Girls soccer: Batavia, St. Charles East play to scoreless draw

There's something about the four Tri-Cities girls soccer teams this season.

That something includes plenty of intensity, superior talent and a stockpile of victories - along with a few ties.

One night after Upstate Eight Conference River Division leaders Geneva and St. Charles North played to a scoreless tie, Batavia (12-2-1, 3-1-1) and St. Charles East (8-3-5, 3-1-1) came away with the same result Tuesday night - a 0-0 deadlock at soggy Norris Stadium.

"You always like to think that you've done enough to win the game but the reality is that the Tri-Cities are just so good this year," said Saints coach Paul Jennison. "I think both teams would admit that that performance is good enough to win any game in the last three or four years. The level is so high.

"There's just so much fight out there against the local rivals along with the quality on the ball that it just takes a little bit of magic. That's a good enough performance to win most games. You have to realize the difference becomes that one spark."

That spark was nearly provided in the first 9 minutes of play as Saints senior midfielder Kaitlyn Dziubinski launched a 25-yard blast that caromed off the crossbar and down to the surface before Batavia keeper Jenny Scara (7 saves) cleared the ball.

"We know that we haven't been fortunate where we've scored four or five goals a game but at the same time we're still getting the opportunities," said Jennison. "We're still getting in the right positions."

Batavia also created a few solid opportunities - the best coming the game's final minute when junior midfielder Shelby Key's point-blank header off a feed from Keegan Maris was stopped by Saints sophomore keeper Grace Griffin (5 saves).

"If you saw it from here (the bench), it looked like it was going in," said Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco. "It was a nice creation there late."

"It was a great save by our goalkeeper and the defenders were back there covering to stop the rebound," said Jennison.

Playing on a natural grass field with intermittent rain falling, the slick surface created some issues for both teams.

"It was difficult but both teams were playing in the same conditions," said Maris. "You have to be a lot more focused on the little things when you play in this. Every touch when you receive a pass you have to make sure it doesn't go far. You could be giving it up and they could counter easily."

Batavia controlled the ball throughout the first 15-20 minutes of the second half, earning a pair of corner kicks from junior Gracey DiBiase and a tough-angle shot by senior Kelly Bleakley that landed just to the right side of the net.

"I thought we came out really well in the second half," said Gianfrancesco. "Once we broke the initial pressure they had that gap there between their backs."

The teams resume play during Tri-Cities Night on May 9 in Batavia - with St. Charles East taking on Geneva (14-1-1, 2-0-1) while Batavia battles St. Charles North (12-0-3, 3-0-1).