Batavia's Larson off to sizzling start

Ian Larson didn't waste any time letting the area know he was going to be very good.

Larson scored the lone goal in Batavia's 1-0 victory at St. Charles East on Tuesday afternoon.

The senior has already scored 8 times for the Bulldogs and he's either scored or contributed an assist in all of Batavia's (7-1-1) games this fall.

"He's always been efficient with his touches and when gets opportunities he puts them away," Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "He reads the game so much faster than anybody else."

The thing is, Larson's been doing great things on the field since he was a freshman.

Back in 2011, he assisted on the equalizer and the winner in the Bulldogs' 2-1 win over Waubonsie Valley in the Class 3A Waubonsie Valley regional championship.

Anthony Torres, who was named the Captain of the 2011 Daily Herald All-Area Tri-Cites Boys Soccer Team, and who is currently in his junior season at Belmont University, recognized Larson's talent immediately.

"Everyone just loves the way he's played and he's fit in right away," Torres said then. "I think (beating Waubonsie Valley) helped a lot with his confidence. He's getting going and helping us a lot."

Now, Larsen has the Bulldogs in the driver's seat in the Upstate Eight River.

"We're in a good position but a lot of things can happen," Gianfrancesco said. "We still have four conference games left. (Beating St. Charles East) was a nice win, but we've got to stay focused."

Regardless of how far the Bulldogs go this season, it won't alter Larson's plans for next year. He's heading to Pittsburgh where he'll continue playing soccer at Duquesne University.

"He's really grown into a leader," Gianfrancesco said. "You can hear him on the sidelines talking up his teammates. I think he's really stepped up in those aspects. Sure, he may be bigger and stronger, and might be faster than he was, but he's still very efficient. He's always been efficient, but now he's more of a leader."

Turning the tables: Batavia had been outscored 8-0 in its last two meetings against St. Charles East before getting the 1-0 victory on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs now have shut out six of the nine teams they have played.

The team's back line of Nathan Carey, Joe Jorgenson, Nick Konopacki and Daniel Zagoren have been greedy all season in front of keepers of Kevin Fiddelke and John Faraone, who have split time on most occasions. Fiddelke got the shutout, playing all 80 minutes, on Tuesday.

Cadets find comfort in CCL: Well, if the first two games are any indication, then Marmion's going to have a great deal of success in the Chicago Catholic League this fall.

The Cadets, who transitioned from the Suburban Christian Conference to the CCL, took care of Mt. Carmel, 4-1, on Monday in Aurora. They had to make a nice trek to New Lenox on Tuesday, but the lengthy ride proved well worth it as they cruised past Providence, 5-1, behind a pair of Nick Grant goals.

"We're getting looks from a lot of the guys," Cadets coach Ricky Del Toro said. "We like to play out wide on set pieces and whoever gets to the ball first has been getting possession."

Del Toro admits that it hasn't been easy to prepare for CCL opponents, most who the Cadets have never faced before.

"We played Mt. Carmel last year, but other than that, I'm just trying to gauge these teams as much as I can. None of them have showed up on anyone's radar really, but we've still got St. Laurence and Bishop McNamara. We've just got to make sure we take care of ourselves and not worry about what those others teams are doing."

Gavin Sanchez has gotten off to a slow start while Trevor Jones has been battling injuries. The Cadets certainly could use contributions from both players.

"Gavin is still trying to find his footing," Del Toro said. "Trevor played some against Mt. Carmel but it's been tough for him. Hopefully he'll be back soon because he makes a huge impact."

North Stars in a groove: While losing one of its captains, Colin Kraft, to a season-ending injury in just the third game of the season was a huge loss, it hasn't kept St. Charles North from finding ways to win.

The North Stars (7-2-1) beat West Chicago on Tuesday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the PepsiCo Showdown. They'll take on Lyons on Thursday. Lyons has not lost since dropping a 2-1 game in overtime to St. Charles East in the New Trier Invitational championship game.

The North Stars are riding a 4-game winning streak and have already won twice as many games as it won last fall.

Three teams in the Valley: West Aurora concluded its schedule against the Valley teams (Neuqua, Metea, Waubonsie) with a 2-0 loss at Neuqua Valley on Tuesday. They lost to Metea Valley, 2-1, and beat Waubonsie Valley, 2-1.

"I like to scout teams and the only negative is not knowing anybody," Blackhawks coach Joe Sustersic said. "In the past you have some familiarity, but now you have no clue really. You know a tidbit here and there from peers or by going to games yourself, but that's it."

Playing for the first time in Upstate Eight Valley, things will change next year as well, as the aforementioned Valley schools will leap into the DuPage Valley Conference.

"Unfortunately it's just a one-year deal with them," Sustersic said. "They'll leave and we'll deal with whatever is left of the Upstate Eight and whatever they're going to do with it."

Better now than later: If there was any consolation for St. Charles East after its 1-0 loss to Batavia on Tuesday, it's the fact that it didn't end its season.

A year ago, the Saints saw their excellent season come to a halt with a 1-0 loss to Lake Park in a sectional championship.

"Maybe this will be a positive for us," Saints coach Paul Jennison said. "Maybe the ranking, publicity, was on one or two minds. Hopefully they learned we can't blame anyone else."

The Saints have an interesting conference crossover on Thursday against Waubonsie Valley, which has already picked up big wins against Benet and Naperville North. They will then host their own invite next week.