Battin’s strikes spark St. Charles East
Saints win 4-0 over Glenbard E. in 3A regional semifinal
By Gary Larsen
ST. CHARLES — If he had a third foot, odds are that St. Charles East’s Truitt Battin could shoot a soccer ball with that one, too.
Battin bent one shot with his left foot and one with his right; the two perfectly-placed balls resulted in goals that spearheaded the host Saints’ 4-0 win over Glenbard East, in a 3A regional semifinal game Wednesday.
The win sent St. Charles East (12-7-0) to a its own regional title game Saturday against rival St. Charles North (12-5-1), a 3-0 semifinal winner over Glenbard North.
Glenbard East came out hard before Battin stormed up the left side and challenged a defender at 11 minutes. From 22 yards, Battin swung his left leg and curled a perfect shot to the inside netting of the far post.
But as impressive as that goal was, and as helpful as it is for a team to strike first in any game, what Battin’s goal did in the face of a strong opening attack by Glenbard East was even more important.
“As soon as we scored, we got the momentum,” Battin said.
St. Charles East largely rode that momentum for the rest of the night. Battin struck again at 34 minutes on a free kick, sending a right-footed bender around a wall of defenders from 23 yards.
Battin’s curving shot sped inside the post to give him 14 goals on the season, and Glenbard East (5-6-4) trailed 2-0 at halftime.
“Our opportunities came, we kept working hard, and I got a goal,” Battin said. “The second one I was able to place in the corner, so that was nice.”
Battin’s two first half goals were bookends to 25 minutes of increased attacking pressure from St. Charles East.
Glenbard East keeper Gerardo Galvez made a diving stop of a Grayson Biddle shot at 14 minutes, and Luke Schnitker hit a crossbar with a shot a minute later. Battin forced another diving stop from Galvez at 17 minutes, and another at 31 minutes.
The Saints had established an attacking pattern that held for much of the night.
“We’ve had an odd season here with some inconsistent results, but when we have everybody here, we’re pretty dangerous,” Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “I liked the way we played today.
“It took a little bit for us to get comfortable in the game, but it felt like once (Battin) got that first touch he had going forward and scored, we settled into the game.”
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw Saints forward Sebastian Carranza streak into the Glenbard East box and poke a shot off a sliding Galvez, and Alejandro Mancera rip a shot just wide of the post.
Biddle got on the board with a shot from 18 yards at 50 minutes that stretched the back netting, and Carranza scored the Saints’ final goal on a shot from 14 yards at 61 minutes.
“We played eighty minutes today,” Biddle said. “We really showed what we could do, and we were finishing our chances. Our main focus now is to keep our intensity up.”
As impressive and diverse as the Saints’ attack was, the backline of Biddle, Ryan Champine, Ulises Caballero, and Geoff Unterberg stayed rock-solid, and keeper Jack Settle made every stop needed.
The return of centerback Unterberg from injury paid high dividends Wednesday.
“We were without him for four or five games, and we are a different team with him on the field,” DiNuzzo said. “To have him back in the lineup to help us is just huge.
“(Biddle), obviously, with that goal gave us a nice cushion. But a lot of our kids are playing pretty well right now. (Midfielder) Brendan Adams is another guy that never gets enough credit. He’s box-to-box, up and down the field.”
Not to be overlooked in the win was the freshman Carranza, who now has 13 goals to go with nine assists and has been a calm eye in the hurricane for the Saints’ attack.
“He’s a really dynamic forward,” Biddle said of Carranza. “He can hold onto the ball. He can handle the tough situations, and we’re really using him as a guy to be playing off of. We’re making runs around him because he can hold onto the ball and his soccer IQ at his age is phenomenal.
“He always sees those through-balls and he’s made a huge impact for us this season.”
DiNuzzo echoed Biddle’s appreciation for Carranza.
“He’s a playmaker. He’s unselfish, He’s a team guy, and that’s what I love about him,” DiNuzzo said.
St. Charles East won 5-3 over St. Charles East on Sept. 20. Renato Avendano scored two goals in the win and the Saints got a goal apiece from Adams, Battin, and Nick Nelson.
St. Charles East is the no. 5 seed of the Class 3A Addison Trail Sectional, and St. Charles North is the no. 4 seed.
St. Charles North went through a considerable roster change recently but Biddle knows that a regional title game against a crosstown rival is never easy.
“Obviously they’re missing a lot of players, but we’re not going to take it any less serious,” Biddle said. “With a crosstown game, it’s always anyone’s game.”
Battin, named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his two beautiful goals in Wednesday’s win, agreed.
“We have to go in there with the right mindset, being physical and playing smart,” Battin said. “We have to execute and get the win.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK Jack Settle
D Ryan Champine
D Ulises Caballero
D Grayson Biddle
D Geoff Unterberg
MF Brendan Adams
MF Alejandro Mancera
MF Brendan Adams
MF Luke Schnitker
F Sebastian Carranza
F Truitt Battin
Glenbard East
GK Gerardo Galvez
D Alex Johnson
D Adler Joiner
D Clay Kepuraitis
D Luke McLeese
MF Nick O’Brien
MF Ian Moran
MF Gavin Wooldridge
MF Patrick Campuzano
F Thomas Sotello
F MItchell Zetterquist
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Truitt Battin, sr., F, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East — Battin (UA) 11 minutes
St. Charles East — Battin (FK) 34 minutes
Second half
St. Charles East — Biddle (UA) 50 minutes
St. Charles East — Carranza (UA) 61 minutes
Saints win 4-0 over Glenbard E. in 3A regional semifinal
By Gary Larsen
ST. CHARLES — If he had a third foot, odds are that St. Charles East’s Truitt Battin could shoot a soccer ball with that one, too.
