Girls soccer: Batavia wins again at Glenbard East

Glenbard East has allowed just six goals this girls soccer season. Batavia scored two of them Thursday night.

The visiting Bulldogs continued their strong season with a 2-1 Upstate Eight Conference crossover victory at Glenbard East, holding off the Rams after they cut the lead in half and pressed for the tying goal.

"It definitely shows us we can keep up the fight," said Batavia sophomore Grace Salyers. "When they scored, it definitely brought us down and we lost our confidence, because 2-1 is one of those games where it's like they get momentum, they can keep going. So I think it was a matter of staying mentally tough and staying within the game and playing our game rather than panicking."

Salyers broke a scoreless tie with her goal in the 53rd minute off a Rachel Polignone assist.

"She quickly passed it to me," Salyers said. "I got the ball and kind of turned and like turned around and I just hit it with my left and looked for the right corner. I saw the keeper leaning to the (left) post and said, Oh, far post is open."

Zaira Solis scored the Bulldogs' second goal in the 70th minute, hitting the second ball following a corner kick.

"It was jumbled up and then it came to me and I saw the left front post was open so I just hit it with my left and it went right in," Solis said.

Trailing by two goals, the Rams didn't fold.

"That's only the fifth and sixth goals we've given up this year, so I think there's still a lot of positives," Rams coach Kent Overbey said. "It's a dangerous team and we'll learn from it. I thought we fought back. I was proud of the way we fought back and didn't give up and continued to grind. Just couldn't get another one."

The Rams (7-3-2) almost had the game's first goal in the 47th minute when Katie Hansen's free kick from 22 yards rattled the crossbar. They celebrated Maddie Weltin's goal in the 76th minute, but the Bulldogs (10-1-1), ranked third in the Daily Herald Top 20, finished off the victory.

"That's definitely the best team we've faced," Overbey said. (Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco's) teams are always well-organized. You saw them move the ball around well. I thought the midfield did well limiting their touches."