Batavia tops Oswego East in dual tune-up
Host improves to 3-1-1; Wolves seek 1st victory of 2019
By Chris Walker
BATAVIA – Soccer games in March are so much different than those at the end of May.
In March, the players are usually the only ones wearing shorts. Temperatures in the 40s are considered almost summer-like and if wind isn’t howling and the rain isn’t coming down in buckets, it’s almost miraculous.
As for the games, while conference games can be in the mix, most of the others are nonconference affairs, which while important to a team for a variety of reasons, mean nothing when everything is said and done other than showing in your overall record.
For example, when’s the last time a team that was knocked out in the first round of the state playoffs said to a sectional-winning team, “But hey, don’t you ever forget that we beat you in March? Remember? It was so cold it snowed a little bit that game."
What is of utmost importance in those late May games is survival since the postseason doesn’t give second chances. If you lose, you’re done.
As Oswego East traveled to Batavia on a sunny Saturday, the Wolves were in pursuit of their first victory of the young season. The host Bulldogs looked to return to their winning ways after losing a strange game to Waubonsie Valley, where they seemingly outplayed the Warriors but lost 4-1, and most recently tied perennial power Naperville North 1-1 on Thursday.
Victory no. 1 remained elusive for the Wolves, who despite a strong effort fell to the Bulldogs 2-1.
“It was not pretty today, but it was good to get the result,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “A lot of people stepping up in some different spots and some people having to play more minutes than they’re used to, out of position, so it was good but definitely wasn’t pretty.”
Anna Holcombe’s goal at the 20:54 mark of the first half certainly was pretty though.
“I dropped back into the middle and Zaira (Solis) was on the outside, and she made a run and saw me,” Holcombe said. “I saw the goal open and just hit it to the left corner.”
As exciting as Holcombe’s goal was, which certainly caught everyone’s attention, few recognized the significance when Batavia junior defender Amber Gutsch entered the game in the second half. Gutsch hadn’t appeared in the Bulldogs first four games of the season as she has made her way back from a knee injury.
“I didn’t want to play her as much so she probably had more minutes than I wanted to give her,” Gianfrancesco said. “But it was just managing who else was coming out. We had a lot of girls that said ‘I’m hurting and need to come out’ and that rarely happens.
“But it was our third game in a week. So she probably played a bit more than I wanted her to. We talked yesterday. and she said she was comfortable even though she hadn’t played in a game, said she felt ready to go.
“It was a good time to insert her in there. I felt she did all right. It’s just easing her back and not overusing her. Ashley Whelpley (sophomore defender) is another girl who is about a year back from an ACL, and with the third game in a week, she’s not able to maintain which is understandable. It’s communication and letting us know how you feel, and that’s a big piece.”
Gutsch sustained the injury last July. There was no contact, but she just planted weird and the next thing she knew she required surgery and a long, difficult road of recovery with physical therapy.
“I feel good and my physical trainer helped me so much,” she said. “I personally trained after PT with a strength trainer who helped a lot too.”
While she felt healthy enough to be back, she felt thrilled to be back on the field playing the game she adores.
“It’s great to be back and this team is easy to come back to and feel connected,” she said. “So yeah, it’s very exciting to be back and to get the win.”
Oswego East freshman Chloe Noon came ever so close to tying the game in the 25th minute, but her shot sailed just wide left. Her scoring opportunity was one of the few the Wolves were able to generate in the opening half. Their next good one didn’t come until the final minutes of the half, but this time they converted to tie the game at 1-1.
Junior Allison Adams was somehow able to secure possession amongst a crowd and head in Alex McPhee’s corner kick with 1:56 to go before halftime.
“Alex crossed the ball, and it looked like it was going out, but the wind kept it in. So I stayed on their goal line and headed it in,’ Adams said. “It was a nice ball from Alex. It was a little crowded, but I got in front of a girl defending, so I was able to see the ball come in and head it.”
It was Adams’ first goal of the young season.
“It did feel really good to close out the half with some momentum, especially after losing on Thursday,” she said. “So it was nice to be tied up again and have a chance to win the game in the second half.”
The Wolves had earned another corner kick just before the half, but time expired before they could take it. That’s because McPhee was too far way to get there to take it. A lesson was learned from the experience, but it still cost them a chance of potentially duplicating what they had just done less than two minutes earlier.
