Despite Batavia's fight, W. Aurora prevails
Bulldogs can't stop no. 17 Blackhawks from improving to 10-1-1
By Steve Nemeth
BATAVIA -- Whatever advantage Batavia may have had as the home team in Thursday’s Upstate Eight Conference crossover didn’t faze West Aurora.
Nor did the tenacity of the host Bulldogs.
Although they may not have been particularly flashy, the visiting Blackhawks continued their winning ways after grinding out a 2-1 triumph.
West Aurora -- which made its debut in this season's Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 at no. 17 this week -- boosted its season record to an eye-catching 10-1-1. Being the Blackhawks’ 11th road game out of 12 clearly hasn’t been an issue for a team notching a fifth-straight victory for the second time this year.
After a 2-2 draw to open the season against a then 17th-rated St. Charles East side, West Aurora captured Stillman Valley’s Colin Smith Invitational title as part of their first run of five-straight wins. Despite stumbling 1-0 at Glenbard East, the Blackhawks claimed the championship trophy at downstate Morton’s Potter Invitational to begin their current five-match streak.
Although Batavia’s record slipped to 2-8-1, coach Mark Gianfrancesco’s faith in his squad remained undaunted by the latest close call.
“It feels like they’ve all been close calls,” Gianfrancesco said after the Bulldogs endured a one-goal defeat for the sixth time. “We’re one of the toughest teams around with only two wins. I can promise you this, we’ll give you a competitive game.”
Pardon the obvious pun, but all it took was a little patience for West Aurora to begin its quest for victory no. 10 -- as in Patience Yuha, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, who displayed relentless hustle despite the need to have his injured left ankle taped tighter to continue playing.
The Blackhawks junior -- one of West’s international contingent that includes players from the Congo, Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya, Iraq, Nepal and Latin America -- pounced on an Emanuel Acosta pass for a 16-yard blast just 1:09 after the opening whistle.
“Their goalie came far enough off the line for me to shoot it past him,” Yuha said in reference to his seventh goal of the season. “It feels good any time you score to help us with an opportunity to win.”
However, West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic has the wisdom of 17 years at the helm to offer a different view.
“Scoring that quick this time actually had a somewhat negative affect on us in that we relaxed a little too much. Five minutes later we give up a goal on a counterattack,” Sustersic noted.
Of course the opposite bench looked upon the relatively quick equalizer as an immediate response.
With 6:40 elapsed, Joe Corno earned his third assist to go with a team-high six goals with a cross that found Nick Cannella racing goalward in order to bury an 11-yarder past West Aurora goalie Ivan Burciaga. That was Cannella’s fourth goal for the year.
Just over 10 minutes later, a Batavia direct kick was trapped by Burciaga against the football crossbar to give the Bulldogs a corner kick. However, the visitors handled the situation and the next opportunity belonged to the Blackhawks.
Yuha aimed a rocket from the top of the penalty box that Batavia keeper Treven Ritko-Siros snared with confidence. Shortly after that, the Bulldogs had a golden opportunity for a lead on a through-ball to Corno, but his shot went wide right.
The final minute of the first half included two cannon shots from West Aurora, one by Andy Emile and another from Yuha.
The second half began with Ritko-Siros stopping a blast from the right side. Corno played a nice cross from the left, however, Josh Analitis just missed connecting and West Aurora raced back the other way. A Blackhawks effort wide from the right wing curved away from the far left post.
Batavia's Sal Garcia put a direct free kick on frame, but Burciaga caught that. Ritko-Siros then did the same on a West Aurora free kick from Renato Cruz.
With 18:08 remaining in regulation, Emile made the most of a pass from William Ortiz and drilled a nine-yarder from the right.
“There were a lot of people in the box, but I saw an opening for a shot and took the risk,” Emile said. “Every goal feels good, but a game-winner makes you a little happier.”
Omar Marquez and Yuha continued to pressure the Batavia net, but Ritko-Siros ultimately chalked up 10 saves. West Aurora owned a 19-7 advantage for overall attempts, including a 12-3 edge for shots on goal.
Sustersic was quick to endorse Yuha’s Man of the Match designation.
“He’s a leader by example, doing all the little things needed anywhere on the field,” Sustersic said. “He basically does whatever is necessary and like today, he often does it despite an injury.”
Sustersic had equal praise for assistant Kevin Briars, who ran practices this week while Sustersic attended his father’s funeral. Circumstances dictated additional absences earlier this year leading to Sustersic leaning on his assistant even more.
“Quite honestly, I consider us to be co-coaches,” Sustersic said. “Kevin’s really been running the show for much of this year.”
On Tuesday, West Aurora begins the first of four-straight home games when West Chicago visits for a UEC Valley Division clash. At 1-1-0, the Blackhawks are aiming for at least a share of that title.
