It's the Bulldogs and the North Stars in a 1-1 draw

By Darryl Mellema

Two halves, as we all know, make a whole. In that spirit, both Batavia and St. Charles North found that mutual incomplete performances ended up canceling each other out and making a tied match.

For Batavia the pattern involved taking advantage of some slack St. Charles North defending, and then defending for its life. For the North Stars the match involved a furious fight-back from a 1-0 halftime deficit.

The match ended both team's competition against their Tri-City neighbors while each also continued a hectic week of play to help forge the 1-1 tie in Wednesday's second match of a doubleheader featuring the Bulldogs and the North Stars, as well as St. Charles East and Geneva.

A somewhat slack first half burst to life in the final moment when a mis-cleared ball ended on Batavia forward Mitch Albrecht's foot. Albrecht converted the close-in chance.

Batavia's goal aside, St. Charles North was the aggressor for much of the first half, and that pattern did not change much through the second half.

“They had most of the chances,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said of St. Charles North. “They were aggressive, speedy, pushing some balls through. We really didn't generate anything. I thought, the second half, they took it to us.”

And yet, Batavia (7-6-3) had just enough chances – even in the final minute – to perhaps win the match. And the way the Bulldogs defended in the second half, they were worth their portion of the draw.

St. Charles North (7-9-2) coach Eric Willson was not much pleased after the match.

“It's the same old story for the North Stars this season,” Willson said. “We give up a goal with under a minute to go. It's just been that kind of year.”

Willson said he was pleased with the response his team showed in the second half to rescue the match from defeat.

“It's great, but I'm tired of it,” Willson said. “It's the same old stuff. We play for 75 minutes. We play for 78 minutes. And we defend in the box like we never have before in the history of this program. It's terrible defending in the box on our part.”

While some in the crowd bayed for an offside call, the ball Albrecht put away came off a North Stars defender.

“It's us not being able to read a flighted ball in the box,” Willson said. “It goes over a guy's head who should have gotten his head on it. We hit a bad clear. The next thing you know, their guy is waiting in front of our keeper, all by himself.”

St. Charles North's response came with 13 minutes left. James Reed sent a quick ball from the left wing to the center of the penalty area. Zach Matuszak met that ball and finished sharply.

“I don't question these guys' heart or their energy or their want to win to win the game,” Willson said. “It's their lack of focus at times. It's got to get sorted out because we're running out of games to prepare for these playoffs. You do that in the playoffs and your season ends early.”

Man of the match: Anthony Torres

By Darryl Mellema

On the roster and in the classroom, Batavia's Anthony Torres is a sophomore. But on the field, you'd never know he was a second-year player.

Torres helped keep Batavia's defense knitted together on Wednesday and never let it break, despite some incredible St. Charles North pressure.

“He's a solid guy,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “He's smart, composed. He really organizes a lot and saves a lot of the other guys out there.”

Batavia is working with a pair of sophomore defenders. Eduardo Cuatle is also a second-year player on the Bulldogs roster.

“Both of them play much older than their age,” Gianfrancesco said. “Torres, he plays very solid back there. He's the one communicating and talking. It's nice to coach somebody like that.”

But Wednesday's match did get heated at times. St. Charles North came forward in waves as it tried to rebound from a 1-0 halftime deficit.

“Our energy dropped a lot,” Torres said. “We weren't passing the ball a lot. It put us under a lot of pressure. We couldn't do much with it.”

Torres said he enjoys being active in the game play, which meant the match with St. Charles North was a fun match.

“I enjoyed it,” he said.

Batavia switched from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 formation in midseason. The shift hasn't altered the makeup of the defense, but it has shifted the look of the formation in front of that quartet.