Fleet Figueras leads
Batavia past Lake Park
Soph a general nuisance, scores goal vs. Lancers in 2-1 win
By Bob Narang
BATAVIA -- Batavia sophomore forward Laila Figueras is quickly finding her place on a talented and experienced team.
Quick, in the case of Figueras, is the operative word. It describes her transition to the varsity and her running ability.
On a team filled with tall and strong players, Figueras is one of the smallest players on the Bulldogs. She’s also one of the youngest in terms of actual varsity experience after the coronavirus pandemic canceled her freshman season.
“Our team does have some very big and physical players,” Figueras said. “They all really help me, and it can make it easier for me. I’m just trying to fit in and help us win and learn from the seniors.”
With a solid skill set and blazing speed, Figueras rapidly is becoming a key player for the Bulldogs in this condensed season. Figueras scored a first half goal and was in the middle of the scrum that led to the game-winning second half own-goal that lifted Batavia to a 2-1 victory over Lake Park on Thursday night.
“I don’t know what happened on that (own-goal),” Figueras said. “But I’m happy we were able to score and win. I just want to contribute and be a team player. I’m trying to use my quickness to help the team. It was hard not playing on varsity last season, but we’re all trying to play hard and win games.”
The Bulldogs (1-2-0, 1-1-0 DuKane Conference) came a few feet away from a more comfortable victory, but couldn’t take advantage of numerous opportunities in the first half.
The Bulldogs had possession of the ball for the majority of the first 35 minutes but couldn’t knock in a shot until Figueras’ netter in the 33rd minute.
“We couldn’t finish,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We were knocking it around, trying to find some spots and putting some good balls in the middle, but just have to finish. Hopefully, we’ll find that soon.
“But (Laila) was in the right spot on that first goal. She’s pretty active in the box. She’s pretty quick, got in several times and found it right on her foot, was able to finish.”
The Lancers (0-2-0, 0-2-0) were on the defensive until finally generating some offense after shortly after halftime.
Senior AnnMarie Ahrens scored on a free kick from 25 yards, depositing the hard-hit ball into the corner at the far post to tie the game in the 44th minute.
“We had a lot of good ball movement before that tackle that led to the free kick,” Ahrens said. “We’re slowly starting to transition better from defense to offense, mainly since we’re a very new team.
"Between our first and second game, we’ve made a lot of progress. I love free kicks and am always the one to attempt free kicks. The shot felt great coming off my foot, first goal of the season. We’ve struggled in past games scoring, so it felt great to score for the team.”
Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said his team responded with a solid effort in the second half, including playing with more toughness to nearly pull out a comeback win. Crosby made a point to credit his players on their positive attitude in his post-game huddle following the physical game. Two Lake Park players and one Batavia player left the game with injuries.
“It was great to see our girls continue to battle in the second half, even though Batavia had a greater time of possession during the first half,” Crosby said. “We didn’t put our heads down. We were patient in building our chances, and we attacked more in the second half.
“We got a handful of set pieces and corners and that allowed us to get more dangerous and test Batavia’s backline and their goalkeeper. AnnMarie makes a great shot off a free kick to even the game up, and we got a few chances after we didn’t quite capitalize on. But we should take confidence in our ability to battle and keep fighting even a goal down. Our team showed a ton of heart today.”
A few minutes later, after the Lancers’ goal, Batavia went back to playing its physical brand of soccer. They sent several shots toward Lake Park goalie Emma Thorne, who finished with 14 saves. The winning goal came after three near-goals in a six-minute span prior to the own goal.
“It was a nice recovery by the girls,” Gianfrancesco said. “This group, in the first couple of games, has shown to be resilient, able to bounce back and be mentally tough and at least flip the script a bit after we get scored on. That’s nice to see. I think that says something about the girls. We have to play more of an 80-minute game rather than have those few-minute lulls.”
Gianfrancesco kept his early season trend of rotating goalies, playing Morgan Haug for the first half and Abby Piwowarczyk for the final 40 minutes.
“They didn’t get a lot of work,” he said. “In the first half, (Haug) played twice with her feet, and second half there were a few through-balls Piwowarczyk picked up. They got a good hit on the free kick on their goal.”
Meanwhile, Thorne admitted playing the Bulldogs is a tough task for any goalie, let alone an inexperienced, new one. Thorne was in the net for only the second time in her career.
“They were very strong, very fast and big,” said the 5-foot-11 Thorne, who was a prime performer for Lake Park's fourth place Class 4A basketball team in 2020. "They were really good off the dribble, had some great shots. I think being tall definitely helped me get some of those crosses out of the air. I wish I could have those two (goals) back, maybe a different direction on my dive.”
