Chicagoland Soccer

Batavia tops conference foe for first win

By Gary Larsen

Sometimes it’s just that one dangerous shot that a goalkeeper has to save in a game, and Batavia’s Elena Mudrak was ready for it on Saturday.

The Eastern Michigan-bound Mudrak went horizontal to pick a shot out of the air in the game’s 33rd minute, preserving her first shutout of the season in a 1-0 Bulldogs’ win over Glenbard South, as part of the Lake Park Invite in Roselle.

“Elena Mudrak is an amazing goalkeeper,” Batavia senior Hillary Cooper said. “She makes both the simple saves and the amazing saves. She’s got a really good work ethic and a good head on her shoulders. It’s a relief knowing she’s back there.”

Batavia’s win came after a loss on Thursday to Wheaton Warrenville South. Nobody takes kindly to a 5-1 loss, but sports have always been about how fast you get up off the canvass after being knocked down.

Batavia got to its feet in a hurry against Western Sun Conference foe Glenbard South, winning 1-0 in a quality soccer game from start to finish.

The game’s lone goal came off the foot of Becky Bartos, who scored her second goal of the season by bending a corner kick into goal 20 minutes in. Afterwards, she thanked the elements.

“The wind kind of helped me out with that one,” Bartos said. “I just put it in the corner on the high grass so I could get a good ball in, and looked for my players in front of the goal.”

“It was placement, and it was the wind.”

Batavia coach Jim McAlpin was happy to see his squad take an incremental step forward after Thursday’s loss, and play well on Saturday.

“It was Game One (vs. WWSouth) and we have a lot to learn, and a lot to work on,” McAlpin said. “When you play a team of that high quality, they point out what your weaknesses are real quick. So we know what have to work on.”

“We’ve got a lot of people playing new positions, but we need to play the ball much quicker. Stop the dribbling, a better first touch. The effort is there but the execution isn’t and that just takes time. By the end of the tournament I’m hoping we’ll be better than we are today.”

Batavia will also take on Buffalo Grove and the host Lancers in the upcoming week. McAlpin will look for further improvement from his squad, just as he saw from several players on Saturday.

“I thought Tory Kinniard played well for us at defensive mid, and I thought our left fullback, Haley O’Neil played real well,” McAlpin said. “She’s a new player there this year, a midfielder that we’re playing at fullback, and she played a real smart game. She has to learn the finer points of the position but she held the ball real well, covered well, and distributed well.”

Alex Hanna is a sophomore new to the varsity, and she and junior Bre Choffin will search out chemistry together in the central midfield as the season progresses. Finishing duties will fall on senior Hillary Cooper and junior Chelsy Vanovermeiren, among others.

Bartos also liked what she saw from her side against the Raiders. “We stuck to our man and got a lot of crosses in,” Bartos said. “We played a lot better today. We worked well as a team.”

Senior starters Dana Landem and Tory Kinniard will play key roles this year, as will junior starters Hanna Schweigert and Taylor Hernandez. Seniors Roxanna Correa, Carly Fuehring, Liz Barnes, and Kelsey Mager will be expected to contribute, and McAlpin has a slew of juniors on his roster that includes Allie Fredendall, Tara Rush, Hunter Pryor, Abby Gray, Breanna Davey, Jackie Allen, and Jenny Steurer.

“We have two new people to varsity, Abby Gray and Alex Hanna, and Becky Bartos has been playing great,” Cooper said. “Chelsy and Taylor (Hernandez), too.”