Battin bent one shot with his left foot and one with his right; the two perfectly-placed balls resulted in goals that spearheaded the host Saints’ 4-0 win over Glenbard East, in a 3A regional semifinal game Wednesday.
The win sent St. Charles East (12-7-0) to a its own regional title game Saturday against rival St. Charles North (12-5-1), a 3-0 semifinal winner over Glenbard North.
Glenbard East came out hard before Battin stormed up the left side and challenged a defender at 11 minutes. From 22 yards, Battin swung his left leg and curled a perfect shot to the inside netting of the far post.
But as impressive as that goal was, and as helpful as it is for a team to strike first in any game, what Battin’s goal did in the face of a strong opening attack by Glenbard East was even more important.
“As soon as we scored, we got the momentum,” Battin said.
St. Charles East largely rode that momentum for the rest of the night. Battin struck again at 34 minutes on a free kick, sending a right-footed bender around a wall of defenders from 23 yards.
Battin’s curving shot sped inside the post to give him 14 goals on the season, and Glenbard East (5-6-4) trailed 2-0 at halftime.
“Our opportunities came, we kept working hard, and I got a goal,” Battin said. “The second one I was able to place in the corner, so that was nice.”
Battin’s two first half goals were bookends to 25 minutes of increased attacking pressure from St. Charles East.
Glenbard East keeper Gerardo Galvez made a diving stop of a Grayson Biddle shot at 14 minutes, and Luke Schnitker hit a crossbar with a shot a minute later. Battin forced another diving stop from Galvez at 17 minutes, and another at 31 minutes.
The Saints had established an attacking pattern that held for much of the night.
“We’ve had an odd season here with some inconsistent results, but when we have everybody here, we’re pretty dangerous,” Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “I liked the way we played today.
“It took a little bit for us to get comfortable in the game, but it felt like once (Battin) got that first touch he had going forward and scored, we settled into the game.”
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw Saints forward Sebastian Carranza streak into the Glenbard East box and poke a shot off a sliding Galvez, and Alejandro Mancera rip a shot just wide of the post.
Biddle got on the board with a shot from 18 yards at 50 minutes that stretched the back netting, and Carranza scored the Saints’ final goal on a shot from 14 yards at 61 minutes.
“We played eighty minutes today,” Biddle said. “We really showed what we could do, and we were finishing our chances. Our main focus now is to keep our intensity up.”
As impressive and diverse as the Saints’ attack was, the backline of Biddle, Ryan Champine, Ulises Caballero, and Geoff Unterberg stayed rock-solid, and keeper Jack Settle made every stop needed.
The return of centerback Unterberg from injury paid high dividends Wednesday.
“We were without him for four or five games, and we are a different team with him on the field,” DiNuzzo said. “To have him back in the lineup to help us is just huge.
“(Biddle), obviously, with that goal gave us a nice cushion. But a lot of our kids are playing pretty well right now. (Midfielder) Brendan Adams is another guy that never gets enough credit. He’s box-to-box, up and down the field.”
Not to be overlooked in the win was the freshman Carranza, who now has 13 goals to go with nine assists and has been a calm eye in the hurricane for the Saints’ attack.
“He’s a really dynamic forward,” Biddle said of Carranza. “He can hold onto the ball. He can handle the tough situations, and we’re really using him as a guy to be playing off of. We’re making runs around him because he can hold onto the ball and his soccer IQ at his age is phenomenal.
“He always sees those through-balls and he’s made a huge impact for us this season.”
DiNuzzo echoed Biddle’s appreciation for Carranza.
“He’s a playmaker. He’s unselfish, He’s a team guy, and that’s what I love about him,” DiNuzzo said.
St. Charles East won 5-3 over St. Charles East on Sept. 20. Renato Avendano scored two goals in the win and the Saints got a goal apiece from Adams, Battin, and Nick Nelson.
St. Charles East is the no. 5 seed of the Class 3A Addison Trail Sectional, and St. Charles North is the no. 4 seed.
St. Charles North went through a considerable roster change recently but Biddle knows that a regional title game against a crosstown rival is never easy.
“Obviously they’re missing a lot of players, but we’re not going to take it any less serious,” Biddle said. “With a crosstown game, it’s always anyone’s game.”
Battin, named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his two beautiful goals in Wednesday’s win, agreed.
“We have to go in there with the right mindset, being physical and playing smart,” Battin said. “We have to execute and get the win.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK Jack Settle
D Ryan Champine
D Ulises Caballero
D Grayson Biddle
D Geoff Unterberg
MF Brendan Adams
MF Alejandro Mancera
MF Brendan Adams
MF Luke Schnitker
F Sebastian Carranza
F Truitt Battin
Glenbard East
GK Gerardo Galvez
D Alex Johnson
D Adler Joiner
D Clay Kepuraitis
D Luke McLeese
MF Nick O’Brien
MF Ian Moran
MF Gavin Wooldridge
MF Patrick Campuzano
F Thomas Sotello
F MItchell Zetterquist
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Truitt Battin, sr., F, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East — Battin (UA) 11 minutes
St. Charles East — Battin (FK) 34 minutes
Second half
St. Charles East — Biddle (UA) 50 minutes
St. Charles East — Carranza (UA) 61 minutes