DeMoss scores late, lifting St. Charles North over Batavia

There's not much time left for tweaks before next week's playoffs, and Batavia has had less time than many schools, what with the school being closed during the local surge of Swine Flu cases.

So the Bulldogs made those changes on Saturday night in their regular season finale with St. Charles North, and they proved somewhat effective in a 2-1 loss to the red-hot North Stars.

"We have had trouble with teams with a lot of speed," Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. "We knew they had a lot of speed. So we tried some things, and I'm pleased with the way the girls did." Originally scheduled as a noon contest, the match started at 6 p.m. to accommodate the Western Sun Conference girls track meet, which was postponed due to Friday's rainy weather. But a six-hour shift was nothing for the Bulldogs (6-5-2).

"We've had three 10-day disruptions, so it's been real tough," McAlpin said.

St. Charles North (12-1-3) controlled possession throughout the first half and kept the ball in Batavia's half of play.

"We wanted to have three good games, three good performances and keep people healthy and strong," St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal said. "I thought we came out playing really well in the first half. But I thought we played even better in the first 10 minutes of the second half."

St. Charles North's dominance meant North Stars goalie Kristen Manski had a very quiet night through the first half. She did not have to make a save but collected what errant passes or crosses worked their way into her penalty area.

By contrast, Batavia's Elana Mudrak was under constant pressure and had the ball constantly in positions that called her into action. The senior dealt with most of that trouble, making a number of saves.

She was beaten just once, when the North Stars rushed forward 14 minutes into the match. Paige Dusek played an early ball that Leah DeMoss ran onto. DeMoss' shot was saved and partially cleared to Maggie Hamilton, who sent the ball back in for the first goal of the match.

That disparity in possession and territorial dominance never chanced through the match. But Batavia drew level 13 minutes into the second half, when a cross from the left was sent into the goal by Tara Rush.

St Charles North tried to find a higher gear in the final 25 minutes of the match. But Batavia's belief burgeoned with the goal, and made inroads of its own. Libby Cooper spooned a shot over the crossbar with 20 minutes left.

But another lightning attack by the North Stars won the match with 11:11 when Dusek fed DeMoss, who scored.

"We've had goals scored on us and we're going to have goals scored on us," Vostal said. "But I think one thing about us is that we're able to score goals. We have the mindset - and we have to now that we have to be able to create chances."