“That was something we talked about at halftime because usually Alex talks all the corners,” Adams said. “The coaches were like, ‘They’re not ready to mark this,’ so we should’ve had someone else take it and try to put it in. We could’ve had a lead at half and corner kicks are something we had been working on a lot in practice so they would pay off.”
After an ugly 4-0 loss to Plainfield East on Thursday, the Wolves suddenly found themselves in a game, just like they were when they tied Downers Grove South 1-1 in their season opener March 16.
“I think we came out with a lot of intensity after that goal,” Oswego East senior midfielder Sydney Conway said. “We knew we needed to pick it up and bring some intensity and some aggressiveness into the second half after we scored that goal.”
Batavia (3-1-1) wasted little time taking the lead for good over the Wolves, scoring just 47 seconds into the second half.
It was a stunner of a goal for the Wolves (0-2-1), especially since they just tied the game less than three minutes before that.
“But they just got it,” Conway said. “”It was unlucky. It deflected off one of our players, and it went in.”
Instead of cowering and completely giving up, Conway felt the Wolves fought even harder to get even again. It wouldn’t happen, but their effort did not wane either.
“We tried our hardest after that,” she said. “We still brought it. I felt like we did way better in the second half, going for those 50/50 balls and attacking the balls with headers and stuff. I guess we just fell short.”
The go-ahead goal was one of perseverance.
Holcombe, an Indiana State recruit who was named the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, wasn’t about to surrender on a potential scoring opportunity simply because her shot found another player’s body rather than the back of the net. When she saw her attempt bounce off of someone, she didn’t give up. She hustled to the rebound and dumped it to Grace Salyers who buried it for the 2-1 lead with 39:13 remaining.
“That was big for us, because then we got the momentum back for the rest of the game,” Holcombe said. “2-1 is still a close game, and they can always come back and tie it and get the momentum. So we were still trying to get up the field and get more shots on goal and crosses to follow into the box, but we couldn’t.”
Gianfrancesco certainly would’ve felt some relief if the Bulldogs could’ve extended their lead to 3-1, but the Wolves didn’t budge.
“Getting that goal in the first five (minutes of the second half) was great, but we’ve got to express more to them to get the third one because the third one is the backbreaker,” he said. “If we got the third one there, then most teams are done at that point. And when you don’t get it, it gives them some momentum and hope. Those girls kept playing, which is a testament to Oswego East, and their goalie (Reagan Sanders) made some nice saves so we need to score some more goals.”
The Wolves were unable to find the net again to draw even, but they didn’t leave Batavia tremendously disappointed.
“For it being just our third game, I feel like we’ve improved drastically already,” Conway said. “The first game was pretty OK. We floated. It wasn’t a sink or swim thing, but our last game on Thursday was very much just a bad game.
“From there I think we’ve improved drastically. We watched film this morning and felt all right. We just have to take every game, game by game, and just focus on the game we have right now. What can we do to improve? To score a goal? To get on top? To have momentum? How do we do these things and just not think of it?”
Batavia’s stingy play in the midfield and from its backline had a lot to do with Oswego East’s troubles in doing much with the ball. They didn’t completely shut them down but made the Wolves work extra hard for chances.
“Defensively, we’ve been trying to get levels up and been trying to find the gaps up-top so we can have a quick counterattack,” Batavia senior defender Jenna Nichols said. “I felt we did a pretty good job of that today.”
In-game adjustments before something bad happens -- like giving up goals -- also are helping the Bulldogs.
“We’re doing a really good job of adjusting when we need to,” Batavia senior defender Zaira Solis said. “Everybody is pulling their weight and doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”
And they’re getting better.
“I think we’ve been developing better throughout the season from the first game to now,” Batavia senior defender Rachel Polignone said. “We’re connecting a lot better as a team, combining and working well together. We’ve been trying to go up the line and through the gaps on the outside wide and bring everything up and push up defensively so we can get up and get toward scoring goals.”
Batavia’s goalkeepers weren’t super busy but both delivered when they were called to duty. Junior Hailey Flannagan played in the first half, before freshman Aubrey Hahn took over in the second half. That’s pretty much how it’s gone so far this season for Gianfrancesco who considers both to be capable in net and likes the competition among the duo.
