Batavia Bulldogs take St. Charles East 1-0

The law of averages finally caught up to St. Charles East.

For the first 50-plus minutes of the Saints' girls soccer match against Batavia, the Bulldogs dominated time of possession and scoring opportunities.

But St. Charles East was as resolute as ever, turning back the Bulldogs' attacks behind the splendid play of junior keeper Zoie Samaan.

"It was very frustrating," Batavia midfielder Hillary Cooper said. "We had so many good chances, but we just didn't finish any of them."

Samaan stoned a Cooper point-blank shot 11 minutes into the second half, but Cooper finally broke through three minutes later.

The junior took a long feed from Tory Kinnard, outraced four St. Charles East defenders to the ball and nailed a deft floater that eluded Samaan, who had come out the net to cut down the angle.

The goal held up, and the Bulldogs' 1-0 victory in Batavia on Saturday afternoon evened their record at 1-1 on the young season; St. Charles East fell to 0-1-1.

"(Cooper) said she should have had two or three more (goals)," Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. "Hopefully we'll save them (converted scores) when we really need them later in the season. The first goal is always a big goal."

Cooper and fellow midfielder Libby Cooper dominated the action for the Bulldogs for much of the first two-thirds of the game.

Batavia enjoyed a commanding lead in shot attempts, but several of its better scoring chances either whizzed the Saints' goal or were stopped by Samaan.

Hillary Cooper appeared to have a sure goal when she broke through the Saints' defense for a stare down with Samaan.

But the Saints' keeper denied Cooper with a sprawling one-handed save; Cooper retrieved the ball with Saaman in a vulnerable position, but her second shot attempt was wide right.

"I knew (Samaan) is a good keeper," Hillary Cooper said. "We really wanted to win this game. We hadn't beaten them in four years. I was hoping she couldn't save (the winning goal)."

Even with its lead, which came with 26 minutes and 7 seconds to play, Batavia resumed its attack with relentlessness.

At the mid-point of the second half, Becky Bartos' blast almost doubled the Bulldogs' lead.

One minute later, Libby Cooper was at the top of the box when she let loose with a riser searching for the top of the goal.

But Samaan averted disaster for the Saints, back peddling and punch-saving the 20-yarder to keep the Saints within a goal.

"I was really nervous on that one," Samaan said. "I said to myself, 'Oh, no, it's going to be another (goal) over my head.' I just did what I was told to do."

Spurred by the play of Samaan, the Saints' offensive attack increased dramatically over the final 20 minutes.

St. Charles East had its most sustained effort of the match and appeared to score the equalizer with just under 12 minutes remaining.

But the goal was nullified by an off-sides penalty, and Batavia keeper Elana Mudrak snared the Saints' final shot with three seconds to play.

The junior held the ball to preserve the Bulldogs' shutout.

"I was a little upset with our effort in the first half," St. Charles East coach Pat Feulner said. "We couldn't get in any rhythm. It looked like we were tight. The last 20 minutes we were all over the place."