Bulldogs have rough time in opener against WW South

By Darryl Mellema

It's a long season so there's no point for a squad to get too down on itself if it has a rough night in its opening match against a quality team.

And that's just what happened to Batavia on Thursday when it ran into a Wheaton Warrenville South squad that already had a few matches to its credit.

The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 halftime advantage and then scored three more times in the second 40 minutes to claim a 6-1 nonconference win in Batavia.

"It wasn't from a lack of effort," Bulldogs coach Jim McAlpin said. "It was a lack of execution. We're going to be all right. It's just going to take some time. We're a bit of a work in progress at the moment."

McAlpin pointed to some breakdowns that led to the Tigers' first-half goals.

"We had some breakdowns on the outside," McAlpin said. "Their first three goals were their outside mids going straight to goal and they finished."

Batavia was sent reeling by a three-goal blitz before halftime, but the Bulldogs (0-1) recovered and nearly got back into the game with a revival immediately after halftime.

First, Batavia got on the scoreboard when Becky Bartos scored with a strong shot from just to the right of the penalty arc 20 yards from goal.

Then Bre Choffin floated a shot that nearly reached the top shelf of the goal.

Between those moments, WW South (3-0) added to its lead when Nicole LaPetina fed Lexi Peterson. That goal came six minutes into the half and two minutes after Choffin's goal.

With the score 4-1, Batavia struggled to keep possession and to create chances. WW South added to its lead 13 minutes into the half when Katie Fowee embarked on a long run. Elizabeth Ciesielski was credited with the assist.

Her initial shot was stopped but Fowee put in the rebound. Peterson completed the scoring with nine minutes to play after taking a Kara Bimschlager pass.

Given the cold weather, McAlpin told his team they'd talk in depth about Thursday's game at Friday's practice. But after 80 minutes and with the talented players on his squad, he was hardly despondent.

With its season now underway, the Bulldogs have a steady diet of games on their horizon, starting with play at Lake Park's invitational. The Lancers' Invite starts Saturday and continues Tuesday and Thursday.

Culminating a busy Spring Break schedule is the team's April 3 contest at St. Charles East.

"I thought our forward play was good and I thought our central midfield play was good," McAlpin said. "We need to work some on our defense and our flanks. But we're going to be OK."

Air temperatures dipped into the 30s during the match, made worse by a brisk wind cutting through both teams.

"Oh, you felt it," LaPetina said. "The worst was the wind and that affected how we we felt and the game too, with how the balls were played."

That wind affected both teams. WW South played with that wind at its back in the first half, then Batavia had the wind at its backs in the second half.

"In the first half, you always get anxious with the wind at your back," WW South coach Guy Callipari said. "You think you can go forward. You don't realize how much more difficult it is because the balls are so much more difficult to judge.

"You probably get played out of your game a little bit because things go a little more direct to the goal."

There were times when WW South's speed proved a problem for Batavia. That speed has been a hallmark for years on the Tigers team.

"We rely on that a lot," LaPetina said. "We have players who use their speed to get the ball, play it and turn, so we know we can play the ball on the ground more than in the air. We have the speed to get it done.

"(Coach Callipari) always tells us to frame the net. That's how we get a lot of our goals. We know we can get shots off. And then we have people around the goal quick enough to put it back in if there's a rebound."

LaPetina's goal came 22 minutes into the match. Eight minutes later, Elizabeth Ciesielski took a LaPetina pass and scored. The Tigers made the score 3-0 before halftime when Dana Miller scored from a Haley Charlton pass.

And then the Tigers went about trying to consolidate that victory.

"I thought in the second half, we could open up the field a little bit more and play the ball on the ground," Callipari said. "We could play with our speed and try to capitalize on that."

While they are a quick team, WW South's passing quickness makes them look even faster.

"I think the speed can be covered if it's so predictable," Callipari said. "You have to vary it. You have to be able to expose the one-on-one environments, and we were able to do that tonight."

After a busy start to the season, WW South does not play again until after spring break. The Tigers' next contest is its DuPage Valley Conference opener, on April 6 at Glenbard East.