Batavia bides its time, bests Wheaton North
Captain Kahley delivers game-winner in 2-1 result
By Jared Birchfield
BATAVIA – Patience is a virtue goes the adage. If that is true, then Batavia should be a very virtuous team after winning its DuKane Conference opener over Wheaton North 2-1 Tuesday night at Bulldogs Stadium.
After the Falcons tied the game 1-1 early in the second half, the Bulldogs offense quickened its pace and took nine shots on goal. However, the attempts fell short.
Batavia (4-2-0, 1-0-0) did not get flustered and continued attacking. Finally, with 10:21 left to play, senior captain Ryan Kahley finished an attempt with the game-winning score.
The play started with a Brody Seitzinger free kick. Kahley corralled the boot and headed it into the back of the net.
“I went to the back post and the ball came through,” Kahley said. “No one touched it. I just did anything and everything I could to make sure to get it in the back of the net.”
The Falcons backline contributed to the Bulldogs scoring woes according to Kahley.
“It wasn't so much as frustration as it was North’s defense. We knew we were getting close, but their back line was pretty solid. They kept us 20 to 25 yards away and goals from that distance are difficult to make,” he said.
“We definitely thought we played well. We knew we were connecting passes better towards the end, a little frantic at times. But we definitely played to the best of our ability; we're all pretty proud of our win tonight.”
Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco was pleased, except perhap for the “frantic” part.
“I don't necessarily like it to be so frantic,” he said. “I think because it was the first game at home the team had a lot of energy.
“Plus, it was the first game on turf, so the ball was moving really quick, so it seemed pretty frantic. Touches were off and balls were off on some of the passes.”
Scoring the game-winning goal earned Kahley Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honors.
The goal took Seitzinger back to a game against the Falcons in the spring.
“As soon as we scored the goal, I got a flashback from last year, our first game when they slaughtered us 8-0,” he said. “It’s really nice to have that edge on them and get our redemption.”.
The junior defender also appreciated having the student section back in the stands.
“Having the Dog Pound was super helpful,” Seitzinger said.
Wheaton North coach Robert Stassen said a backline breakdown contributed to the score
“The back-post runner came in completely unmarked. It was a communication problem. When they have games where they communication they are on,” said the Falcons coach. “The last six games, that backline has been solid with their communication, but not today. We better go back to the drawing board tomorrow, practice talking to each other.”
Batavia’s defense then withstood the visitors’ frenzied attempts to retie the game. Batavia’s backline broke up several attacks. The Bulldogs’ Owen Stahl broke up the best attempt when he intercepted a shot headed for the goal and ran the loose ball down to prevent a corner kick.
Batavia took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute on a Manasas Monarrez goal.
“I got a really nice through-ball from my striker (Josh Denault). I saw my chance when I saw that the goalie came out,” Monarrez said. “I got a little bit scared, but then I got composed. I dodged to the left and put it in.”
Wheaton North (4-2-1, 0-1-0) came close to knotting up the game in the 36th minute, but backup forward Robbie Larsen’s shot bounced off the cross bar.
The Falcons shook up their line-up to start the second half.
Midfielder Max Riccelli and forward Diego Evangelista swapped positions, and it paid off.
Four minutes into the period, Riccelli’s shot was stopped by Batavia goalkeeper Logan Saenz, but the senior snared the rebound and put it in the net for to tie the match at 1-all.
“I just moved things around. Max is our center mid, and he didn't want to cough up the ball. So I figured if he's not going to pass it, he might as well go and shoot it,” Stassen said. “We moved him on top, and I threw Diego Evangelista back in the middle.”
Gianfrancesco was impressed with how his Bulldogs responded to the Falcons’ goal.
“I like the reaction we had after they scored. We really didn't drop it,” he said. “We picked up our play a little bit. We could have put our heads down and just given up, and they could have scored another one right away. But I think we came back and created opportunities. It's a great learning experience for them going forward when we're in that position later on in this season.
“I thought we created more opportunities than they did second half. I wish we would have finished a few more, so it wouldn’t have been as frantic as it was.”
The Batavia coach felt the game’s momentum swung the Bulldogs way after the Wheaton North’s goal
“I think we met that challenge after it went 1-1. I would probably say we had the better of the chances, after they scored, for the rest of the game,” said Gianfrancesco. “I think we created some quality chances. We could have had another 2-3 goals. We just need to be a better about finishing compared to what they had going on. The shots were high or on the ground, and we didn't have the right run, and we just missed connecting.”
Stassen felt his team got off its offensive game.
“We normally play a two-touch game and unfortunately to have a two-touch game, you have to have one touch. And our first touch was not there all day, The mids struggled today. It was hard to move anything forward.” he said. “It was frustrating. Batavia played well, and we didn't.”
The North coach did laud the play of defender Noah Froebe.
“Noah, our captain, is solid. He doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes,” said Stassen. “He's super calm. Over the last couple years, he’s been such a huge asset to that backline.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK: Sam Wakeman
D: Kevin Ramirez
D: Noah Froebe
D: Peter Tiesman
D: Nathan Gordeuk
M:Tim Dulzer
M: Max Ricceli
M: Caleb Hodel
F: Diego Evangelista
F: Carter Evans
F: Diego Molina
Batavia
GK: Ryan Horlock
D: Grant LeRette-Kaufman
D: Quinn Saylers
D: Luke Petersen
D: Owen Stahl
M: Will Bardol
M: Ben Hanson
F: Josh Denault
F: Manasas Monarrez
F: Ryan Kahley
F: Alex Crum
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Kahley,sr. F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
B: Monarrez (Denault) 12th minute
Second half
WN: Riccelli 44th minute
B: Kahley (Seitzinger) 70th minute
Captain Kahley delivers game-winner in 2-1 result
By Jared Birchfield
BATAVIA – Patience is a virtue goes the adage. If that is true, then Batavia should be a very virtuous team after winning its DuKane Conference opener over Wheaton North 2-1 Tuesday night at Bulldogs Stadium.
