Bulldogs fall to hosts in Waubonsie Invite opener
By Steve Nemeth

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Comparing shots off the “woodwork” reflected not only the outcome, but the current fortunes of both teams in Tuesday’s opener for Waubonsie Valley’s 15th Annual Warrior Invitational.

Waubonsie Valley’s second goal in a 3-0 shutout initially ricocheted off the left post before caroming off the crossbar and inside the net while Batavia had not just one, but three tries bounce over or back out.

For the visiting Bulldogs, it was another case of close but no success as Batavia failed to gain a victory for the ninth straight match in slipping to 2-12-2 on the season. In contrast, Waubonsie Valley (9-6-1) built its current winning streak to four straight in starting off on the right path toward the Warriors keeping their invitational trophy for a third consecutive year.

“We’re still learning on the go,” Batavia boss Mark Gianfrancesco admitted. “We simply have to try to get better every day. This is only the third time this year we’ve been shut out, so we have been scoring, just not enough. We certainly had some good shots today, but either their keeper made a fabulous save or we just missed.”

Waubonsie Valley didn’t miss on the match’s first real opportunity as the Warriors used some stellar passing to gain a 1-0 lead just 5:28 into the contest. Timmy Miller sent a pass in front of the Batavia net that Gytis Savukynas touched onward in order to earn credit for an assist on Casey Bucz’s five-yard finish.

“I thought about crossing the ball back to Timmy, but took a chance and it might have even gone off a defender, but it went in,” Bucz said in regard to his fifth goal of the year. “We made several good plays from the left side and that’s a positive result from practice.”

Eleven minutes later, Batavia was hoping for an equalizer only to have Nick Samperi’s header bounce off the right post. After Bulldog goalie Nick Foster stopped a Waubonsie Valley breakaway, the visitors had a Brandon Allen header skim off the top of the crossbar with 19:52 left before intermission.

There was 9:53 to go in the opening half when the Warriors’ Noah Griffith found Michael Mueller with enough open space to launch the shot that resulted in the double carom ruled to have gone inside the Batavia goal.

“That second goal was crucial for our confidence,” Mueller said. “We’ve been playing as a team more and more, and I think less individual play has helped our success. This is the time of the year when we want to build our confidence, and winning our tournament would certainly be a big boost.”

Waubonsie Valley looked to continue its momentum in the opening five minutes of the second half only to have Batavia’s Foster come up with huge blocks on consecutive close-range blasts. However, Foster’s good fortune ran out at 49:31 when Griffith sent a cross into the middle where an on-rushing Savukynas was able to tuck a 12-yarder inside the far right post.

“I was just trying to put Gytis in a good position for a shot and he finished strong,” Griffith said of his second assist. “I think part of playing well as a team is setting each other up. Being a goal scorer is great, but setting someone up is an important job as well.”

“That was a great feed and we’ve been practicing really hard on finishing opportunities,” Savukynas continued. “I think we’ve picked up our intensity as a team, but I also believe we have a lot of talent and should have a better record than what we’ve got.”

Although the final tally didn’t change after that strike, the opportunities were abundant for both sides if not for some acrobatic as well as timely saves by both goalkeepers. Foster executed a textbook one-hand tip over the crossbar in addition to smothering another close-range blast on Waubonsie Valley tries from Griffith and Savukynas.

At the opposite end, Batavia’s Allen launched a shot that Warrior keeper Eddie Sanchez deflected wide with a kick save. The Warriors’ Jason Dressel nearly scored with a bending shot that went off the far left post shortly before Foster made another of his 12 saves against a Waubonsie Valley crew that sported a 26-18 advantage for overall attempts and a 15-10 edge in on-frame shots.

“Although it’s more fun for a keeper to be busy, it’s better for the team if I’m not,” Batavia’s Foster acknowledged. “Basically you have to assume every opportunity the other team gets is going to end with you having to make a save. Sometimes it’s a question of timing your leap or just throwing your body in front of the ball, you do whatever you can to keep the other team from scoring.”

That approach was also used by Waubonsie Valley’s Sanchez in registering his team’s fourth shutout of the year, but the first since the Warriors began the season with three straight clean sheets. Sanchez, who was sidelined for eight matches while recovering from a surgical procedure, followed up his earlier kick save by snaring a hard header aimed at the upper corner, rushing out to block a breakaway attempt inside the final minute, and finally breathing a sigh of relief when a Merritt Walker shot simply rattled the crossbar with 16 seconds left.

“My heart was in my throat on that one because I did want the shutout,” Sanchez admitted. “Lucky for me he got a little too much air under it. For goalkeepers, a shutout is always nice, but the win is the most important thing and now that we’re getting to the end of the season, the stakes are higher. In this case, it’s also our tourney and we want the title, we also want to keep a winning streak going.”

As much as the four straight triumphs represent the scoreboard outcome coach Angelo DiBernardo desires, the veteran Warrior coach couldn’t bring himself to be too satisfied.

“I’m very critical, and I have really high expectations, so it’s nice to win but we are still not playing as well as we can,’ DiBernardo insisted. “I thought our keeper had a good game, actually both teams’ keepers did really nice jobs.”

While senior standout Frankie Saiz had a string of goal-scoring matches ended at five, he still earned a compliment from DiBernardo.

“Either in the middle or up front, Frankie continued to do a nice job, plus Michael (Mueller) has been one of our most consistent performers,” DiBernardo said. “Right now we have a great opportunity for all of our players to improve. One of the reasons we have this tournament is to get mentally and physically prepared for the (IHSA) playoffs. More wins can give you confidence, but it’s also important you stay focused and not get a false sense of what it means to play good soccer.”

In the day’s other two contests, Metea Valley and Lemont battled to a 1-1 deadlock on Waubonsie Valley’s Field while Oswego used home field advantage to produce a 3-1 tourney win over Hinsdale South. On Thursday, Oswego welcomes Lemont with Batavia and Hinsdale South in the 4:30 pm opener at Waubonsie Valley with the Warriors and Metea meeting at 6:30 pm in a contest that also doubles as the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division meeting between the two programs.