Boys soccer: Geneva comes back to tie Batavia

Winless in its last 7 games, things finally looked to be going Batavia's way during Thursday's Senior Night game against Geneva.

Senior Matt Allen scored relatively early in the first half while senior goalkeeper Jimmy Perreault was thwarting all of the Vikings shots on frame.

Then, Drew Klaus and Matthew Waldoch ruined it with 5:52 left before everyone was ready to head for home.

Waldoch's goal proved to be the equalizer and the longtime Tri-Cities foes settled for a 1-1 draw in Upstate Eight Conference River Division boys soccer action.

"There was a lot of back and forth soccer for the final 15 minutes of the match and I have to say Batavia had a few chances they'd like to get back," Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. "But our guys came through. Drew had a nice tackle in back and Matt with a splendid strike. We've been on the wrong side of similar goals over the course of the year so it was nice to equalize late in the game and credit to Matt for such a brilliant shot."

For a moment it looked like Batavia's Davis DiBiase had the advantage before Klaus stole the ball for him, setting up the counterattack.

"I told the defense in the second half that if I have time with the ball I'll make eye contact and make that run," Waldoch said. "They played it over the top and luckily it worked."

Batavia (6-9-6, 1-2-3) nearly went ahead 2-0 with 12:30 left when Joe Corno got past Klaus for a one-on-one but seemingly rushed his shot and misfired too high.

"We started all seniors and were playing well down their end the whole time," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "We could've finished a few more chances down there, but we didn't, and that's kind of the way the ball bounces."

Geneva (5-8-5, 0-4-2) fell behind 1-0 with 23:35 left in the first half when Allen scored.

"I kept noticing that they'd send it to their centerbacks and they'd pause with it for a little bit," Allen said. "Being on the far right, no one kept track of me except the outside back, so I decided to roam a bit and maybe make some runs. I got the ball and took it in. It was an easy, one-touch finish."

The Bulldogs came close a few times to expanding their lead, but Geneva goalkeeper Jason Morales kept his composure and denied each opportunity.

Trevor Hockings sent a shot off Morales' hands and then off the crossbar about 10 minutes into the second half, while Allen and Nathan Carey also had shots that Morales either batted or bobbled out of harm's way.

"We had a lot of chances throughout the game, but it comes down to finishing them," Allen said. "It's the goal that wins the game no matter how your performance was."

Batavia recognized all of its seniors, which included Allen, Carey, DiBiase, Tyson Barner-Miller, Bryant Kintz, Luke Laurich, Jimmy Perreault, Bruno Siegel, Riley Steeler and Daniel Zagoren.

Both teams now turn their attention to their Class 3A regional semifinal games next Tuesday. Geneva will play Plainfield Central at Naperville North while Batavia takes on neighboring foe, Marmion, at Waubonsie Valley.