Batavia, Bartlett battle to 1-1 tie
When the wind blows in the western suburbs, it always seems to blow that much harder at Millennium Field. Whether that is just an illusion or a fact borne from the elevated field and lack of anything to break that wind, there never seems to be a “light breeze” at the home of Bartlett, Streamwood and South Elgin.
Tuesday, the wind blew across the stadium’s artificial surface, from east to west, which at least didn’t give either team a significant advantage from half to half. It did, however, mean goalkeepers had to stay alert through 80 minutes of a high school match.
And whether Bartlett’s Natalia Grodzki or the Batavia tandem of Allie Fredendall and Ronnie Resek, that concentration was solid in the Upstate Eight Conference River opener for both teams. The match finished 1-1, but neither goal was one where goalies made crucial errors.
“(Grodzki) did a great job, especially when you have players running at you,” Bartlett coach Heather Thomas said. “She’s done a great job for us all season long. She’s filled some pretty big shoes very, very well and she’s a good keeper.”
Batavia’s plan has been to rotate its goalies this season and the halftime switch from Fredendall to Resek went smoothly.
“We like the way they have both played for us,” Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. “They both have things that they do well and they both have things they need to work on. We’ll keep doing that.”
Those goals came within 90 seconds of each other midway through the second half as play began to swing from end to end.
Bartlett (2-1-1, 0-0-1) scored first, in the 15th minute of the second half when Nicki Noreen sent a left-wing shot into the right side netting.
“I got a missed touch and almost ran out of bounds,” Noreen said.
Noreen said she enjoyed playing a solid team like Batavia, which has moved to the Upstate Eight this season after the Western Sun Conference dissolved in 2010.
“We played a good team. It’s fun and really intense,” Noreen said. “You have to make good runs and all have to work as a team.”
Batavia equalized almost immediately. Hannah Schweigert received a free kick 30 yards from goal on the left wing and the senior got the ball around Bartlett’s wall and into the goal at the right post.
“I thought in the second half, we started to play with more composure,” Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. “We started to move the ball up more. We moved the ball up nicely.”
Playing its second match in as many days, Batavia (0-1-1, 0-0-1) found its rhythm much quicker than it had in Monday’s season-opening defeat against Wheaton Warrenville South.
“It was a lot better feeling tying,” Batavia’s Grace Andrews said. “We definitely held our own for the whole game. (Monday), we stayed strong even though they scored right away. But in this game, we stayed strong through the second half as well.”
The Bulldogs play six matches in the first two weeks, a playing schedule from which McAlpin said his team can benefit. The Bulldogs are fitting a number of new pieces into their lineup and are searching for their best combinations.
“We’re a work in progress right now,” McAlpin said. “We’re going to try different things and different people. We got some experience and we got some rotations going.”