On that same day, Batavia welcomes St. Charles East for a UEC River Division in which the Bulldogs aim to better their 0-2-0 league record.
“I’m proud of the fight we showed to the very end,” Corno said. “I believe we dominated the midfield in stretches during both halves. We simply didn’t finish our chances. I don’t care if people underestimate us, because I know we’re a lot better than our record. We’re really starting to jell.”
Gianfrancesco’s earlier contention about being the best 2-8-1 club is based on how hard his squad has been working.
“The guys have been great at staying on task. They’re not concerned with the record or the opponent. We’ve been competitive in every game but just lack a positive result,” Gianfrancesco said. “They certainly haven’t thrown in the towel and continue to work hard in practice, so there will be rewards.”
Starting lineups
West Aurora
GK Ivan Burciaga
D Eduardo Ruiz
D Santiago Barrios
D Murray Grube
M Omar Marquez
M Renato Cruz
M Ulises Guerrero
M Spencer Prather
F Patience Yuha
F Emanuel Acosta
F Joseph Morrow
Batavia
GK Treven Ritko-Siros
D Miguel Garcia
D Ian Wood
D Riley Cavanaugh
D Joe Grendzinski
M Nick Cannella
M Sal Garcia
M Brayden Kuhn
M Colin Stolfa
F Joe Corno
F Adler Palos
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patience Yuha, jr. F, West Aurora
Officials: Katherine Bates (center); Gerry Hundt; Trey McClure
Game summary
West Aurora 2, Batavia 1
West Aurora 1 1 -- 2 10-1-1
Batavia 1 0 -- 1 2-8-1
Scoring
WA – Yuha 16-yard cannon shot ( Acosta assist), 1:09 gone
B – Canella buries 10-yard blast from the middle off a cross (Corno assist), 6:40 gone
WA – Emile drills nine-yarder from right side (Ortiz assist), 61:52 gone
Shots
WA 8 – 11 -- 19
B 6 – 1 -- 7
Shots on goal
WA 6 – 6 -- 12
B 3 – 0 -- 3
Saves (goalie)
WA 2 (Burciaga, 2-0)
B 10 (Ritko-Siros, 5–5)
Corner kicks
WA 2 – 3 -- 5
B 3 – 3 -- 6
Offsides
WA 1 – 0 -- 1
B 0 – 0 -- 0
Bulldogs can't stop no. 17 Blackhawks from improving to 10-1-1
By Steve Nemeth
BATAVIA -- Whatever advantage Batavia may have had as the home team in Thursday’s Upstate Eight Conference crossover didn’t faze West Aurora.
Nor did the tenacity of the host Bulldogs.
Although they may not have been particularly flashy, the visiting Blackhawks continued their winning ways after grinding out a 2-1 triumph.
West Aurora -- which made its debut in this season's Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 at no. 17 this week -- boosted its season record to an eye-catching 10-1-1. Being the Blackhawks’ 11th road game out of 12 clearly hasn’t been an issue for a team notching a fifth-straight victory for the second time this year.
After a 2-2 draw to open the season against a then 17th-rated St. Charles East side, West Aurora captured Stillman Valley’s Colin Smith Invitational title as part of their first run of five-straight wins. Despite stumbling 1-0 at Glenbard East, the Blackhawks claimed the championship trophy at downstate Morton’s Potter Invitational to begin their current five-match streak.
Although Batavia’s record slipped to 2-8-1, coach Mark Gianfrancesco’s faith in his squad remained undaunted by the latest close call.
“It feels like they’ve all been close calls,” Gianfrancesco said after the Bulldogs endured a one-goal defeat for the sixth time. “We’re one of the toughest teams around with only two wins. I can promise you this, we’ll give you a competitive game.”
Pardon the obvious pun, but all it took was a little patience for West Aurora to begin its quest for victory no. 10 -- as in Patience Yuha, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, who displayed relentless hustle despite the need to have his injured left ankle taped tighter to continue playing.
The Blackhawks junior -- one of West’s international contingent that includes players from the Congo, Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya, Iraq, Nepal and Latin America -- pounced on an Emanuel Acosta pass for a 16-yard blast just 1:09 after the opening whistle.
“Their goalie came far enough off the line for me to shoot it past him,” Yuha said in reference to his seventh goal of the season. “It feels good any time you score to help us with an opportunity to win.”
However, West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic has the wisdom of 17 years at the helm to offer a different view.
“Scoring that quick this time actually had a somewhat negative affect on us in that we relaxed a little too much. Five minutes later we give up a goal on a counterattack,” Sustersic noted.
Of course the opposite bench looked upon the relatively quick equalizer as an immediate response.
