Downers Grove South bends,
then breaks Batavia
Mustangs win 3-1 despite being outshot by 5-1 ratio
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE -– Batavia did everything right Thursday night except finish.
Downers Grove South did nothing but win.
Lexi Dimovski scored twice on breakaways, Sydney Clements converted a free kick and goalkeeper Paige Patera made a career-high 22 saves as the host Mustangs upset Batavia 3-1 in a non-conference thriller.
They did so even though the Bulldogs, ranked 11th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, outshot them 30-6 and utterly dominated most of the run of play, particularly in the first half.
No. 19 Downers Grove South (8-1-0) now has won six-straight games and became the first team to hold the Bulldogs to less than two goals. Batavia (9-2) had scored 47 goals in their first eight games.
“It wasn’t our night tonight,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We definitely did not play our best, and that had something to do with Downers South, too.
“We were moving the ball decently but not as well as we usually do and definitely didn’t finish today like we have up to this point. It’s somewhat disappointing overall, but you’re going to have games like that. Hopefully this will re-focus everybody and get us back to what we want to do.”
The Bulldogs got all the shots they wanted to and then some, using their speed and technical ability to pressure the Downers Grove South defense right from the start.
But Patera, who is having a tremendous inaugural varsity season, came up with a performance for the ages.
It started in the opening minutes when she made two stops on Batavia star Megan McEachern, who regularly broke free on the right wing. The Illinois State signee took a whopping 15 shots and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead on a try from the right wing at the 33:42 mark of the first half.
McEachern had several subsequent chances from the same spot, but Patera was a quick study and made diving saves on the speedy forward. It was a sign of things to come.
“They are a great team,” Patera said. “Their shots were amazing. You’ve just got to get a sense of where the ball will go and move side-to-side and be ready for it.”
It wasn’t just Patera who played well under pressure. Marcela Calderon cleared a header off the line in the first half and fellow senior fullback Clements blocked an open shot from Mackenzie Foster in the second half.
What was the key?
“I honestly think the communication,” Patera said. “My team will always talk with each other. If we make mistakes, we bring each other up and say, ‘Keep going and push through.’”
Clements agreed.
“Communication is definitely a key during those moments because if our shape is out of line, then they break us,” Clements said. “So we needed to make sure we were communicating the whole time, and we ended up blocking their goals.
“Paige did an awesome job in goal. We knew this was a huge game, so we knew we had to pick it up and we did and we came out with a victory.”
The Mustangs only mustered 6 shots, most of them on counterattacks. But all were on frame.
Batavia goalkeeper Jenny Scara saved three of them but was unable to stop Dimovski on two breakaways, both of which came suddenly and against the run of play.
Both of Dimovski’s goals came on quick release passes up the right wing. Clements sprung the striker on the first one, which came with 2:51 to go in the first half and gave the Mustangs a huge lift.
“That definitely boosted our confidence, for sure,” Clements said. “That definitely made us stay in the game.”
The Mustangs came out in the second half with a more aggressive posture. Being tied at halftime helped, but the team never lacked confidence despite being outplayed.
“No, you just have to stay mentally tuned in and always keep that positive outlook,” Clements said.
“We give it our all throughout the entire game,” added Dimovski.
Patera’s determination slowly changed the tenor of the game. With each successive save, the momentum started to turn in Downers Grove South’s favor and their fans began to sniff an upset.
But did Patera get more confident as the minutes melted away?
“Kind of, but most of the time I play like it’s still an even match no matter what,” the junior said. "So I stay confident, but at the same time I don’t want to be confident to the point where I overthink everything.
“I think (the win can be attributed to) just hard work and determination. I think Batavia was nervous too, because we’re both playing high-level teams. But at the same time we all know our strengths and try to do our best with that.”
The Mustangs did their best with their counterattacks. Dimovski struck again with 10:38 remaining in the second half, taking a feed from Autumn Rasmussen and beating a defender into the box before rolling a shot inside the far post for her 10th goal of the season and a 2-1 lead.
“They were physical and pushing us around and with the two forwards playing the long ball, we got caught watching,” Gianfrancesco said. “We were well aware of that before the game and overall we did a pretty decent job, but twice they converted.”
