Batavia ties WWS with seconds to spare
Host Bulldogs connect after corner kick for 1-1 tie
By Jared Birchfield
BATAVIA— The adage “the third time’s a charm” worked for Batavia on Thursday night.
Battling both Wheaton Warrenville South and a northeast wind with gusts that rattled the press box, the Bulldogs executed only three corner kicks during the entire DuKane Conference match. Batavia came up empty during the first two attempts. However, the third try, with the clock winding down to zero in the second half, paid off. Batavia found the back of net to earn a 1-1 tie.
With less than 20 second left to play, Bulldog Luke Bianco kicked from the near corner into a mob of players in front of the goal. Josh Denault got control of the ball and booted it for the score with seven seconds to play.
Up to that point, South (2-2-1) held a one goal lead, thanks to an Eric Vargas strike earlier in the period.
“Bianco took the kick. It went back post, and (Ryan) Kahley kept it in really nice,” said Denault, who just this week swapped his number 33 basketball jersey for a number 12 soccer kit. “He just laid it off at the six and I was there, and I just tapped it in.”
Vargas scored his goal at 27:23 mark of the last half. The senior got past the Bulldog’s backline, dribbled while being pursued by two Batavia defenders and then rifled the ball home from 20 yards.
Vargas was recently put into the center forward position according to South coach Guy Callipari.
“It was Vargas’ third game in a row we put him up as a number nine, and he has responded in each and every game. Obviously, He’s going to need more help going forward,” Callipari said. “It was a nice through-ball. He used his body well. He was calm under the pressure and slid it past so it was a nice goal.”
Neither team had many chances to score from set plays. Only a handful of fouls were called so there were no penalty kicks and few free kicks.
Batavia (0-4-1) coach Mark Gianfrancesco appreciated the lack of whistles.
“I thought overall between the two teams it was a pretty clean game, but also too, I thought the officials did a nice job. The center official let them play so there was a little bit more physical play, but I didn't think it was so over the top that he had to blow the whistle,” the Batavia coach said. “It allowed for a more fluid game instead of a lot of stopping and starting.”
Gianfrancesco also was unsure how the strong winds affected the match.
“I don't know how much of an impact the wind had. I thought we played just as well into the wind in the first half as we did in the second half and ironically the goal that they got was into the wind,” said Gianfrancesco.
His players said the gusts altered their ball management.
“The wind definitely was a factor especially when we were facing it in the first half. It was hard to read the ball sometimes,” Denault said. “Second half, we're just keeping it in front of us, and it was pretty much to our advantage, but we just didn't get it there.”
Batavia goalkeeper Logan Saenz had his own challenges.
“The wind definitely changed the way I wanted to distribute the ball. I was trying to keep it outside the hash marks and more towards the sidelines because I couldn't really tell where the ball would really go off my foot,” Saenz said. “The first half was a little bit of a struggle but the second half I just kept at it, and I had some distributions that could have led to some options.”
Callipari would not blame the weather for losing the lead.
“You really can't blame the wind. We were sloppy in comparison to what we have done in the previous outings leading up to this affair,” the South coach said. “I guess we were a little lackadaisical. You've got to give credit to where credit is due. (Batavia) seemed to have a little bit more energy collectively.”
Gianfrancesco sees continued improvement in his squad.
“I would say from start to finish we played it a pretty solid game, a consistent game. We've improved every game so far, and that's been nice to see,” he said. “They are applying what we're talked about in training, on the sidelines when we pull them out, and the boys are really trying to make the effort.
“It was nice to see they've seen some success. I won't say the success equals wins or goals,” Gianfrancesco continued. “They've seen an improvement and obviously it’s nice to have that little uptick.”
The Batavia coach was also pleased with how well his backline, especially center backs Riley Miller and Quinn Salyers, are jelling.
“We pretty much had the same guys last game and this game and they're kind of solidifying. There's a lot more communication and more of the relationship it builds especially between the two center backs Riley and Quinn,” Gianfrancesco said. “They're getting used to playing together which has helped a lot. They won a lot of key balls in the air and also with some tackles made on Vargas, who seemed to be the focal point of South’s attack.”
Denault’s return has firmed up the defense.
“Josh is just getting back to us from basketball. He’s been back for a week and been a nice addition,” Gianfrancesco said. “He’s kind of solidified our backline, and he obviously had a big moment scoring that goal. That was nice to see.”
Callipari also saw improvement in his near third.
“The defense did well. It was a tough game to play in, because they weren’t sure of the flight of the ball. We're starting to read each other a little bit better when we got pressure on the ball and somebody is in better coverage,” Callipari said.
“We've got Jerry (Cuatzo) who is a sophomore, Jackson (Moran) a senior, Nikhil (Bawa) is a sophomore and Aiden (O’Hara) is a junior, so it's a young core, and they're trying to find their legs and their way. It's fun to watch them develop.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Ramsey Khayal
D: Aidan O’Hara
D: Jackson Moran
D: Ben Webber
D: Nikhil Bawa
M: Kevin Stumbris
M: Gael Alfara
F: Eric Vargas
F: Chase Kedzior
F: Eladio Reyes
M: Jason Weisheit
Batavia
GK: Logan Saenz
D: Josh Denault
D: Riley Miller
D: Quinn Salyers
D: Emir Haskovic
M: Rodrigo Maldonado
M: Will Bardol
M: Ben Hansen
M: Dlyan Knapp
F: Luke Bianco
F: Ryan Kahley
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Josh Denault, jr., D, Batavia
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Wheaton Warrenville South – Vargas (Weisheit) – 53rd minute
Batavia – Denault (Kahley) – 80th minute
Host Bulldogs connect after corner kick for 1-1 tie
By Jared Birchfield
BATAVIA— The adage “the third time’s a charm” worked for Batavia on Thursday night.
