Batavia falls 4-2 to Buffalo Grove in Lake Park title game
By Gary Larsen

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You have to be ready to play at the opening whistle and Buffalo Grove was simply a little more ready than Batavia on Thursday.

The Bison scored their first goal less than two minutes into play and led 3-0 on the Bulldogs by the game’s 20th minute, in the title game of Lake Park’s Earlybird Invitational in Roselle.

Batavia fought back before losing 4-2 but the early deficit proved too much to bear.

“We have to have a better warm-up and you saw that from the get-go,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “They were much more assertive and physical than we were, right from the start. We were dragging anchor at the beginning of that game.”

Buffalo Grove’s Colleen Zickert broke across the middle of the 18 on the dribble and sent a malicious ball to the upper ninety, just 1:30 into the contest, and sister Kelli Zickert scored in the game’s 21st minute to make it 2-0. The Bulldogs went down 3-0 less than 30 seconds later, when Kelli Zickert found space in the middle near the 18 and sent a ball tearing under the crossbar to the back netting.

Batavia goalkeeper Roni Resek had virtually no chance to save two of BG’s blistering goals in the first half.

“Those were great goals but unfortunately they were right from the center, Zone 14 as they call it, and that was tough. We didn’t step up, communicate, and we were kind of sluggish,” Gianfrancesco said.

Handling the craftiness of Zickert sisters is only the first tall order of business for teams taking on the Bison this year.  Buffalo Grove has quality players in every third of the field and is now 7-0 with Saturday’s win over Batavia.

“We have a pretty young side but I think with our youth and talent, we have a good mix of seniors that are great people and leaders,” Buffalo Grove coach Pat Dudle said. “I think with each game we know we have to play really well to contend and we’re getting better each time out.

“But we’re a true team and I don’t think anyone is going to be able to focus on any one or two of our players.”

The good news for Batavia fans is that the Bulldogs fought it out to the finish and were much more dangerous in the second half of play.

Batavia made it 3-1 before halftime when Kristen Driscoll launched a shot from 30-plus yards out that cut through the wind and found the net.

“Kristen Driscoll is really working hard, looking to go forward, and looking to distribute,” Gianfrancesco said. “She’s assertive into the offensive end and she’s physical. She’ll stick her nose in there to win a couple of those balls at midfield, and when she gets the ball she does a nice job of controlling it and trying to distribute. She wants the ball.”

“She’s always winning it back,” Batavia assistant coach Jenna McKnight added. “If she loses it, she’s always working hard to get it back.”

Buffalo Grove made it 4-1 on another Colleen Zickert goal in the second half. Batavia’s Nikki Seiton took over in net in the second half and made a diving stop near the post of a BG shot at 64 minutes. Batavia’s Alison Grimm served a ball from left to right at 66 minutes but BG keeper Katie Okamoto left her line to beat the  Bulldogs’ Tori Renfus to the ball.

With the wind at her back, Seiton unleashed a towering punt that one-hopped the 18 with teammate Grace Andrews running onto it, but Okamoto again left her line to get to it first.

Batavia made it 4-2 at 78 minutes when Karina Rosales buried a corner kick feed at the goalmouth.

“Getting that goal back at the end of the first half was nice, and another goal before the half might have made a big difference,” Gianfrancesco said. “In the second half I thought we were more dangerous, even though they got that fourth goal to make it 4-1. But we switched a couple of things and took a look at a few things to see where we’ll be going forward.”

“You have to take the little victories and it was 1-1 in the second half. We were more awake and more physical in the second half and we switched things up to control certain areas of the field better than we had done in the first half.”

Thursday’s loss put Batavia’s record at 2-2-1 on the season, with the Bulldogs’ only other loss coming 1-0 to highly-touted Metea Valley. The Bulldogs have tied 3-3 with Wheaton Warrenville South and beaten Lake Park 5-1 thus far in 2012.

“As I said to the girls, it’s the fifth game. The season’s not over,” Gianfrancesco said. “We’ve got a ton of time left to keep working at it. We have 12 returners with only five girls that had significant time. We have six freshmen and a sophomore, and probably a total of 10 girls new to the varsity. So we’re just trying to find our strengths and weaknesses, and obviously Buffalo Grove exposed us in certain areas so we’ll have to take care of that.”

With games against Plainfield Central and St. Charles North slated for next week, Buffalo Grove provided a good test for Batavia moving forward.

“They’re quick, physical, and they make fabulous through-balls,” Gianfrancesco said. “Those through-balls were very nice, but that’s also a lack of pressure on our part, giving them the opportunities. We turned our backs and that caused us trouble.

“When you’re playing the likes of Geneva or St. Charles North, they’re going to expose those weaknesses as well. Better to see it now so we can tinker a little bit, and that’s what we did at the end of the first half. That tinkering helped us get a goal at the end of the first half and then another at the end of the game, and we were more dangerous.”