the space,” Ryan said. “I was probably around the 18-yard line on the left side. I dribbled and shot with my non-dominant foot and hit side netting far post.”
Lins wouldn’t score in the victory but played a huge role in Batavia’s offense and was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her efforts. After assisting Gianfrancesco she was taken down hard in the 30th minute to earn a penalty kick.
“After that I got this spark in me that was going to make me play even harder,” Lins said. “I think this motivated me and the rest of the team and then we really got rolling.”
Junior Kailey Hansen converted the PK with a bounding shot past a diving attempt from Kaneland freshman goalkeeper Natalie Myers
“We did hang with them for a while,” Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. “It was 1-0 then they get the penalty. That’s a bummer, because the goalie guesses the right way, but the ball bounces up. To be honest, we played much better today than we did against Sterling, yet we beat Sterling 7-0 (on Tuesday).”
Kaneland (1-1-0) had one of its best chances, and really one of its last legitimate ones in the 35th minute off a corner kick that Anna Bischoff was able to get on the other end of near the far post. But Batavia goalkeeper Aubrey Hahn, the lone Bulldogs player remaining from the 2019 team that went 17-5-2 and won a regional during the last full season of pre-pandemic IHSA girls soccer, made the stop
Batavia thinks its got the pieces to make some noise.
“We’re definitely the underdogs this year, I think,” Lins said. “I think the chemistry has always been there. I feel like now that everyone is back, and it’s a regular-season, that we’re definitely looking good.
“Our attacking is going to be better this year, and having Aubrey (Hahn) in goal our defense will be good and has that safety net back there. We’ve got Ryan (Gianfrancesco) and Jo (Johanna Shubert) making those runs and giving us the opportunity to score.”
The addition of players like Gianfrancesco, Hahn (who sat out the abbreviated 2021 season) and Jaden Collins, all seniors, without doubt changes the dynamics of a team that went 7-13-0 a season ago.
“I think we’re coming in as the underdogs because they don’t expect us to come in (with) different seniors,” Ryan Gianfrancesco said. “Adding players like Aubrey and Jaden in back is going to make a tremendous difference, but like Bella said, I think the chemistry isn’t what people are expecting from us. We have so much composure and an amazing keeper who is going to help us a ton.”
Kaneland tried to build off the few opportunities it had in the first half, but Batavia thwarted those efforts and controlled possession for most of the final 40 minutes, including in the 54th minute when Shubert scored to make it 3-0.
Juniors Laila Figueras and DiBiase got into the scoring mix as well for the Bulldogs. They connected in the 71st minute after Figueras delivered a quick, short touch pass as DiBiase swept across the front of the box and sent a shot past Myers.
“G (coach Gianfrancesco) always says ‘levels up,’ and we definitely looked levels up breaking the line of pressure,” Ryan Gianfrancesco said. “That helped us a ton. Rather than playing laterally, looking forward helped us get the attack quicker so we could just get to the goal as soon as possible.”
Getting her first varsity goal certainly didn’t take long on Thursday, and it’s hard to imagine either Gianfrancesco will ever forget it, as well as the long and winding road to get it.
After playing on the JV team as a freshman in 2019, Ryan Gianfrancesco anticipated making her varsity debut for her dad in 2020 but then COVID hit and ultimately canceled a season that kept getting pushed back before the inevitable happened. Last year, she was injured. It’s been a long road but proving to be definitely worth it already.
“It’s been super weird with COVID and everything but we have a lot of chemistry from playing a long time ago together,” she said. “I didn’t play last year due to hip surgery but it’s been my dream to play for my dad and play alongside my best friends again. The chemistry is still there, and we’re looking good for the season.”
The Bulldogs will host Oswego on Saturday at home in a game that was relocated because Oswego’s natural surface isn’t ready for play, and rain is in the forecast.
Next week Batavia has nonconference games during the week against DuPage Valley Conference members Waubonsie Valley and no. 6 Naperville North. On March 26, the Bulldogs travel to meet 27th-ranked Oswego East, which returns most of its roster from a single-loss campaign last spring.
“It’s nice to get in some games before we start conference play so we get a foothold and see what we have,” Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We’ll get some tests.”
Class AA Kaneland will play another strong local 3A team in Geneva on Saturday before hopefully hosting its home opener next Wednesday against another big school foe in Streamwood. The Knights, who boast one of the finest natural pitches in the state, certainly can only do so much and Mother Nature plays a huge role in getting their field ready.
The Knights consistently use a tough nonconference schedule to build up their game. They’ve dominated most teams in the Interstate Eight. Last year they went 7-0-0 in conference and outscored opponents by a composite 42-1.
“We’ve got to face some tough non-con games, they’re only going to make us better,” Parillo said. “Last year this was basically a nil-nil game.
“Last year against Geneva it was 2-1 and could’ve gone either way. so we got them on Saturday, and we’ll see what happens. Then Streamwood on Wednesday if we can get it in. But we’re so young, oh my gosh.”
Katie Kurz was one of just four senior starters who started for the Knights on Thursday.
“I think we’re playing really well as a team at the start of the season,” she said. “It’s always a little rocky at the start, but I thought we played really well today. We connected a lot better than we did yesterday so I was really proud with how we played.”
Starting lineups
Kaneland
GK: Natalie Myers
D: Casey O’Brien
D: Madison Schrader
D: Emily Kunzer
D: Avery Erickson
MF: Audrey Salamon
MF: Maddie Nitsche
MF: Katie Kurz
F: Jade Schrader
F: Faith Brandonisio
F: Abby Fitts
Batavia
GK: Aubrey Hahn
D: Mia Anzalone
D: Jaden Collins
D: Carlin King
MF: Riley DiBiase
MF: Kailey Hansen
MF: Brooke Carlson
F: Laila Figueras
F: Ryan Gianfrancesco
F: Bella Lins
F: Johanna Shubert
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Bella Lins, sr., F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
Batavia: Ryan Gianfrancesco (Bella Lins), 21st minute
Batavia: Kailey Hansen PK, 30th minute
Second half
Batavia: Johanna Shubert (Jaden Collins), 54th minute
Batavia Riley DiBiase (Laila Figueras), 71st minute