WHEATON – There was a lot at stake for Wheaton North when visiting Batavia came calling at Rexilius Field for a Tuesday matchup of the DuKane Conference.

The Falcons, who have competed against tough competition this season, entered the match with one victory and two ties to their credit.

One of those draws came in their only previous league game, a 2-2 decision at St. Charles North. Wheaton North wanted and needed a win against the Bulldogs to sit at or near the top of the conference table with a 1-0-1 mark.

When all was said and done, the Falcons got what they desired.

Strong play in the back and a take-no-prisoners attack culminated into a 3-0 triumph.

“Junior” Edwin Gitonga, a senior forward, led the way for the home team with two goals.

“We’ve known all year that what we’ve been building toward is conference and the playoffs,” said Falcons coach Joe Klingelhofer.

“I want the guys to buy into that mentality. I think they have, like they showed tonight. We’ve taken our hits, but I hope we’re better for it. I think that we will be better for it.”

With the loss, Batavia remained winless on the season. The Bulldogs have shown talent and grit, but are still looking to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Since an opening draw against Downers Grove South, Batavia has been unable to wrangle a result. Despite the adversity, the Bulldogs fight on.

“We’ve just got to work some stuff out,” said coach Mark Gianfrancesco. “That’s the way it’s been all year.

“We’ve had some guys out, a couple of injuries, but I thought tonight they did a nice job of rallying around the guys we had in there.”

Batavia forward Gabe Diaz, who played a strong match Tuesday, knows what problems need fixing.

“We just started slowing down (tonight) and not connecting passes,” said Diaz, “and started just going over the top. We really didn’t connect with our strikers.

“We need to work on our mentality and our communication. We’ve been quiet in most games. I try to improve that by yelling and getting everyone up, but in the second half (of games) we just put our heads down.

“We’ve got to improve our communication.”

It was an even-steven game through the first 28 minutes.

Wheaton North (2-8-2, 1-0-1) produced an early stretch with three quality shots on goal.

Within a span of 90 seconds, junior John Thwang just missed from 33 yards and classmate Matthew Garza fired an attempt from 22 yards that Batavia keeper Ethan Tucker turned away. Tucker came up big again with a stop on a 40-yarder from Rocco Johnson.

Batavia (0-11-1, 0-3-0) countered in the 18th minute when Diaz recorded the Bulldogs first shot on goal.

Senior midfielder Evan Hashem chipped a beautiful feed to the junior, who was stationed inside the box. He turned and fired but saw his attempt stopped by Falcons keeper Raymond Romero.

Romero made his best save of the contest two minutes later. Batavia junior forward Gregory Bell blasted a long shot from 41 yards. The Wheaton North keeper, with the utmost concentration, tracked the ball and batted it away at the last moment.

Wheaton North found the scoreboard in the 29th minute. Johnson’s corner was headed on goal by junior midfielder Zayo Farris.

Tucker made the initial save, but Gabriel Brada got the rebound and quickly finished from three yards to make it 1-0 Falcons.

“My teammate Zayo got a really good head on the ball,” said Brada. “It flew over like two people.

“Their keeper made a good save. It just flushed right out to me, and I banged it in.”

The tally not only put Batavia in a deficit, it also cost them their starting goalkeeper.

Tucker was injured in the scrum in front of the net on the play and could not continue. Junior backup Teagan Carlson answered the call.

“Teagan had to come in cold off the bench,” said Gianfrancesco. “I thought he did a really good job.”

Carlson was shaken up in the second half but finished the game.

“He had to tough it out at the end. He took a hit,” added Gianfrancesco. “He easily could have come out of the game there due to the injury, but he knew that he was the only other goalie we had. So, he stayed in.”

Batavia almost tied the match in the final few ticks of the first half, but Romero did a nice job to stop another shot from Diaz, this time from four yards, with only five seconds remaining in the half.