After the Falcons tied the game 1-1 early in the second half, the Bulldogs offense quickened its pace and took nine shots on goal. However, the attempts fell short.
Batavia (4-2-0, 1-0-0) did not get flustered and continued attacking. Finally, with 10:21 left to play, senior captain Ryan Kahley finished an attempt with the game-winning score.
The play started with a Brody Seitzinger free kick. Kahley corralled the boot and headed it into the back of the net.
“I went to the back post and the ball came through,” Kahley said. “No one touched it. I just did anything and everything I could to make sure to get it in the back of the net.”
The Falcons backline contributed to the Bulldogs scoring woes according to Kahley.
“It wasn't so much as frustration as it was North’s defense. We knew we were getting close, but their back line was pretty solid. They kept us 20 to 25 yards away and goals from that distance are difficult to make,” he said.
“We definitely thought we played well. We knew we were connecting passes better towards the end, a little frantic at times. But we definitely played to the best of our ability; we're all pretty proud of our win tonight.”
Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco was pleased, except perhap for the “frantic” part.
“I don't necessarily like it to be so frantic,” he said. “I think because it was the first game at home the team had a lot of energy.
“Plus, it was the first game on turf, so the ball was moving really quick, so it seemed pretty frantic. Touches were off and balls were off on some of the passes.”
Scoring the game-winning goal earned Kahley Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honors.
The goal took Seitzinger back to a game against the Falcons in the spring.
“As soon as we scored the goal, I got a flashback from last year, our first game when they slaughtered us 8-0,” he said. “It’s really nice to have that edge on them and get our redemption.”.
The junior defender also appreciated having the student section back in the stands.
“Having the Dog Pound was super helpful,” Seitzinger said.
Wheaton North coach Robert Stassen said a backline breakdown contributed to the score
“The back-post runner came in completely unmarked. It was a communication problem. When they have games where they communication they are on,” said the Falcons coach. “The last six games, that backline has been solid with their communication, but not today. We better go back to the drawing board tomorrow, practice talking to each other.”
Batavia’s defense then withstood the visitors’ frenzied attempts to retie the game. Batavia’s backline broke up several attacks. The Bulldogs’ Owen Stahl broke up the best attempt when he intercepted a shot headed for the goal and ran the loose ball down to prevent a corner kick.
Batavia took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute on a Manasas Monarrez goal.
“I got a really nice through-ball from my striker (Josh Denault). I saw my chance when I saw that the goalie came out,” Monarrez said. “I got a little bit scared, but then I got composed. I dodged to the left and put it in.”
Wheaton North (4-2-1, 0-1-0) came close to knotting up the game in the 36th minute, but backup forward Robbie Larsen’s shot bounced off the cross bar.
The Falcons shook up their line-up to start the second half.
Midfielder Max Riccelli and forward Diego Evangelista swapped positions, and it paid off.
Four minutes into the period, Riccelli’s shot was stopped by Batavia goalkeeper Logan Saenz, but the senior snared the rebound and put it in the net for to tie the match at 1-all.
“I just moved things around. Max is our center mid, and he didn't want to cough up the ball. So I figured if he's not going to pass it, he might as well go and shoot it,” Stassen said. “We moved him on top, and I threw Diego Evangelista back in the middle.”
Gianfrancesco was impressed with how his Bulldogs responded to the Falcons’ goal.
“I like the reaction we had after they scored. We really didn't drop it,” he said. “We picked up our play a little bit. We could have put our heads down and just given up, and they could have scored another one right away. But I think we came back and created opportunities. It's a great learning experience for them going forward when we're in that position later on in this season.
“I thought we created more opportunities than they did second half. I wish we would have finished a few more, so it wouldn’t have been as frantic as it was.”
The Batavia coach felt the game’s momentum swung the Bulldogs way after the Wheaton North’s goal
“I think we met that challenge after it went 1-1. I would probably say we had the better of the chances, after they scored, for the rest of the game,” said Gianfrancesco. “I think we created some quality chances. We could have had another 2-3 goals. We just need to be a better about finishing compared to what they had going on. The shots were high or on the ground, and we didn't have the right run, and we just missed connecting.”
Stassen felt his team got off its offensive game.
“We normally play a two-touch game and unfortunately to have a two-touch game, you have to have one touch. And our first touch was not there all day, The mids struggled today. It was hard to move anything forward.” he said. “It was frustrating. Batavia played well, and we didn't.”
The North coach did laud the play of defender Noah Froebe.
“Noah, our captain, is solid. He doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes,” said Stassen. “He's super calm. Over the last couple years, he’s been such a huge asset to that backline.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK: Sam Wakeman
D: Kevin Ramirez
D: Noah Froebe
D: Peter Tiesman
D: Nathan Gordeuk
M:Tim Dulzer
M: Max Ricceli
M: Caleb Hodel
F: Diego Evangelista
F: Carter Evans
F: Diego Molina
Batavia
GK: Ryan Horlock
D: Grant LeRette-Kaufman
D: Quinn Saylers
D: Luke Petersen
D: Owen Stahl
M: Will Bardol
M: Ben Hanson
F: Josh Denault
F: Manasas Monarrez
F: Ryan Kahley
F: Alex Crum
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Kahley,sr. F, Batavia
Scoring summary
First half
B: Monarrez (Denault) 12th minute
Second half
WN: Riccelli 44th minute
B: Kahley (Seitzinger) 70th minute