Batavia, St. Charles East fit to be tied
Teams earn 1st point in U8 River standings with 2-2 draw
By Matt Le Cren
BATAVIA – Batavia and St. Charles East are two proud soccer programs with a history of success both recent and ancient, so it’s been surprising to see both teams scuffle for victories this season.
It’s been pretty frustrating for the players as well, who despite the travails are staying positive and continuing to have fun.
There was more frustration, interspersed with moments of fun, for both in Tuesday night’s Upstate Eight Conference River Division match, which ended in a 2-2 tie.
“Both teams are kind of playing pretty well but unfortunately haven’t gotten the result they want during games,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “At a certain point we would have both been happy for the win, but we’re okay with the tie.”
First-year St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo, whose team twice rallied from a goal down, expressed similar sentiments.
“It showed resilience out of the boys,” DiNuzzo said. “I thought we played a great half of soccer.
“The second half was probably the best half of soccer we’ve played, and we were unlucky not to score a couple more goals. We created some quality chances.
“They were dangerous on the counter. They looked pretty good transitioning back to front, but we just made a couple mental errors in the first half and that cost us.
“It’s good to come back and get a draw, but we’ve got to get some wins here.”
The draw ended a three-game losing streak for host Batavia (2-9-1, 0-2-1) which has just one win in their last 10 matches. St. Charles East (2-5-4, 0-1-1) has one win in its last nine games.
Both teams have been on the wrong side of one-goal games. Batavia’s last four losses, and six overall, have been decided by one score. Three of St. Charles East’s defeats came by a single tally.
But that's in the past.
“I have confidence in this group,” said DiNuzzo, whose Saints are now 1-1-2 in their last four games. “We’re getting there.
“The boys played hard. We talked about creating more chances with our outside backs, and today we scored a screamer.”
That came off the foot of defender Grayson Biddle, whose rocket from 40 yards on the left wing caught Batavia by surprise and tied the game 1-1 at the 24:38 mark of the first half.
It was Biddle’s first goal of the season.
Later, Truitt Battin scored on a similar cracker, placing a 30-yard free kick from the right hash mark into the lower left corner of the net to finish the scoring with 17:44 left in the second half. It was his fifth tally of the campaign.
“I was aiming for left side,” Battin said. “I had a feeling it was going to hit the post.
“I was like, ‘Oh, no.’”
Battin had hit the right post 10 minutes earlier, one of several missed chances for the Saints in the second half. Batavia goalkeeper Treven Ritko-Siros made all five of his saves after intermission.
“I thought after the free kick it helped momentum in the game,” Battin said. “I think it’s going to boost our confidence.
“We’ve been through ups and downs this season. But we’re starting to come together as a team and playing well.”
What will it take to get the wins flowing?
“Just keep on shooting,” Battin said. “We need to shoot more.
“That first half we only had one shot on goal. Second half we were taking more shots, creating opportunities which led to another goal.”
Batavia twice took the lead in the first half. Brandon Knapp put the Bulldogs up 1-0 with a hard shot in the box that went through the goalkeeper’s legs at the 27:01 mark. Joe Corno assisted on that play.
Then, five minutes after Biddle’s equalizer, Batavia went back in front on Max Hardin’s tap-in goal off a perfect cross from Josh Analitis, who had taken the ball all the way to the end line on the left wing.
“We’ve done that (take leads) this year too,:” Gianfrancesco said. “It’s just trying to keep that momentum and play 80 minutes.
“One little letdown and one little foul puts us in pressure (situations), and they convert it.”
Even so, Hardin was upbeat about the performance.
“It was a good result for us,” Hardin said. “It was a better result than we’ve been having before, so I think it’s a positive.
“They scored two incredible goals. We played really well at the end.”
The dearth of victories, while frustrating, hasn’t dampened the Bulldogs’ enthusiasm.
“I think our morale is still pretty high because we know we’re in good games,” Hardin said. “It’s going to fall for us eventually.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK Zachary Kennedy
D Riley Arnold
D Grayson Biddle
D Geoff Unterberg
M Luke Schnitker
M Brendan Adams
M Matthew Kolet
M Kieran Patel
M Truitt Battin
M Rajin Bains
F George Maridis
Batavia
GK Treven Ritko-Siros
D Riley Cavanaugh
D Miguel Garcia
D Ian Wood
M Joe Grendzinski
M Brayden Kuhn
M Adler Palos
M Sal Garcia
M Nick Cannella
F Joe Corno
F Brandon Knapp
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Truitt Battin, MF, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
1st Half
Batavia – Brandon Knapp (Joe Corno) 27:01
St. Charles East – Grayson Biddle 24:38
Batavia –Max Hardin (Josh Analitis) 19:32
2nd Half
St. Charles East – Truitt Battin 17:44
Teams earn 1st point in U8 River standings with 2-2 draw
By Matt Le Cren
BATAVIA – Batavia and St. Charles East are two proud soccer programs with a history of success both recent and ancient, so it’s been surprising to see both teams scuffle for victories this season.