Gitonga gave Wheaton North some insurance just 4 ½ minutes into the second half.

He ran down and controlled a ball that bounded toward the sideline deep in Batavia territory, deked a defender and took a bad-angle shot from eight yards.

Carlson made a beauty of a save, but the rebound was there for the taking. Gitonga took it with a score from four yards for a 2-0 lead.

“We came out with a total team effort in this game,” said Gitonga, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.

“We had more possession. We had a great mindset and came together as a team.”

Gianfrancesco said that the goal that doubled his team’s deficit just after halftime was disappointing for his squad.

“That did deflate us a little,” said the coach. “It’s tough giving up a goal in the first five minutes of the second half. That was one of the big blows (in the game).”

While the tally took some air out of Batavia’s tires, it gave a big boost of energy and motivation to Wheaton North.

“You have that cushion,” said Brada of the two-goal advantage. “You know that even if a goal (for the opponents) goes in, you still have time to adjust and prevent another one.

“The adrenaline you get when your team scores a goal is unlike anything else.”

Gitonga kept the happy times rolling in the 53rd minute with the final marker of the match.

Falcons senior Aiden Kile made a terrific carry from his own 30-yard line up the middle of the pitch.

At the last moment after dribbling nimbly past several Batavia defenders, he laid the ball off to Gitonga on the left flank. A 10-yard drive completed his brace.

Wheaton North stayed on the attack. Farris just missed in the 55th minute when his 15-yard strike shot just over the crossbar.

The Falcons backline stayed vigilant down the stretch. The only viable opportunities for Batavia came in the 64th minute and 65th minutes.

First, Bell saw his shot saved by Romero. Then Batavia’s Hudson Legut fired a shot from 24 yards that clanged off the crossbar.

When the final horn sounded, Wheaton North celebrated its second win and shutout with the knowledge that it was right in the thick of the DuKane Conference race.

“It puts our confidence really high,” said Brada. “We came off a not-so-good nonconference season, so coming into conference and getting a win and a tie, and the points, is a real step up.”

His coach will work to continue the momentum.

“We’ve been learning a lot all season,” said Klingelhofer. “We’re trying to be a young team that buys into everything that goes wrong and takes everything as a learning moment and a stepping stone for us.

“I thought that we grew up quite a bit today and looked like a more experienced team, a team that was ready, a team that doesn’t make mistakes.

“We were able to capitalize on our opportunities. That was great.”

In addition to the courageous play of backup keeper Carlson, Gianfrancesco noted other bright spots for Batavia.

“We had some combinations in the middle,” he said, “That looked promising for a portion of the first half.

“We were keeping the combinations up in the middle (thereafter), trying to attack the space behind, getting our outside backs up and trying to get them into the play. I thought that was pretty good.”

Wheaton North’s Gitonga, who said that his favorite subject at school is calculus, noted that things are starting to add up for the Falcons.

They want to create a winning formula.

“We’re stepping up on defense and improving our communication,” said Gitonga, who hopes to continue his soccer career at the next level. “That is going to lead to a lot of goals.”

Starting lineups

Batavia
GK: Ethan Tucker
D: Corey McPencow
D: Ethan Prentis
D: Matthew Vrba
MF: Hudson Legut
MF: Evan Hashem
MF: Xavier Justice
F: Gregory Bell
F: Gabe Diaz
F: Jack Holzl
F: Connor Verde

Wheaton North
GK: Raymond Romero
D: Jackson Galbraith
D: Aiden Kile
D: Christopher Mann
D: Matthew Garza
MF: Gabriel Brada
MF: Rocco Johnson
MF: Ryder Froebe
F: John Thwang
F: Peter Nitecki
F: Alex Leon

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: “Junior” Edwin Gitonga, sr., F, Wheaton North

Scoring summary

First half
WN: Brada (Farris), 29'

Second half
WN: Gitonga (unassisted), 45'
WN: Gitonga (Kile), 53'