Thorne, a four-year varsity player, has quickly discovered playing in the net is not any easy job, even for an athlete of her talents.
“I’m actually a center back and center mid,” she said. “It’s a learning curve since I just started playing goalie on Monday. We had an empty spot on the field that needed to be filled. I offered to do it.
“I have never played goalie before. I’m learning. A lot of it has to do with positioning, so it makes the saves easier since you’re already there. Basketball has been a big help for me, especially with catching the ball and knowing where to be in the net.
“But goalie might be the hardest position. I was thinking in the game that every goalie is a saint. I don’t know how they do this day after day. This is a really tough position.
‘I thought center mid is tough; you are running, you have to do everything. Center back is toughl you have to see the whole field and track back, but goalie is tougher.
“You are alone with your thoughts. You have to be very mentally tough after every goal, just to get back into the game. That might be the hardest thing: the mental toughness.”
Crosby said Thorne’s proved to be a quick study IN the net.
“Emma has played almost every position on the field during her time,” he said. “Goalkeeper was not the intended position for her this year but seeing her strength in net, her long reach, and her ability to get from post to post, we had to give her a shot there.
“We felt she could definitely help us in the back. She has been fearless in goal, eager to learn and always has a great attitude about playing in a new position.
“She leads by example, competes every single day and has a phenomenal work ethic. I think Emma's the type of player and competitor that loves a challenge. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that she is shining in her new role as a goalkeeper for us.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK Emma Thorne
D Peyton Sarubbi
D Gianna Kubica
D Lauren Malone
D Melyssa Hernandez
M Patty Lachowiez
M AnnMarie Ahrens
M Cecilia Defino
M Francesca Cali
M Anna Odisho
F Nola White
Batavia
GK Morgan Haug
D Mia Anzalone
D Caitlin Callahan
D Alyssa Sarik
M Abby Edwards
M Ashley Whelpley
M Riley DiBiase
M Bella Lins
F Laila Figueras
F Carlin King
F Johanna Shubert
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Laila Figueras, so. F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
Batavia — Laila Figueras (unassisted) 33’
Second half
Lake Park — AnneMarie Ahrens (unassisted) 44’
Batavia — own-goal 70’
Batavia past Lake Park
Soph a general nuisance, scores goal vs. Lancers in 2-1 win
By Bob Narang
BATAVIA -- Batavia sophomore forward Laila Figueras is quickly finding her place on a talented and experienced team.
Quick, in the case of Figueras, is the operative word. It describes her transition to the varsity and her running ability.
On a team filled with tall and strong players, Figueras is one of the smallest players on the Bulldogs. She’s also one of the youngest in terms of actual varsity experience after the coronavirus pandemic canceled her freshman season.
“Our team does have some very big and physical players,” Figueras said. “They all really help me, and it can make it easier for me. I’m just trying to fit in and help us win and learn from the seniors.”
With a solid skill set and blazing speed, Figueras rapidly is becoming a key player for the Bulldogs in this condensed season. Figueras scored a first half goal and was in the middle of the scrum that led to the game-winning second half own-goal that lifted Batavia to a 2-1 victory over Lake Park on Thursday night.
“I don’t know what happened on that (own-goal),” Figueras said. “But I’m happy we were able to score and win. I just want to contribute and be a team player. I’m trying to use my quickness to help the team. It was hard not playing on varsity last season, but we’re all trying to play hard and win games.”
The Bulldogs (1-2-0, 1-1-0 DuKane Conference) came a few feet away from a more comfortable victory, but couldn’t take advantage of numerous opportunities in the first half.
The Bulldogs had possession of the ball for the majority of the first 35 minutes but couldn’t knock in a shot until Figueras’ netter in the 33rd minute.
“We couldn’t finish,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We were knocking it around, trying to find some spots and putting some good balls in the middle, but just have to finish. Hopefully, we’ll find that soon.
“But (Laila) was in the right spot on that first goal. She’s pretty active in the box. She’s pretty quick, got in several times and found it right on her foot, was able to finish.”
The Lancers (0-2-0, 0-2-0) were on the defensive until finally generating some offense after shortly after halftime.
Senior AnnMarie Ahrens scored on a free kick from 25 yards, depositing the hard-hit ball into the corner at the far post to tie the game in the 44th minute.
“We had a lot of good ball movement before that tackle that led to the free kick,” Ahrens said. “We’re slowly starting to transition better from defense to offense, mainly since we’re a very new team.
