Weather delay hurts Bulldogs in regional loss to North Stars

By Darryl Mellema

After losing its regular season finale to St. Charles North last Saturday, Batavia's players swore that if they got a second chance in the IHSA playoff, they would perform much better.

Part of the reasoning for that was because the Bulldogs were without nearly all their seniors due to the school's prom.

But there was also the fact that Batavia had played very well in the final two-thirds of the season and the 3-0 score line stung.

On Friday, Batavia got its second attempt at the North Stars in the Class 3A Hoffman Estates Regional final and more than gave their opponents a match.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead, created other chances and went into a weather-related delay that lasted nearly an hour as the ascendant team.

But when the teams returned to the field, St. Charles North showed a resolve it had up to that point not displayed.

After finishing the five remaining minutes of the first half and breaking another 10 minutes for halftime, the North Stars established a 40-minute gauntlet and won the contest 3-1.

"I don't even know what happened," Batavia senior Tory Kinniard said. "It's like once we went inside, we were up here, up high.

"When we came down because we relaxed. We were sitting in there waiting and we just wanted to go. I think that hurt us a little bit."

But the memories of what Batavia accomplished, both in the match and in the season, remain.

First, the Bulldogs recovered from a 3-3-1 start to the season and finished 13-6-3.

"We progressed so much since last year," Kinniard said. "We wanted to show people that we weren't the low seed, that we can compete with other good teams like (St. Charles) North."

In Friday's match, the Bulldogs raced to their lead by dominating the midfield.

So it wasn't much surprise in the 13th minute when Hillary Cooper got free on the right wing and crossed for Abby Gray, who scored from 10 yards in the center of the penalty area.

The rain came down from the midpoint of the first half and Hoffman Estates' lightning horn sounded with just under six minutes to play, resulting in both teams having to leave the field.

"That killed our momentum," Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. "We were playing well up till then.

"We were using the outsides of the field. We were crossing the balls and getting scoring opportunities. The rain came and we never regained it."

Even in the midst of North's onslaught, the Bulldogs nearly got back into the match.

Alyssa Peterson tied the score when she put in a rebound from a Sammy Gage shot 16 minutes into the second half.

Gage's shot forced Batavia goalie Elana Mudrak to make the best save of the match by either goalkeeper.

The pace of the shot meant Mudrak could only block the shot and Peterson controlled the ball and scored from the rebound.

Three minutes later, Leah DeMoss took an Alex Gage pass and scored.

Batavia wasn't finished, however. With 12 minutes to play, Kinniard had a free kick from 27 yards in the center of the field.

The free kick cleared the wall and was heading for the upper right corner of the goal, but North goalie Kristen Manski tipped the ball over the crossbar.

"Oh, I was hoping for it," Kinniard said. "But Manski got it. She's too good."

On the ensuing corner kick, Becky Bartos hit the crossbar and the ball bounced away, and with it, Batavia's last chance of forcing overtime left.

DeMoss stole the ball off a defender and scored with seven minutes to play in the match to complete the scoring.

"We were a much more direct team in the second half," McAlpin said. "We played right into their hands. They're big, strong and skilled and we lost all control of the tempo."

A core of seniors, including Kinniard, Mudrak, Cooper and other starters Dana Landem and Liz Barnes will graduate for the Bulldogs.

"It's rough," Kinniard said. "You become close friends with these girls. We're all going to college. But it's just sad. It's also a good thing because a lot of us are going to keep playing."

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