“We want that competition to keep them going because it keeps them engaged,” Gianfrancesco said. “I think that’s a good thing. The freshman (Hahn) is very athletic, and she pushes Hailey a little bit more because she’s got somebody there with her. They’ve been working pretty well together so we’ll see how that goes.”
As Oswego West aims at getting its first victory of the season in a Southwest Prairie Conference win on Tuesday at Joliet West, the Wolves remain focused on the big picture.
“From this year to last year we have a different lineup,” Kastel said. “It’s basically almost a kind of new team because a lot of the people playing this year didn’t see much field time last year. But they’re taking opportunities and improving each and every time.”
Since it’s not uncommon for players to get down from a lack of success, Kastel and Conway and the other more experienced Wolves are making sure that the rest of their teammates remain positive.
“That’s where being a captain really comes in, especially with motivating the freshmen, because we’ve got three freshmen who are really good, and we don’t want them to lose their trust in us or lose confidence,” Conway said. “I already told them that this is a process, and it’s going to be OK. This is rock bottom. We can only go up from here.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Reagan Sanders
D Allison Adams
D Madeline Kastel
D Alex McPhee
MF Sammy Anderson
MF Sydney Conway
MF Taylor English
MF Madison Frazer
MF Chloe Noon
MF Katie Olivas
F Haley Lewis
Batavia
GK Hailey Flannagan
D Taylor Fleury
D Jenna Nichols
D Rachel Polignone
D Zaira Solis
D Ashley Whelpley
MF Kate Schoenfelder
MF Bella Zink
MF Abby Zipse
F Anna Holcombe
F Grace Salyers
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Anna Holcombe, sr., F, Batavia
Officials: Mike Schmickler, Curt Wegner, Tom Zajaczkowski
Scoring summary
First half
Batavia – Anna Holcombe (Zaira Solis) 20:54
Oswego East – Allison Adams (Alex McPhee) 1:56
Second half
Batavia –Grace Salyers (Anna Holcombe) 39:13
Ball kids: Finn Drohan, Luke Gianfrancesco, Gabby McPhee, Adam Pircon, Gavin VanPelt
Host improves to 3-1-1; Wolves seek 1st victory of 2019
By Chris Walker
BATAVIA – Soccer games in March are so much different than those at the end of May.
In March, the players are usually the only ones wearing shorts. Temperatures in the 40s are considered almost summer-like and if wind isn’t howling and the rain isn’t coming down in buckets, it’s almost miraculous.
As for the games, while conference games can be in the mix, most of the others are nonconference affairs, which while important to a team for a variety of reasons, mean nothing when everything is said and done other than showing in your overall record.
For example, when’s the last time a team that was knocked out in the first round of the state playoffs said to a sectional-winning team, “But hey, don’t you ever forget that we beat you in March? Remember? It was so cold it snowed a little bit that game."
What is of utmost importance in those late May games is survival since the postseason doesn’t give second chances. If you lose, you’re done.
As Oswego East traveled to Batavia on a sunny Saturday, the Wolves were in pursuit of their first victory of the young season. The host Bulldogs looked to return to their winning ways after losing a strange game to Waubonsie Valley, where they seemingly outplayed the Warriors but lost 4-1, and most recently tied perennial power Naperville North 1-1 on Thursday.
Victory no. 1 remained elusive for the Wolves, who despite a strong effort fell to the Bulldogs 2-1.
“It was not pretty today, but it was good to get the result,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “A lot of people stepping up in some different spots and some people having to play more minutes than they’re used to, out of position, so it was good but definitely wasn’t pretty.”
Anna Holcombe’s goal at the 20:54 mark of the first half certainly was pretty though.
“I dropped back into the middle and Zaira (Solis) was on the outside, and she made a run and saw me,” Holcombe said. “I saw the goal open and just hit it to the left corner.”
As exciting as Holcombe’s goal was, which certainly caught everyone’s attention, few recognized the significance when Batavia junior defender Amber Gutsch entered the game in the second half. Gutsch hadn’t appeared in the Bulldogs first four games of the season as she has made her way back from a knee injury.
“I didn’t want to play her as much so she probably had more minutes than I wanted to give her,” Gianfrancesco said. “But it was just managing who else was coming out. We had a lot of girls that said ‘I’m hurting and need to come out’ and that rarely happens.
