Girls soccer: Wheaton North strikes first, Batavia responds for tie in DuKane opener

Batavia entered the second half of Tuesday’s DuKane Conference opener knowing it needed an equalizer.

Trailing Wheaton North by one, the Bulldogs went into the final 40 minutes knowing that they didn’t want to start off the conference slate with a loss on their record.

And when junior Rachel Carlson saw a cross coming in the box right to her, she knew she had to even the playing field.

“I just saw the ball and knew I had to kick it,” Carlson said. “We were having so many crosses coming in and we just wanted to finish one.”

Carlson netted the equalizing goal in the 49th minute, but neither team could find the net for the game-winner as they settled for a 2-2 draw.

“We really wanted to get that win, but at least we got a tie,” Carlson said. “It’s a lot better than losing.”

The Bulldogs (1-2-1 overall, 0-0-1 DuKane) faced an early 2-0 deficit in the first 15 minutes of play before turning around with two unanswered goals. Freshman Lexi Biddle cut the lead to one with a goal in the 28th minute before Carlson’s equalizer.

“We wanted to do better defensively and I thought that we did,” Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “We could’ve easily packed it in there down 2-0, but we fought back and got it even, and created some more chances afterwards.”

The Falcons (2-2-1, 0-0-1) struck early in the contest with sophomore Ellie Whittington kicking off the scoring in the eighth minute on a booming shot from 20 yards out. Emily Brudzinski added an insurance goal after converting on a penalty kick just four minutes later, giving the Falcons an early 2-0 lead.

“We talked about trying to beat them on the outside and or playing the ball behind the defenders before the game,” Falcons coach Tim McEvilly said. “We played nice balls through and beat individuals on the outside throughout the first half and created a lot of chances.”

But after the first quick scoring stretch, the Falcons’ offense went stalwart, with the Bulldogs’ defense, alongside sophomore goalie Lucy Karasek, shoring up.

“We just couldn’t string together any chances or passes together in the second half and our ability to connect was really downgraded significantly,” McEvilly said. “We were kind of slow and indecisive in the second half.”

Karasek was a late addition to the starting lineup for the Bulldogs. After finding out the night before that the usual starter was injured, the sophomore was told to suit up earlier in the morning. She finished the game with eight saves in net.

“I was really anxious at the start there, and I think that’s definitely what might have messed me up at first,” Karasek said. “But I think I got the hang of it once I remembered that I’d done this before and I got it.”

Both teams ramped up the offense in the final 10 minutes to try to find the game-winner. Batavia had two shots go mere inches from the far post, while Wheaton North had multiple corner kicks, with the final finding the head of Sophia Martinez before going right to Karasek.

“I liked it, but sometimes I would like it to be a bit more composed,” McEvilly said. “You don’t know how many quality chances you’ll get so you have to make sure they’re run perfectly so you have the best chance possible. And I’d rather have a tie rather than a loss because we rushed and people were out of position.”