Girls soccer: West Chicago rallies to tie Batavia, continues improved season
As Cesar Gomez took his West Chicago girls soccer team to Batavia for a Saturday afternoon nonconference matinee vs. the host Bulldogs, he had to take with him some positives that his squad's 5-2-3 start had brought them.
•Those five victories had surpassed the combined win total that West Chicago earned in the last two springs when it won just two games each season.
•It was also entering the second half of April in a three-way tie in the loss column in the Upstate Eight Conference standings as it was unbeaten (1-0-3) along with South Elgin (2-0-1) and Glenbard South (4-0).
Which made their contest with a host school that came into the match with a three-game win streak after dropping two of its first three to start the season as a huge measuring stick as to how far it had come and perhaps how far it needed to still travel to reach a position of prominence.
After seeing his club rally from a 2-0 second half to earn a 2-2 tie at Bulldog Stadium, Gomez received another positive attribute deposited on the plus side of the Wildcats' proverbial ledger as it earned their fourth tie of the spring.
"It's a result that we really needed. This is a moral victory against a (potential postseason) opponent and an excellent result against a really good team, a thoroughly (top-level) team (which) we played," Gomez said.
West Chicago (5-2-4 overall) spotted themselves a 2-0 deficit thanks to a pair of scores from Batavia junior forward Abi Edwards.
Her first goal, a header, came off a feed from fellow Bulldog junior Addison Lowe and opened the afternoon's scoring in the 22nd minute.
Her second score in the 59th minute - which came off a rebound from an attempt by senior forward Laila Figueras - appeared to have given the hosts (4-2-1) all it would need. It had outshot the Wildcats 37-6 on the afternoon with the ball on West Chicago's side of the pitch.
Then the weather, which was 85 degrees and sunny at the blowing of the first whistle, turned into a windy and overcast day with an afternoon shower on its way with the visitors using an offensive shower of their own.
Senior forward Jenna Zeitoun took a pass from freshman Alejandra Munoz in the 63rd minute to halve the deficit to 2-1.
Then with just 2:07 left in the contest, Munoz was tripped up deep in the Batavia zone. That led to a call made by the official which led to her game-tying penalty shot as it got past Bulldogs goalie Natalie Dean.
Gomez credited those scores to having the right people in the right place at the right time.
"Having Jenna on top with that speed, we (were able to) hit her in the right spot. It was awesome just to see her breaking down (their) defense. (On) the penalty, she (Alejandra) got hit and they called it. The kick (she made) was all hers."
"It's all about having that trust with each other, being confident in each other and that's what we have as a team," senior midfielder Daisy Garcia said. "That's what keeps us glued together."