Oswego takes Batavia, aided by goal in last 11 seconds

Kara Lydon could not have dreamed of a better opportunity to tally the equalizer.

The Batavia midfielder was unopposed as she closed in on Oswego freshman keeper Katie Wagner in the teams' nonconference girls soccer match Friday night in Batavia. Oswego sophomore Lisa Bajkowski broke the scoreless tie eight-plus minutes into the second half, but Lydon seemed almost certain to forge another draw.

But Wagner had other ideas.

The Panthers' freshman belied her age, first cutting down the angle and then stoning the Lydon effort to secure the Oswego lead. Despite having twice as many shot attempts and a 7-1 plurality in corner kicks, Batavia could not solve the Panthers' rookie.

Jordan Doyle, who missed an empty net from point-blank range with four minutes remaining, iced the Panthers' 2-0 win with a goal in the final 11 seconds.

"I didn't kick it as hard as I wanted to," Lydon said of her golden opportunity with 17:51 to play. "We have been getting good opportunities, but we just haven't been able to finish."

"(Wagner) has amazing instincts," Oswego coach Jamie Bartkowiak said. "This is a huge win for us."

Oswego evened its record at 6-6, and Batavia fell to 2-2.

The Wagner stop was almost identical to a similar sequence that played out late in the first half when Batavia junior standout Hillary Cooper had her breakaway salvo denied.

For the first time in his quarter-century career, Jim McAlpin was not on the sidelines guiding his charges. McAlpin was assessed two yellow cards during the Bulldogs' match against Plainfield Central on Tuesday, and assistant coach Mark Gianfrancesco took the reigns.

"I thought we created some opportunities, but we didn't finish any of them," Gianfrancesco said. "We made (Wagner) look real good."

In the opening minutes of the match, Lydon sent a brilliant feed of a corner kick to Libby Cooper. But Wagner made the first of her eight saves, and the Panthers remained determined even without a shot attempt in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

Batavia enjoyed a 3-1 advantage in shot attempts in the opening 40 minutes, but the Bulldogs' multiple good looks were rendered meaningless when Bajkowski turned a fired a 12-yarder to the upper-left corner in the 48th minute.

"You have to capitalize on every opportunity," Bartkowiak said. "If you fight hard enough in the box, you're going to win it."

Batavia doubled the Oswego attempts, only to have Wagner or the Panthers' back row turn back all 16 chances.