“But it was our third game in a week. So she probably played a bit more than I wanted her to. We talked yesterday. and she said she was comfortable even though she hadn’t played in a game, said she felt ready to go.
“It was a good time to insert her in there. I felt she did all right. It’s just easing her back and not overusing her. Ashley Whelpley (sophomore defender) is another girl who is about a year back from an ACL, and with the third game in a week, she’s not able to maintain which is understandable. It’s communication and letting us know how you feel, and that’s a big piece.”
Gutsch sustained the injury last July. There was no contact, but she just planted weird and the next thing she knew she required surgery and a long, difficult road of recovery with physical therapy.
“I feel good and my physical trainer helped me so much,” she said. “I personally trained after PT with a strength trainer who helped a lot too.”
While she felt healthy enough to be back, she felt thrilled to be back on the field playing the game she adores.
“It’s great to be back and this team is easy to come back to and feel connected,” she said. “So yeah, it’s very exciting to be back and to get the win.”
Oswego East freshman Chloe Noon came ever so close to tying the game in the 25th minute, but her shot sailed just wide left. Her scoring opportunity was one of the few the Wolves were able to generate in the opening half. Their next good one didn’t come until the final minutes of the half, but this time they converted to tie the game at 1-1.
Junior Allison Adams was somehow able to secure possession amongst a crowd and head in Alex McPhee’s corner kick with 1:56 to go before halftime.
“Alex crossed the ball, and it looked like it was going out, but the wind kept it in. So I stayed on their goal line and headed it in,’ Adams said. “It was a nice ball from Alex. It was a little crowded, but I got in front of a girl defending, so I was able to see the ball come in and head it.”
It was Adams’ first goal of the young season.
“It did feel really good to close out the half with some momentum, especially after losing on Thursday,” she said. “So it was nice to be tied up again and have a chance to win the game in the second half.”
The Wolves had earned another corner kick just before the half, but time expired before they could take it. That’s because McPhee was too far way to get there to take it. A lesson was learned from the experience, but it still cost them a chance of potentially duplicating what they had just done less than two minutes earlier.
“That was something we talked about at halftime because usually Alex talks all the corners,” Adams said. “The coaches were like, ‘They’re not ready to mark this,’ so we should’ve had someone else take it and try to put it in. We could’ve had a lead at half and corner kicks are something we had been working on a lot in practice so they would pay off.”
After an ugly 4-0 loss to Plainfield East on Thursday, the Wolves suddenly found themselves in a game, just like they were when they tied Downers Grove South 1-1 in their season opener March 16.
“I think we came out with a lot of intensity after that goal,” Oswego East senior midfielder Sydney Conway said. “We knew we needed to pick it up and bring some intensity and some aggressiveness into the second half after we scored that goal.”
Batavia (3-1-1) wasted little time taking the lead for good over the Wolves, scoring just 47 seconds into the second half.
It was a stunner of a goal for the Wolves (0-2-1), especially since they just tied the game less than three minutes before that.
“But they just got it,” Conway said. “”It was unlucky. It deflected off one of our players, and it went in.”
Instead of cowering and completely giving up, Conway felt the Wolves fought even harder to get even again. It wouldn’t happen, but their effort did not wane either.
“We tried our hardest after that,” she said. “We still brought it. I felt like we did way better in the second half, going for those 50/50 balls and attacking the balls with headers and stuff. I guess we just fell short.”
The go-ahead goal was one of perseverance.
Holcombe, an Indiana State recruit who was named the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, wasn’t about to surrender on a potential scoring opportunity simply because her shot found another player’s body rather than the back of the net. When she saw her attempt bounce off of someone, she didn’t give up. She hustled to the rebound and dumped it to Grace Salyers who buried it for the 2-1 lead with 39:13 remaining.
“That was big for us, because then we got the momentum back for the rest of the game,” Holcombe said. “2-1 is still a close game, and they can always come back and tie it and get the momentum. So we were still trying to get up the field and get more shots on goal and crosses to follow into the box, but we couldn’t.”
Gianfrancesco certainly would’ve felt some relief if the Bulldogs could’ve extended their lead to 3-1, but the Wolves didn’t budge.