Battling both Wheaton Warrenville South and a northeast wind with gusts that rattled the press box, the Bulldogs executed only three corner kicks during the entire DuKane Conference match. Batavia came up empty during the first two attempts. However, the third try, with the clock winding down to zero in the second half, paid off. Batavia found the back of net to earn a 1-1 tie.
With less than 20 second left to play, Bulldog Luke Bianco kicked from the near corner into a mob of players in front of the goal. Josh Denault got control of the ball and booted it for the score with seven seconds to play.
Up to that point, South (2-2-1) held a one goal lead, thanks to an Eric Vargas strike earlier in the period.
“Bianco took the kick. It went back post, and (Ryan) Kahley kept it in really nice,” said Denault, who just this week swapped his number 33 basketball jersey for a number 12 soccer kit. “He just laid it off at the six and I was there, and I just tapped it in.”
Vargas scored his goal at 27:23 mark of the last half. The senior got past the Bulldog’s backline, dribbled while being pursued by two Batavia defenders and then rifled the ball home from 20 yards.
Vargas was recently put into the center forward position according to South coach Guy Callipari.
“It was Vargas’ third game in a row we put him up as a number nine, and he has responded in each and every game. Obviously, He’s going to need more help going forward,” Callipari said. “It was a nice through-ball. He used his body well. He was calm under the pressure and slid it past so it was a nice goal.”
Neither team had many chances to score from set plays. Only a handful of fouls were called so there were no penalty kicks and few free kicks.
Batavia (0-4-1) coach Mark Gianfrancesco appreciated the lack of whistles.
“I thought overall between the two teams it was a pretty clean game, but also too, I thought the officials did a nice job. The center official let them play so there was a little bit more physical play, but I didn't think it was so over the top that he had to blow the whistle,” the Batavia coach said. “It allowed for a more fluid game instead of a lot of stopping and starting.”
Gianfrancesco also was unsure how the strong winds affected the match.
“I don't know how much of an impact the wind had. I thought we played just as well into the wind in the first half as we did in the second half and ironically the goal that they got was into the wind,” said Gianfrancesco.
His players said the gusts altered their ball management.
“The wind definitely was a factor especially when we were facing it in the first half. It was hard to read the ball sometimes,” Denault said. “Second half, we're just keeping it in front of us, and it was pretty much to our advantage, but we just didn't get it there.”
Batavia goalkeeper Logan Saenz had his own challenges.
“The wind definitely changed the way I wanted to distribute the ball. I was trying to keep it outside the hash marks and more towards the sidelines because I couldn't really tell where the ball would really go off my foot,” Saenz said. “The first half was a little bit of a struggle but the second half I just kept at it, and I had some distributions that could have led to some options.”
Callipari would not blame the weather for losing the lead.
“You really can't blame the wind. We were sloppy in comparison to what we have done in the previous outings leading up to this affair,” the South coach said. “I guess we were a little lackadaisical. You've got to give credit to where credit is due. (Batavia) seemed to have a little bit more energy collectively.”
Gianfrancesco sees continued improvement in his squad.
“I would say from start to finish we played it a pretty solid game, a consistent game. We've improved every game so far, and that's been nice to see,” he said. “They are applying what we're talked about in training, on the sidelines when we pull them out, and the boys are really trying to make the effort.
“It was nice to see they've seen some success. I won't say the success equals wins or goals,” Gianfrancesco continued. “They've seen an improvement and obviously it’s nice to have that little uptick.”
The Batavia coach was also pleased with how well his backline, especially center backs Riley Miller and Quinn Salyers, are jelling.
“We pretty much had the same guys last game and this game and they're kind of solidifying. There's a lot more communication and more of the relationship it builds especially between the two center backs Riley and Quinn,” Gianfrancesco said. “They're getting used to playing together which has helped a lot. They won a lot of key balls in the air and also with some tackles made on Vargas, who seemed to be the focal point of South’s attack.”
Denault’s return has firmed up the defense.
“Josh is just getting back to us from basketball. He’s been back for a week and been a nice addition,” Gianfrancesco said. “He’s kind of solidified our backline, and he obviously had a big moment scoring that goal. That was nice to see.”
Callipari also saw improvement in his near third.
“The defense did well. It was a tough game to play in, because they weren’t sure of the flight of the ball. We're starting to read each other a little bit better when we got pressure on the ball and somebody is in better coverage,” Callipari said.
“We've got Jerry (Cuatzo) who is a sophomore, Jackson (Moran) a senior, Nikhil (Bawa) is a sophomore and Aiden (O’Hara) is a junior, so it's a young core, and they're trying to find their legs and their way. It's fun to watch them develop.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Ramsey Khayal
D: Aidan O’Hara
D: Jackson Moran
D: Ben Webber
D: Nikhil Bawa
M: Kevin Stumbris
M: Gael Alfara
F: Eric Vargas
F: Chase Kedzior
F: Eladio Reyes
M: Jason Weisheit
Batavia
GK: Logan Saenz
D: Josh Denault
D: Riley Miller
D: Quinn Salyers
D: Emir Haskovic
M: Rodrigo Maldonado
M: Will Bardol
M: Ben Hansen
M: Dlyan Knapp
F: Luke Bianco
F: Ryan Kahley
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Josh Denault, jr., D, Batavia
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Wheaton Warrenville South – Vargas (Weisheit) – 53rd minute
Batavia – Denault (Kahley) – 80th minute