With 6:40 elapsed, Joe Corno earned his third assist to go with a team-high six goals with a cross that found Nick Cannella racing goalward in order to bury an 11-yarder past West Aurora goalie Ivan Burciaga. That was Cannella’s fourth goal for the year.
Just over 10 minutes later, a Batavia direct kick was trapped by Burciaga against the football crossbar to give the Bulldogs a corner kick. However, the visitors handled the situation and the next opportunity belonged to the Blackhawks.
Yuha aimed a rocket from the top of the penalty box that Batavia keeper Treven Ritko-Siros snared with confidence. Shortly after that, the Bulldogs had a golden opportunity for a lead on a through-ball to Corno, but his shot went wide right.
The final minute of the first half included two cannon shots from West Aurora, one by Andy Emile and another from Yuha.
The second half began with Ritko-Siros stopping a blast from the right side. Corno played a nice cross from the left, however, Josh Analitis just missed connecting and West Aurora raced back the other way. A Blackhawks effort wide from the right wing curved away from the far left post.
Batavia's Sal Garcia put a direct free kick on frame, but Burciaga caught that. Ritko-Siros then did the same on a West Aurora free kick from Renato Cruz.
With 18:08 remaining in regulation, Emile made the most of a pass from William Ortiz and drilled a nine-yarder from the right.
“There were a lot of people in the box, but I saw an opening for a shot and took the risk,” Emile said. “Every goal feels good, but a game-winner makes you a little happier.”
Omar Marquez and Yuha continued to pressure the Batavia net, but Ritko-Siros ultimately chalked up 10 saves. West Aurora owned a 19-7 advantage for overall attempts, including a 12-3 edge for shots on goal.
Sustersic was quick to endorse Yuha’s Man of the Match designation.
“He’s a leader by example, doing all the little things needed anywhere on the field,” Sustersic said. “He basically does whatever is necessary and like today, he often does it despite an injury.”
Sustersic had equal praise for assistant Kevin Briars, who ran practices this week while Sustersic attended his father’s funeral. Circumstances dictated additional absences earlier this year leading to Sustersic leaning on his assistant even more.
“Quite honestly, I consider us to be co-coaches,” Sustersic said. “Kevin’s really been running the show for much of this year.”
On Tuesday, West Aurora begins the first of four-straight home games when West Chicago visits for a UEC Valley Division clash. At 1-1-0, the Blackhawks are aiming for at least a share of that title.
On that same day, Batavia welcomes St. Charles East for a UEC River Division in which the Bulldogs aim to better their 0-2-0 league record.
“I’m proud of the fight we showed to the very end,” Corno said. “I believe we dominated the midfield in stretches during both halves. We simply didn’t finish our chances. I don’t care if people underestimate us, because I know we’re a lot better than our record. We’re really starting to jell.”
Gianfrancesco’s earlier contention about being the best 2-8-1 club is based on how hard his squad has been working.
“The guys have been great at staying on task. They’re not concerned with the record or the opponent. We’ve been competitive in every game but just lack a positive result,” Gianfrancesco said. “They certainly haven’t thrown in the towel and continue to work hard in practice, so there will be rewards.”
Starting lineups
West Aurora
GK Ivan Burciaga
D Eduardo Ruiz
D Santiago Barrios
D Murray Grube
M Omar Marquez
M Renato Cruz
M Ulises Guerrero
M Spencer Prather
F Patience Yuha
F Emanuel Acosta
F Joseph Morrow
Batavia
GK Treven Ritko-Siros
D Miguel Garcia
D Ian Wood
D Riley Cavanaugh
D Joe Grendzinski
M Nick Cannella
M Sal Garcia
M Brayden Kuhn
M Colin Stolfa
F Joe Corno
F Adler Palos
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patience Yuha, jr. F, West Aurora
Officials: Katherine Bates (center); Gerry Hundt; Trey McClure
Game summary
West Aurora 2, Batavia 1
West Aurora 1 1 -- 2 10-1-1
Batavia 1 0 -- 1 2-8-1
Scoring
WA – Yuha 16-yard cannon shot ( Acosta assist), 1:09 gone
B – Canella buries 10-yard blast from the middle off a cross (Corno assist), 6:40 gone
WA – Emile drills nine-yarder from right side (Ortiz assist), 61:52 gone
Shots
WA 8 – 11 -- 19
B 6 – 1 -- 7
Shots on goal
WA 6 – 6 -- 12
B 3 – 0 -- 3
Saves (goalie)
WA 2 (Burciaga, 2-0)
B 10 (Ritko-Siros, 5–5)
Corner kicks
WA 2 – 3 -- 5
B 3 – 3 -- 6
Offsides
WA 1 – 0 -- 1
B 0 – 0 -- 0