The Mustangs converted even when they weren’t trying.
Clements teed up a 30-yard free-kick on the right wing and fired the shot into the upper left corner of the net to make it 3-1 at the 6:44 mark. It was her first goal of the season.
“I was looking for the back post, but the goal works,” Clements said.
In the end, not enough worked for the Bulldogs, whose offense lost a key piece when sophomore Gracey DiBiase left the game just before halftime after being kicked in the shin.
DiBiase, who suffered a bruised shin, did not return. She nearly scored on several corner kicks in the first half.
“We had a lot of chances that we should have put away but we didn’t really finish that well, especially on corner kicks,” McEachern said. “I don’t know how many we had; it was a ton [actually 10]. So we definitely need to make sure we frame the goal and use those opportunities.”
But Downers Grove South’s defensive performance was no fluke. They’ve allowed only three goals during their current winning streak and seven overall.
“Paige has been phenomenal,” Downers Grove South coach Chris Hernandez said. “Our backline has been phenomenal. Our midfielders, in terms of the build-up of play when we do win the ball, has been very, very good.
“We talked to the girls about absorbing pressure and picking your moments -- winning the ball in the area you want to attack. The girls gave us a few scares but for the most part they executed the plan. I think collectively it was a team effort.”
Starting line-ups
Batavia
GK: Jenny Scara
D: Alyssa Knutson
D: Abby Wood
D: Cameron Hindel
D: Emma Rydholm
MF: Rachel Reinecke
MF: Anna Lins
MF: Mackenzie Foster
MF: Gracey DiBiase
F: Megan McEachern
F: Keegan Morris
Downers Grove South
GK: Paige Patera
D: Sara Foernssler
D: Hannah Rossi
D: Marcela Calderon
D: Sydney Clemenets
MF: Sarah Casey
MF: Kailee O’Connor
MF: Natalia Pinto
MF: Megan Albers
F: Lexi Dimovski
F: Autumn Rasmussen
MVP of the Match: Paige Patera, GK, Downers Grove South
then breaks Batavia
Mustangs win 3-1 despite being outshot by 5-1 ratio
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE -– Batavia did everything right Thursday night except finish.
Downers Grove South did nothing but win.
Lexi Dimovski scored twice on breakaways, Sydney Clements converted a free kick and goalkeeper Paige Patera made a career-high 22 saves as the host Mustangs upset Batavia 3-1 in a non-conference thriller.
They did so even though the Bulldogs, ranked 11th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, outshot them 30-6 and utterly dominated most of the run of play, particularly in the first half.
No. 19 Downers Grove South (8-1-0) now has won six-straight games and became the first team to hold the Bulldogs to less than two goals. Batavia (9-2) had scored 47 goals in their first eight games.
“It wasn’t our night tonight,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We definitely did not play our best, and that had something to do with Downers South, too.
“We were moving the ball decently but not as well as we usually do and definitely didn’t finish today like we have up to this point. It’s somewhat disappointing overall, but you’re going to have games like that. Hopefully this will re-focus everybody and get us back to what we want to do.”
The Bulldogs got all the shots they wanted to and then some, using their speed and technical ability to pressure the Downers Grove South defense right from the start.
But Patera, who is having a tremendous inaugural varsity season, came up with a performance for the ages.
It started in the opening minutes when she made two stops on Batavia star Megan McEachern, who regularly broke free on the right wing. The Illinois State signee took a whopping 15 shots and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead on a try from the right wing at the 33:42 mark of the first half.
McEachern had several subsequent chances from the same spot, but Patera was a quick study and made diving saves on the speedy forward. It was a sign of things to come.
“They are a great team,” Patera said. “Their shots were amazing. You’ve just got to get a sense of where the ball will go and move side-to-side and be ready for it.”
It wasn’t just Patera who played well under pressure. Marcela Calderon cleared a header off the line in the first half and fellow senior fullback Clements blocked an open shot from Mackenzie Foster in the second half.
What was the key?
“I honestly think the communication,” Patera said. “My team will always talk with each other. If we make mistakes, we bring each other up and say, ‘Keep going and push through.’”
