Bulldogs pick up play in second half to edge Panthers

By Curt Herron

Mark Gianfrancesco was pleased by how his Batavia squad performed in the second half of Monday's nonconference match at Oswego.

But the veteran coach would have preferred if his Bulldogs had played that way without him having to light a fire under them.

After the hosts scored shortly before the break to even things at 1-1, Gianfrancesco took his team away from the field for a little chat.

The message seemed to work and Batavia enjoyed the better of the play over the final 40 minutes and collected the match's only other score.

Cody Balogh connected following a pass from Peter O'Brien with 18:34 remaining to help the Bulldogs claim a 2-1 victory over the Panthers.

O'Brien also added his team's other score when he lined a long attempt past Panther keeper Luis Gallardo just 9:48 into the match.

It was the third win in the last four matches for the Bulldogs (3-2-1), who bounced back from a 2-1 loss to St. Charles East on Saturday.

But it certainly didn't come easily against Oswego (1-5-1), a young squad still trying to overcome the loss of one of its senior leaders.

Elliot Totsch had to watch things from the sidelines on crutches after suffering a season-ending knee injury during last week's action.

Despite that major setback, Travis Carlisle's Panthers saw a good sign on Saturday when they rallied for a 3-2 win over Loyola Academy.

With Oswego hoping to build on its first victory, the Bulldogs figured to be in for a good test as they kicked off a busy week of play.

Now Batavia can head into today's conference home match with Elgin and this weekend's trip to the Morton Invite on a more positive note.

Click to hear coach Mark Gianfrancesco interview

The Bulldogs quickly set the tone following the intermission as they continued to threaten the Panther keeper with dangerous attempts.

Lalo Cuautle got things started with a short shot and then added a line drive, both of which Gallardo halted in the first six minutes.

About 12 minutes into the final half, Cam Callipari was just wide on a close-range attempt, which followed a pass from Justin Reyburn.

Shortly after that, Cody Witkowski sent a corner kick to the Panther keeper and then Cuautle was denied on another line drive effort.

Oswego countered with a liner from Adam Udy and a free kick from Fernando Chavez but Bulldog keeper Ben Steskal halted both attempts.

The momentum swung back to the visitors as Witkowski was just wide and Callipari was stopped while trying to connect on a short try.

Batavia finally moved back in front for good with 18:34 left when O'Brien sent a pass to Balogh, who connected on a close-range shot.

After regaining the lead, the Bulldogs kept the pressure up the rest of the way and didn't allow the Panthers to seriously threaten.

Shortly after the score, Reyburn sent a bouncer toward Gallardo and then Balogh had a short shot deflected away by Collin Stransky.

Callipari was denied on a late line drive and the Bulldog defense, paced by Anthony Torres, closed things out to wrap up the victory.

Click to hear Cam Callipari interview

Things started off well for the Bulldogs, who grabbed a lead less than 10 minutes into the match when O'Brien scored from long range.

But then there was a long lull featuring few good chances before the hosts threatened with about 10 minutes left in the opening half.

Ryan Totsch sent a header toward the net but Balogh managed to clear the attempt and then Steskal finally covered up the loose ball.

Batavia followed a series of threatening liners from Calvin Baez, Nick Barstatis and Cuautle, but all were stopped in by Gallardo.

But with 2:03 left in the half, Oswego tied things when Dominic Primbus sent a pass to Max Calderon, who fired in a liner for a goal.