"Between our first and second game, we’ve made a lot of progress. I love free kicks and am always the one to attempt free kicks. The shot felt great coming off my foot, first goal of the season. We’ve struggled in past games scoring, so it felt great to score for the team.”
Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said his team responded with a solid effort in the second half, including playing with more toughness to nearly pull out a comeback win. Crosby made a point to credit his players on their positive attitude in his post-game huddle following the physical game. Two Lake Park players and one Batavia player left the game with injuries.
“It was great to see our girls continue to battle in the second half, even though Batavia had a greater time of possession during the first half,” Crosby said. “We didn’t put our heads down. We were patient in building our chances, and we attacked more in the second half.
“We got a handful of set pieces and corners and that allowed us to get more dangerous and test Batavia’s backline and their goalkeeper. AnnMarie makes a great shot off a free kick to even the game up, and we got a few chances after we didn’t quite capitalize on. But we should take confidence in our ability to battle and keep fighting even a goal down. Our team showed a ton of heart today.”
A few minutes later, after the Lancers’ goal, Batavia went back to playing its physical brand of soccer. They sent several shots toward Lake Park goalie Emma Thorne, who finished with 14 saves. The winning goal came after three near-goals in a six-minute span prior to the own goal.
“It was a nice recovery by the girls,” Gianfrancesco said. “This group, in the first couple of games, has shown to be resilient, able to bounce back and be mentally tough and at least flip the script a bit after we get scored on. That’s nice to see. I think that says something about the girls. We have to play more of an 80-minute game rather than have those few-minute lulls.”
Gianfrancesco kept his early season trend of rotating goalies, playing Morgan Haug for the first half and Abby Piwowarczyk for the final 40 minutes.
“They didn’t get a lot of work,” he said. “In the first half, (Haug) played twice with her feet, and second half there were a few through-balls Piwowarczyk picked up. They got a good hit on the free kick on their goal.”
Meanwhile, Thorne admitted playing the Bulldogs is a tough task for any goalie, let alone an inexperienced, new one. Thorne was in the net for only the second time in her career.
“They were very strong, very fast and big,” said the 5-foot-11 Thorne, who was a prime performer for Lake Park's fourth place Class 4A basketball team in 2020. "They were really good off the dribble, had some great shots. I think being tall definitely helped me get some of those crosses out of the air. I wish I could have those two (goals) back, maybe a different direction on my dive.”
Thorne, a four-year varsity player, has quickly discovered playing in the net is not any easy job, even for an athlete of her talents.
“I’m actually a center back and center mid,” she said. “It’s a learning curve since I just started playing goalie on Monday. We had an empty spot on the field that needed to be filled. I offered to do it.
“I have never played goalie before. I’m learning. A lot of it has to do with positioning, so it makes the saves easier since you’re already there. Basketball has been a big help for me, especially with catching the ball and knowing where to be in the net.
“But goalie might be the hardest position. I was thinking in the game that every goalie is a saint. I don’t know how they do this day after day. This is a really tough position.
‘I thought center mid is tough; you are running, you have to do everything. Center back is toughl you have to see the whole field and track back, but goalie is tougher.
“You are alone with your thoughts. You have to be very mentally tough after every goal, just to get back into the game. That might be the hardest thing: the mental toughness.”
Crosby said Thorne’s proved to be a quick study IN the net.
“Emma has played almost every position on the field during her time,” he said. “Goalkeeper was not the intended position for her this year but seeing her strength in net, her long reach, and her ability to get from post to post, we had to give her a shot there.
“We felt she could definitely help us in the back. She has been fearless in goal, eager to learn and always has a great attitude about playing in a new position.
“She leads by example, competes every single day and has a phenomenal work ethic. I think Emma's the type of player and competitor that loves a challenge. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that she is shining in her new role as a goalkeeper for us.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK Emma Thorne
D Peyton Sarubbi
D Gianna Kubica
D Lauren Malone
D Melyssa Hernandez
M Patty Lachowiez
M AnnMarie Ahrens
M Cecilia Defino
M Francesca Cali
M Anna Odisho
F Nola White
Batavia
GK Morgan Haug
D Mia Anzalone
D Caitlin Callahan
D Alyssa Sarik
M Abby Edwards
M Ashley Whelpley
M Riley DiBiase
M Bella Lins
F Laila Figueras
F Carlin King
F Johanna Shubert
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Laila Figueras, so. F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
Batavia — Laila Figueras (unassisted) 33’
Second half
Lake Park — AnneMarie Ahrens (unassisted) 44’
Batavia — own-goal 70’