Clements agreed.
“Communication is definitely a key during those moments because if our shape is out of line, then they break us,” Clements said. “So we needed to make sure we were communicating the whole time, and we ended up blocking their goals.
“Paige did an awesome job in goal. We knew this was a huge game, so we knew we had to pick it up and we did and we came out with a victory.”
The Mustangs only mustered 6 shots, most of them on counterattacks. But all were on frame.
Batavia goalkeeper Jenny Scara saved three of them but was unable to stop Dimovski on two breakaways, both of which came suddenly and against the run of play.
Both of Dimovski’s goals came on quick release passes up the right wing. Clements sprung the striker on the first one, which came with 2:51 to go in the first half and gave the Mustangs a huge lift.
“That definitely boosted our confidence, for sure,” Clements said. “That definitely made us stay in the game.”
The Mustangs came out in the second half with a more aggressive posture. Being tied at halftime helped, but the team never lacked confidence despite being outplayed.
“No, you just have to stay mentally tuned in and always keep that positive outlook,” Clements said.
“We give it our all throughout the entire game,” added Dimovski.
Patera’s determination slowly changed the tenor of the game. With each successive save, the momentum started to turn in Downers Grove South’s favor and their fans began to sniff an upset.
But did Patera get more confident as the minutes melted away?
“Kind of, but most of the time I play like it’s still an even match no matter what,” the junior said. "So I stay confident, but at the same time I don’t want to be confident to the point where I overthink everything.
“I think (the win can be attributed to) just hard work and determination. I think Batavia was nervous too, because we’re both playing high-level teams. But at the same time we all know our strengths and try to do our best with that.”
The Mustangs did their best with their counterattacks. Dimovski struck again with 10:38 remaining in the second half, taking a feed from Autumn Rasmussen and beating a defender into the box before rolling a shot inside the far post for her 10th goal of the season and a 2-1 lead.
“They were physical and pushing us around and with the two forwards playing the long ball, we got caught watching,” Gianfrancesco said. “We were well aware of that before the game and overall we did a pretty decent job, but twice they converted.”
The Mustangs converted even when they weren’t trying.
Clements teed up a 30-yard free-kick on the right wing and fired the shot into the upper left corner of the net to make it 3-1 at the 6:44 mark. It was her first goal of the season.
“I was looking for the back post, but the goal works,” Clements said.
In the end, not enough worked for the Bulldogs, whose offense lost a key piece when sophomore Gracey DiBiase left the game just before halftime after being kicked in the shin.
DiBiase, who suffered a bruised shin, did not return. She nearly scored on several corner kicks in the first half.
“We had a lot of chances that we should have put away but we didn’t really finish that well, especially on corner kicks,” McEachern said. “I don’t know how many we had; it was a ton [actually 10]. So we definitely need to make sure we frame the goal and use those opportunities.”
But Downers Grove South’s defensive performance was no fluke. They’ve allowed only three goals during their current winning streak and seven overall.
“Paige has been phenomenal,” Downers Grove South coach Chris Hernandez said. “Our backline has been phenomenal. Our midfielders, in terms of the build-up of play when we do win the ball, has been very, very good.
“We talked to the girls about absorbing pressure and picking your moments -- winning the ball in the area you want to attack. The girls gave us a few scares but for the most part they executed the plan. I think collectively it was a team effort.”
Starting line-ups
Batavia
GK: Jenny Scara
D: Alyssa Knutson
D: Abby Wood
D: Cameron Hindel
D: Emma Rydholm
MF: Rachel Reinecke
MF: Anna Lins
MF: Mackenzie Foster
MF: Gracey DiBiase
F: Megan McEachern
F: Keegan Morris
Downers Grove South
GK: Paige Patera
D: Sara Foernssler
D: Hannah Rossi
D: Marcela Calderon
D: Sydney Clemenets
MF: Sarah Casey
MF: Kailee O’Connor
MF: Natalia Pinto
MF: Megan Albers
F: Lexi Dimovski
F: Autumn Rasmussen
MVP of the Match: Paige Patera, GK, Downers Grove South