“Getting that goal in the first five (minutes of the second half) was great, but we’ve got to express more to them to get the third one because the third one is the backbreaker,” he said. “If we got the third one there, then most teams are done at that point. And when you don’t get it, it gives them some momentum and hope. Those girls kept playing, which is a testament to Oswego East, and their goalie (Reagan Sanders) made some nice saves so we need to score some more goals.”
The Wolves were unable to find the net again to draw even, but they didn’t leave Batavia tremendously disappointed.
“For it being just our third game, I feel like we’ve improved drastically already,” Conway said. “The first game was pretty OK. We floated. It wasn’t a sink or swim thing, but our last game on Thursday was very much just a bad game.
“From there I think we’ve improved drastically. We watched film this morning and felt all right. We just have to take every game, game by game, and just focus on the game we have right now. What can we do to improve? To score a goal? To get on top? To have momentum? How do we do these things and just not think of it?”
Batavia’s stingy play in the midfield and from its backline had a lot to do with Oswego East’s troubles in doing much with the ball. They didn’t completely shut them down but made the Wolves work extra hard for chances.
“Defensively, we’ve been trying to get levels up and been trying to find the gaps up-top so we can have a quick counterattack,” Batavia senior defender Jenna Nichols said. “I felt we did a pretty good job of that today.”
In-game adjustments before something bad happens -- like giving up goals -- also are helping the Bulldogs.
“We’re doing a really good job of adjusting when we need to,” Batavia senior defender Zaira Solis said. “Everybody is pulling their weight and doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”
And they’re getting better.
“I think we’ve been developing better throughout the season from the first game to now,” Batavia senior defender Rachel Polignone said. “We’re connecting a lot better as a team, combining and working well together. We’ve been trying to go up the line and through the gaps on the outside wide and bring everything up and push up defensively so we can get up and get toward scoring goals.”
Batavia’s goalkeepers weren’t super busy but both delivered when they were called to duty. Junior Hailey Flannagan played in the first half, before freshman Aubrey Hahn took over in the second half. That’s pretty much how it’s gone so far this season for Gianfrancesco who considers both to be capable in net and likes the competition among the duo.
“We want that competition to keep them going because it keeps them engaged,” Gianfrancesco said. “I think that’s a good thing. The freshman (Hahn) is very athletic, and she pushes Hailey a little bit more because she’s got somebody there with her. They’ve been working pretty well together so we’ll see how that goes.”
As Oswego West aims at getting its first victory of the season in a Southwest Prairie Conference win on Tuesday at Joliet West, the Wolves remain focused on the big picture.
“From this year to last year we have a different lineup,” Kastel said. “It’s basically almost a kind of new team because a lot of the people playing this year didn’t see much field time last year. But they’re taking opportunities and improving each and every time.”
Since it’s not uncommon for players to get down from a lack of success, Kastel and Conway and the other more experienced Wolves are making sure that the rest of their teammates remain positive.
“That’s where being a captain really comes in, especially with motivating the freshmen, because we’ve got three freshmen who are really good, and we don’t want them to lose their trust in us or lose confidence,” Conway said. “I already told them that this is a process, and it’s going to be OK. This is rock bottom. We can only go up from here.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Reagan Sanders
D Allison Adams
D Madeline Kastel
D Alex McPhee
MF Sammy Anderson
MF Sydney Conway
MF Taylor English
MF Madison Frazer
MF Chloe Noon
MF Katie Olivas
F Haley Lewis
Batavia
GK Hailey Flannagan
D Taylor Fleury
D Jenna Nichols
D Rachel Polignone
D Zaira Solis
D Ashley Whelpley
MF Kate Schoenfelder
MF Bella Zink
MF Abby Zipse
F Anna Holcombe
F Grace Salyers
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Anna Holcombe, sr., F, Batavia
Officials: Mike Schmickler, Curt Wegner, Tom Zajaczkowski
Scoring summary
First half
Batavia – Anna Holcombe (Zaira Solis) 20:54
Oswego East – Allison Adams (Alex McPhee) 1:56
Second half
Batavia –Grace Salyers (Anna Holcombe) 39:13
Ball kids: Finn Drohan, Luke Gianfrancesco, Gabby McPhee, Adam Pircon, Gavin VanPelt