Batavia rolls in opener

Three different Batavia soccer players scored on Tuesday to ensure a successful home and season opener for the Bulldogs as they defeated Glenbard West 4-1.

Heading into this season, one of the biggest keys for the Bulldogs is finding consistent scoring. They found it early in the second half against the Hilltoppers.

"We started off a little slow but as the game started progressing after the first goal we gained a little more confidence," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said.

"It's great for a team's confidence that you don't have to look at one guy to score and I knew we'd be able to play good defense and knock the ball around pretty good."

Batavia (1-0) scored the lone goal of the opening half at 14:05 when Ty McCoy handled Hyrum DaSilva's throw-in. It would be the first of three throw-in goals scored by the Bulldogs.

"Those were our Achilles' heel today," Glenbard West coach Maciej Kusmierz said.

Glenbard West (0-1) hung tough until Batavia scored twice in less than two minutes early in the second half to make it 3-0. Martin Viereckl was able to pull a defender off him, regain his balance and still get enough mustard on his right foot to blast a score past goalkeeper Zach Watson at 36:38.

Then, at 34:47, Mitch Albrecht recovered a Viereckl misfire and scored.

"We know we need to get a core of our guys scoring early," Viereckl said. "It's going to be a good year and we've got something to prove with all our seniors."

The Hilltoppers finally got on the scoreboard on Angel Escobedo's goal with 11:40 remaining. The goal arrived while the Bulldogs were still in a state of shock over Albrecht receiving a second yellow card at 13:43. It gave him a red card and ejection and more significantly, he will not be eligible to play Saturday against St. Charles East.

"I blame myself for that," Gianfrancesco said. "I told my assistant I was going to pull him at 20 minutes or 15 and I pulled my other center mid. It was an oversight on my part."

Albrecht only received one card all of last year.

With Albrecht out of the game and Batavia's lead cut to 3-1, the Hilltoppers had an opportunity to make a comeback, but McCoy thwarted that idea when he scored his second goal of the game with just under 9 minutes left.

"We only have 6 returning varsity players so we're in a transition stage," Kusmierz said, "Today was a test to show us where we're at. I was pleased with the effort, but we still have to work on many aspects of the game."