Bulldogs dominate but settle for tie against Lake Park

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By Matt Le Cren

Batavia midfielder Tory Kinniard started Tuesday’s game against Lake Park wearing her usual No. 11 jersey and finished it in teammate Roxanne Correa’s No. 3.

In between, she showcased her toughness and helped the Bulldogs get the better of the play in a 0-0 tie on the middle day of the Lake Park Invite.

Kinniard had to leave the game with 7:35 remaining in the second half when she went hard after a 50-50 challenge and got hit in the mouth with the ball,

That opened up a cut inside her lower lip that bloodied her jersey, but the senior was able to return at the 4:00 mark.

It was the second straight day Kinniard had been hit in the face with the ball; she also got plunked in practice on Monday.

"It always hits me in the face," said Kinniard, who doesn't have an explanation for the bad luck. "I think it just hits me."

The Bulldogs (1-1-1) did just about everything right except score. They outshot the previously undefeated Lancers 12-0 and had several good chances but couldn't find the back of the net.

"We dominated the whole game, so it's kind of disappointing," Kinniard said. "But I'm very pleased.

"We dominated the middle and they would hit long balls and we kept them from getting through. So we need to work on just finishing and that's like every other team."

Becky Bartos nearly put Batavia ahead twice in the first half. Her corner kick with 15:20 left went right through the crease to junior Abby Gray, who volleyed it over the crossbar with her knee.

Then with 5:50 remaining, Bartos launched a 35-yard shot from the right wing that appeared ticketed for the upper left corner of the net before a stiff wind pushed it wide.

In the second half, the Bulldogs put six shots on frame. Lake Park goalie Amanda Siciak made a kick save on junior defender Jenny Steurer on a Bratsos corner at the 24:00 mark.

Siciak later punched away a shot from Gray and charged off her line to kick away a long free kick from Bratsos.

"We're playing better each time we go out," Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. "We just have to score and we just have to keep working hard. We obviously need to finish but I thought positionally we played much better.

"We certainly had opportunities. We missed a few that could have gone in. We're a work in progress and we'll get better as the season goes along."

The defense led by juniors Haley O’Neil and Hannah Schweigert and senior Dana Landem was particularly impressive as goalie Elena Mudrak did not have to make a save in recording her second straight shutout.

"We had to deal with a pretty bad ground and bad bounces but me, Dana and Hannah have been working well together," O'Neil said.

"We did a good job of stepping up because it's so much harder to get the ball away from them once they have it, so might as well not let them get it."

The Bulldogs can win the four-team, round-robin tournament if they beat Buffalo Grove Thursday and Lake Park (2-1) loses to Glenbard South.

If both the Bulldogs and Lancers win, the team with the greater goal differential wins the championship.

"[Today] is motivation for the next game to get more goals because that's what it is down to now," O'Neil said, "but I think we're content with [the tie] because we played well."

A tournament title would be especially sweet for Kinniard, especially if she gets bloodied again, because the winning team gets free t-shirts.

"We're all for the t-shirts," Kinniard said. "That's motivation right now."