It’s been pretty frustrating for the players as well, who despite the travails are staying positive and continuing to have fun.
There was more frustration, interspersed with moments of fun, for both in Tuesday night’s Upstate Eight Conference River Division match, which ended in a 2-2 tie.
“Both teams are kind of playing pretty well but unfortunately haven’t gotten the result they want during games,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “At a certain point we would have both been happy for the win, but we’re okay with the tie.”
First-year St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo, whose team twice rallied from a goal down, expressed similar sentiments.
“It showed resilience out of the boys,” DiNuzzo said. “I thought we played a great half of soccer.
“The second half was probably the best half of soccer we’ve played, and we were unlucky not to score a couple more goals. We created some quality chances.
“They were dangerous on the counter. They looked pretty good transitioning back to front, but we just made a couple mental errors in the first half and that cost us.
“It’s good to come back and get a draw, but we’ve got to get some wins here.”
The draw ended a three-game losing streak for host Batavia (2-9-1, 0-2-1) which has just one win in their last 10 matches. St. Charles East (2-5-4, 0-1-1) has one win in its last nine games.
Both teams have been on the wrong side of one-goal games. Batavia’s last four losses, and six overall, have been decided by one score. Three of St. Charles East’s defeats came by a single tally.
But that's in the past.
“I have confidence in this group,” said DiNuzzo, whose Saints are now 1-1-2 in their last four games. “We’re getting there.
“The boys played hard. We talked about creating more chances with our outside backs, and today we scored a screamer.”
That came off the foot of defender Grayson Biddle, whose rocket from 40 yards on the left wing caught Batavia by surprise and tied the game 1-1 at the 24:38 mark of the first half.
It was Biddle’s first goal of the season.
Later, Truitt Battin scored on a similar cracker, placing a 30-yard free kick from the right hash mark into the lower left corner of the net to finish the scoring with 17:44 left in the second half. It was his fifth tally of the campaign.
“I was aiming for left side,” Battin said. “I had a feeling it was going to hit the post.
“I was like, ‘Oh, no.’”
Battin had hit the right post 10 minutes earlier, one of several missed chances for the Saints in the second half. Batavia goalkeeper Treven Ritko-Siros made all five of his saves after intermission.
“I thought after the free kick it helped momentum in the game,” Battin said. “I think it’s going to boost our confidence.
“We’ve been through ups and downs this season. But we’re starting to come together as a team and playing well.”
What will it take to get the wins flowing?
“Just keep on shooting,” Battin said. “We need to shoot more.
“That first half we only had one shot on goal. Second half we were taking more shots, creating opportunities which led to another goal.”
Batavia twice took the lead in the first half. Brandon Knapp put the Bulldogs up 1-0 with a hard shot in the box that went through the goalkeeper’s legs at the 27:01 mark. Joe Corno assisted on that play.
Then, five minutes after Biddle’s equalizer, Batavia went back in front on Max Hardin’s tap-in goal off a perfect cross from Josh Analitis, who had taken the ball all the way to the end line on the left wing.
“We’ve done that (take leads) this year too,:” Gianfrancesco said. “It’s just trying to keep that momentum and play 80 minutes.
“One little letdown and one little foul puts us in pressure (situations), and they convert it.”
Even so, Hardin was upbeat about the performance.
“It was a good result for us,” Hardin said. “It was a better result than we’ve been having before, so I think it’s a positive.
“They scored two incredible goals. We played really well at the end.”
The dearth of victories, while frustrating, hasn’t dampened the Bulldogs’ enthusiasm.
“I think our morale is still pretty high because we know we’re in good games,” Hardin said. “It’s going to fall for us eventually.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK Zachary Kennedy
D Riley Arnold
D Grayson Biddle
D Geoff Unterberg
M Luke Schnitker
M Brendan Adams
M Matthew Kolet
M Kieran Patel
M Truitt Battin
M Rajin Bains
F George Maridis
Batavia
GK Treven Ritko-Siros
D Riley Cavanaugh
D Miguel Garcia
D Ian Wood
M Joe Grendzinski
M Brayden Kuhn
M Adler Palos
M Sal Garcia
M Nick Cannella
F Joe Corno
F Brandon Knapp
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Truitt Battin, MF, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
1st Half
Batavia – Brandon Knapp (Joe Corno) 27:01
St. Charles East – Grayson Biddle 24:38
Batavia –Max Hardin (Josh Analitis) 19:32
2nd Half
St. Charles East – Truitt Battin 17:44