Hornets lost to Batavia at Waubonsie Invite
By Eddie Burns

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Finding the back of the net has been a big issue for Batavia this season, but that wasn’t the case for the Bulldogs against Hinsdale South.

The Bulldogs scored five times, including three in the last six minutes, to lift Batavia to a 5-1 win against the Hornets as part of the Waubonsie Valley Warrior Invite in a match played on a windy, rainy Thursday night in Aurora.

“We’ve been so close so many times and it was just nice to actually finish a couple of shots there at the end to relieve some of the pressure,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We finished the opportunities that we had, and that has been a struggle for us all year.”

The Bulldogs improved to 3-12-2 with the win and ended a nine-match winless streak.

Batavia came out and was the aggressor right from the start. The Bulldogs consistently had the better of the play as they hounded the Hinsdale South goal. Peter Munson, Adam Heinz, Jeff Lorden and Andrew Barrowman were involved in the attack. The Bulldogs’ persistent style of play paid off in the 34th minute when John Barnes scored off a rebound of a Kevin Collins shot to give Batavia a 1-0 lead.

Zac Grahovec had another great chance before halftime, but Hinsdale South goalie Grant Morford made a diving save. Reagan McReynolds and Barnes also almost connected, but the Hornets’ defense managed to avoid further damage by leaving the score at 1-0 at intermission.

Batavia provided itself with more breathing room in the 47th minute when they scored on a quick counter. Hinsdale South was on the attack with Dean Serritella and Marko Ristic generating offense near the Batavia goal, but the opportunity was squelched by goalie Nick Foster and the Bulldogs’ defense. The ball was quickly transitioned back up field and into the Hornets’ end.

David Curnock broke free and sent a shot past Hinsdale South goalie Jose Moreno, as Moreno replaced Morford as goalie at halftime. Curnock’s goal was the result of an assist from teammate Collins, which gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

However, at that point, the match began to turn toward Hinsdale South’s favor. 

The Hornets (4-13) suddenly were able to generate offense and scoring opportunities. Their hard work paid off when they converted on a free kick. Lucas Carlson sent a shot in toward the Batavia net. The ball slowed to a stop thanks to the thick, wet turf. Alec Raatz had a chance on net, but it was turned away before Giancarlo Cianelli secured the rebound and sent a shot into the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 58th minute.

“Rule No. 1 is to always follow shots and the ball was right there,” Cianelli said. “I pounced on the chance and opportunity to score. It was a perfect service.”

Gianfrancesco had seen this scenario unfold before this season. The Bulldogs have built leads in previous matches only to see the opposition rally and win.

“We struggle giving up goals like we did tonight,” Gianfrancesco said. “Defensively, we have a lack of commitment and a lack of guys following through. It is usually happens on set plays – (Hinsdale) had four guys standing right there. We need to get back and defend much better.”

The match was fairly even for the next 15 minutes before the Bulldogs put the match away with three goals in the final 6 minutes thanks to strikes from Collins and Barnes.

“That is the way we’ve been … we get up 2-0 and we (lose focus) – we’ve had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 and we’ve ended up losing in the last 20 minutes because we lose our edge,” Gianfrancesco said. “It was good to see it through tonight with lots of goal.”

Batavia’s roster is littered with underclassmen as there are only three seniors that play on a regular basis, so this season is about growth and opportunity for the underclassmen.

“Again, it comes down to us continuing the need to be consistent,” Gianfrancesco said. “All of these guys are coming back, so it is just a matter of getting the consistency – that is the biggest thing. If we don’t get consistent play, it becomes a real struggle.”

As for the Hornets, they continue to struggle with confidence.

“We need to do a better job of keeping our heads up,” Cianelli said. “That has been a problem. We put our heads down after other teams score goals and you can’t do that to be successful. We have to learn how to respond and respond in a better manner. We need to fix that before we get to the postseason.”

Hinsdale South did generate more offense, but it didn’t start doing it until it was already behind 2-0.

“We need to score goals and put more shots on net,” Cianelli said. “We need to pick up the intensity. We need to stop putting our heads down. The first 5 minutes we need to come out ready to go. Usually it takes us a few minutes to get going and we can’t have that. We need to take the field ready to go.”

And on Thursday night, they were not and it led to a Batavia victory.